The Project

An outdoor space in Northeast Florida lives or dies by how it handles the afternoon sun. This SilverLeaf home in St. Johns County had a covered patio that turned into a heat trap for hours every day, with low-angle glare washing out the view of the yard beyond it.

We installed an OpenRoller cable solar screen using Phifer SunTex 95 fabric across the opening. The SunTex 95 blocks roughly 95% of the sun’s heat and glare while staying see-through, so the family keeps the view and the breeze but loses the harsh light and radiant heat. The OpenRoller runs on side cables rather than rigid tracks, which keeps the hardware slim and holds the screen steady when the wind picks up.

What makes a cable solar screen the right call here is balance. A solid shade would darken the patio and kill the view. Bug screen alone would do nothing for the heat. The SunTex 95 solar fabric on a cable-guided roller cuts the heat load, tames the glare, and still lets this SilverLeaf patio feel open to the outdoors through the hottest part of the day.

Written by Kent Taylor, Local Screen Specialist, Cheetah Screens