Building a Patio for Motorized Screens: Why the Screens Need an Authorized Dealer, and Who Builds the Structure

Audie Builds — September 28, 2026

A prospect came to us this month with a clear ask: build the covered patio from the posts up, then put motorized screens on it, one contractor, one contract. That is a project we take on, and we will explain how below. But the conversation started with an assumption we hear constantly, from homeowners and from other builders: that motorized screens are a product any contractor can pick up and install like a ceiling fan.

They are not. Every motorized screen system we install, SunPro, Mirage, MagnaTrack, and Universal MotionScreen, is built to order at the factory and sold only through dealers the manufacturer has trained and authorized. A builder who wants to put one on a patio goes through a dealer like us for that part of the job. Meanwhile, the structure the screen hangs from is ordinary construction, and that half we can build ourselves or leave to your builder. This post is about how those two halves fit together, so you can plan the project without getting stuck between two trades.

At a glance

• Structure (posts, beams, roof, framing): A general contractor. Us, or your builder.
• Screens (measure, order, install, warranty): An authorized dealer for that brand. Us.
• Power to the motors: A licensed electrician, coordinated before the ceiling closes.
• Our dealerships: SunPro, Mirage Screen Systems, MagnaTrack (Progressive Screens), Universal MotionScreen
• Typical motorized screen cost: $3,500 to $7,000 per opening installed. Full cost guide
• Structure cost: Quoted per project after a site visit

Why your builder cannot just order motorized screens

Motorized retractable screens are not stocked at a supply house. Each one is manufactured to the measured opening, with the housing, tracks, mesh, motor, and bottom bar sized for that exact spot. The manufacturers sell those systems through authorized dealer programs, and getting into one is not a matter of filling out a form. It means factory training, a dealer account, and access to the ordering portal where the screens are actually specified.

We hold dealerships with four manufacturers, and each one came with its own factory training, its own ordering system, and its own set of rules for how a screen gets measured and specified. Mirage lists us on its dealer locator, and we work directly with the manufacturers' dealer teams on measuring and ordering questions. That is the relationship a builder is missing when they try to add screens to a bid: no dealer account, no portal, no training, and no path to a warranty claim, because warranty on these systems runs through the dealer that sold and installed them.

Could a builder become a dealer themselves? Yes. The manufacturers accept new dealers, and a builder who wanted to could apply, get accepted, sit through the factory training, learn each brand's measuring and ordering rules, set up the accounts, and take on the service and warranty obligations that come with the product. It is doable. It is also a long, demanding process for a product line most builders will sell a handful of times a year, and every brand you add means going through it again. That is why the builders we work with simply hand that section of the project to us. They keep the structure, which is their trade, and trust the dealer relationship to someone who lives in it every week.

None of that is a knock on builders. Framing a patio cover is their trade. Specifying a motorized screen is ours, and the manufacturers built it that way on purpose, because a screen ordered a half inch wrong is a screen that comes back on a truck.

What the dealer training actually covers

The reason the factories insist on training is that almost every failed screen install traces back to a measuring or ordering decision, not to the product. A few examples from our own training and field work show why this is not a job to guess at.

Measuring and deductions. Each system has its own rules for how the ordered width and height relate to the opening, and they are not the same from brand to brand. The portals take dimensions to the sixteenth of an inch. Order to the wrong rule and the screen either binds in the tracks or leaves a gap.

Out-of-square openings. Real patios are rarely perfectly square. The systems tolerate a small amount of racking, and past that the order changes: bias cuts on the mesh, extended hoods, or adjustable channels that let the tracks land plumb on a post that is not. Knowing where that line sits, and which fix each manufacturer wants, is exactly what the training teaches. We covered how a Castle Hills doorway that was taller than the catalog got solved with fabricated brackets in an earlier post.

Installation steps the factory treats as non-negotiable. Where the hood gets fastened, which way the track components face, how the mesh retention is set, how the motor limits are programmed. Get one of those wrong and the screen will not run correctly, and the manufacturer will not cover it. One detail alone, sealing where the motor's power cord enters the housing, prevents the water intrusion that the factory trainers told us accounts for most of what gets reported as a motor failure.

Systems and hardware choices. Whether an opening should get a zipper track or a keder track, which motor and control suits the job, and what mesh belongs in the roller. Those are dealer decisions made opening by opening, not defaults.

How builders and homeowners work with a screen dealer

There are two clean ways to run a screened patio project, and both work.

Your builder keeps the structure, we handle the screens. This is the usual arrangement when a patio cover or outdoor living build is already under contract with someone else. We get involved before framing, not after. We tell the builder what the header and columns need to look like for the system you have chosen, where the power has to land, and what the finished opening dimensions should be. Then we measure after the structure is set, place the order, and install. Builders in Dallas-Fort Worth partner with us for exactly this, and we are glad to take that call directly.

We build both. When the project is a new cover or pergola and screens together, we can act as the general contractor for the structure through our vetted crews, with licensed electrical partners for the power, and install the screens as the dealer. One contract, one point of contact, and the screen dimensions drive the framing instead of the other way around. That was the answer for the prospect who started this post, and it is the arrangement that avoids the most common problem we see: a beautiful patio cover with a post in a spot no screen can track to.

What we do not do is sell screens for someone else to install, or install screens someone else ordered. The dealership, the measurement, and the warranty are one package, and splitting it is how homeowners end up with no one to call when the motor stops.

What a screen-ready patio structure needs

If you are planning a patio cover, pergola, or outdoor living addition and you want screens on it now or later, these are the things the structure has to get right. This is the list we walk through with builders before the first post goes in the ground.

A solid, continuous header. The screen housing mounts to structure, not to soffit or fascia trim. The header across each opening needs to be flat, straight, and framed to carry the housing and take fasteners along its length. A few inches of clear, flat surface above the opening is the minimum, and the exact requirement depends on the drop of the screen.

Plumb columns with a flat face for the tracks. Side tracks run the full height of the opening on the inside face of each post or column. Round columns, heavily tapered posts, and stone veneer that steps in and out all need a plan. Brick, square posts, and wrapped columns are straightforward.

An opening that is square within tolerance. Every system allows some racking. Past a fraction of an inch, the order changes and so does the cost. A builder who knows the screens are coming can hold the frame closer to square than one who does not.

Power to every motor location. The motors are hardwired or plugged in at the housing, so each opening needs a circuit run to the header before the ceiling closes. Adding it afterward means opening finished work. We coordinate this with a licensed electrician on our builds and hand the builder a location list on theirs.

Water kept out of the housing. Roof drainage, gutters, and the flashing detail at the header should shed water away from the screen. Water finding its way into the housing is the enemy of the motor.

Finish and color decided early. Housings and tracks come in factory colors. Picking the screen color alongside the stain, paint, or powder coat of the structure gives a finished patio that reads as one design instead of an add-on.

Sequence. Structure first. Final measure after the structure is complete and the finish is on. Then the order goes to the factory, and the screens install once they arrive. The measure has to wait for the real opening, so a project plan that asks for the screens the week the framing is done is a plan that will slip.

When we build the structure too

We are a construction company first. The owner learned carpentry, tile, doors, and windows hands-on before the screen dealerships, and today the structure side of a patio project runs through our vetted crews under one point of contact, with licensed electricians and plumbers brought in where the code requires them. That is the same way we run bathroom remodels and the rest of our general contracting work.

On a combined build, the screen system is chosen first, the structure is framed around it, and there is no handoff between two companies arguing about whose opening is out of square. We can also install louvered pergola covers as an authorized Cover Your Pergola installer when the roof itself needs to open and close.

For a project where a patio cover already exists, the process is simpler: we come out, check the header, columns, power, and square, and tell you which systems fit as-is and what, if anything, has to change. Most existing covered patios in Dallas-Fort Worth take a screen without any structural work. Some need a header angle, a fabricated bracket, or a power run, and we quote that up front.

What it costs and how long it takes

The screens are the easy number. Most motorized patio screens in Dallas-Fort Worth run $3,500 to $7,000 per opening installed, and we publish the full range by size in our cost guide. Manual retractable screens cost less and suit doorways and smaller openings.

The structure is quoted per project, because a cedar pergola, an insulated aluminum cover, and a full roof extension tied into the house are three very different builds. We give you one written proposal that separates the structure, the electrical, and the screens by line, so you can see where the money goes and adjust the scope before anything is ordered.

On timing, plan the project in two stages: the structure build, then the screen measure, factory order, and install. We will tell you the factory lead time for the system you choose when we quote it, and we do not order until the real opening exists to measure.

If you are a homeowner planning a new patio, a builder with a client asking for screens, or an architect drawing an outdoor living space, tell us about the opening. We will say plainly which half we should handle, or whether it should be both.

Frequently asked questions

Can any contractor install motorized patio screens?

No. Motorized screen systems from SunPro, Mirage, MagnaTrack, and Universal are sold only through manufacturer-authorized dealers who have completed factory training and hold a dealer account. A builder without a dealership cannot order the product, and the warranty on these systems runs through the dealer that sold and installed them.

Can I buy the screens myself and have my builder put them in?

Not through the manufacturers we carry. The screens are built to order for a measured opening and shipped to the dealer, and we do not sell screens for someone else to install. The measurement, the order, the installation, and the warranty are one package on purpose.

Can my builder just become a dealer?

They can apply. Becoming a dealer means being accepted by the manufacturer, completing factory training, learning that brand's measuring and ordering rules, setting up the accounts, and taking on the service and warranty obligations, then repeating it for every additional brand. It is a long process for a product most builders sell a few times a year, which is why builders in Dallas-Fort Worth hand the screen portion to us and keep the structure.

Do you work with builders and general contractors?

Yes, regularly. When a builder has the patio cover or outdoor living project under contract, we come in before framing to spec the header, column faces, power locations, and finished opening sizes for the chosen system, then measure, order, and install the screens once the structure is complete. Builders can call us directly at 469-380-1546.

Can you build the patio cover or pergola as well as the screens?

Yes. We act as the general contractor for the structure through our vetted crews, with licensed electricians for the power, and install the screens as the authorized dealer. One contract and one point of contact, with the screen system chosen first so the framing is built around it.

My patio is already built. Will screens fit?

Usually. Most existing covered patios in Dallas-Fort Worth take a retractable screen with no structural changes. We check the header, the column faces, the power, and how square the opening is, then tell you which systems fit as-is. When something needs to change, such as a header angle, a fabricated bracket, or a power run, we quote it up front.

Does it matter if the opening is a little out of square?

It matters more than people expect. Each system tolerates a small amount of racking, and past that the order changes to bias-cut mesh, extended hoods, or adjustable channels, which adds cost. A builder who knows screens are coming can hold the frame closer to square, and we measure the real opening before anything is ordered.

Who handles the warranty on a motorized screen?

The authorized dealer who sold and installed it. Warranty claims go through the dealer's account with the manufacturer, with photos, the order number, and a description of the issue. That is another reason the product is not sold to the general trade.