Start here
Can a garage screen work with my garage door?
Short answer
Yes: a retractable garage screen mounts on the face of the opening, so the overhead door still opens and closes normally behind it. Most systems roll up into a housing above the opening or slide off to the sides, and every screen is measured to the exact width and height of your opening before it is ordered.
The job
What a garage screen actually changes
An open garage door lets in air and light, and everything else from the yard with them. A screen fills the opening with mesh so the space works as a workshop, a home gym or a place to sit, without flies, wasps and leaves coming in. When you need the car out, the screen rolls up or slides aside in a few seconds.
The overhead door is not touched. Screens mount to the jambs and header, the door runs behind them, and the opener keeps working. That matters because a screen that rubs the door or crowds the track is a repair waiting to happen, so we check the door's clearance before we recommend a system.
Cost
What moves the price of a garage screen
Screen systems vary with width, mesh and drive. We measure first and price the exact system before anything is ordered.
- Opening width, single or double
- Manual or motorized operation
- Mesh type: standard, privacy or solar
- Walk-through panels and pet doors
- Header and jamb condition where it mounts
Compare the options
Retractable or sliding: which garage screen fits your opening
Both keep the bugs out. The difference is how they store and how you get through them.
| Retractable screen | Sliding screen | |
|---|---|---|
| How it stores | Rolls into a housing on the header | Panels stack at each side |
| Best for | Wide openings where a clean look matters | Openings with little header room |
| Getting through | Raise it or use a walk-through panel | Slide one panel aside |
| What it needs | Header space and a level floor line | A perfectly level top track |
What is included
What a screen install covers
- Measuring both jambs and the header at several points, because openings are rarely square
- Checking the overhead door's tracks, rollers and opener clearance first
- Mounting into solid framing, not just trim
- Setting spring tension or motor limits so the screen travels evenly
- Sealing the bottom bar against the floor to block crawling insects
- Showing you how to lower and lock it, and when to raise it in high wind
Retractable screens
Retractable screens that roll into a housing
A retractable screen stores in a slim cassette mounted on the header and pulls down by hand or by motor. Spring tension keeps the mesh flat and lets it rise in a controlled way instead of snapping up. This is the cleanest look when the screen is away, and it suits wide two-car openings where a single span of mesh is wanted. The trade-off is that the cassette needs room on the header and the bottom bar needs a clean, level floor line to seal against.
Sliding screen systems
Sliding screen systems that part in the middle
Sliding systems hang panels from a track along the top of the opening and draw to each side like curtains. They are quick to walk through, because you only open the part you need, and they work in openings where the header has no room for a cassette. They take up a little space at each side when they are open, and the top track has to be mounted dead level or the panels drift.
Walk-through screen panels
Walk-through screen panels
A walk-through panel is a door within the screen, closed by a zipper or magnets, so people and pets can go in and out without raising the whole screen. It is a small addition, but it is the part that gets used most, so we place it on the side of the opening nearest the house door and check that it closes flat after every pass.
Around Naperville
Summer garages in Naperville
July is the warmest month in Naperville, with average highs near 84F, and it is when an open garage turns into a workshop, a home gym or a shaded place to sit. A screen keeps that room open to the breeze without the traffic from the lawn. Two-car garages with one wide opening need a screen that spans the whole width or parts in the middle, so we measure for that before recommending a system rather than after.
How the visit runs
From the first call to a screen you can roll down
- 1
Call and describe the opening
Single or double, and whether the garage has power near the header.
- 2
We measure on site
Width, height and out-of-square at several points, plus the door's clearance.
- 3
You choose the system
Retractable or sliding, manual or motorized, with the price set before ordering.
- 4
We install and seal
Mounted to solid framing, bottom bar set to the floor line.
- 5
We test it with the door
Screen down, door closed behind it, screen up, door open, twice.
Answers
Questions about retractable garage screen doors
On most installs, yes. The screen mounts on the face of the opening and the overhead door runs behind it, so the door can close with the screen lowered. We confirm the clearance on your door before ordering.
Raise it. Screens are made for insects and sun, not storms, and a lowered screen in a gusty thunderstorm can stretch or pull from its track. We show you the lock and release when we finish.
Many homeowner associations regulate changes to garage doors and the front of the house, so check your covenants before ordering. We can give you the system details and color to submit.
Yes. Each opening is measured and fitted on its own, so a three-car garage with a double and a single door gets two screens sized to each opening.
Yes, a motorized screen needs power near the header. Manual screens need none, which is why most of the screens we fit are manual.
Same group
Related door work we handle
Garage Door Weatherstripping
Bottom seals and side stops replaced to block drafts, water and mice.
Garage Door Insulation Kits
Insulation added to a hollow steel door that is otherwise sound.
Garage Door Jamb & Trim Repair
Rotted jambs and loose brackets rebuilt so the door has something solid to hang on.