Guide
Measuring for a motorized screen
A screen's finished size is not your opening size — it depends on which of three mounting configurations the opening allows. Measure the opening carefully, then let the mount type decide the rest.
The one thing to understand first
SunPro's screen drawing set covers three distinct installations, and the finished unit size is derived differently for each: outside above the header (surface-mounted on the face), inside above the header (mounted up inside the opening, on a mounting angle), and fully recessed (housing and tracks concealed in the structure).
That means your opening measurement is an input, not an answer. Give us accurate opening dimensions and clear photos of the header and jambs, and the finished size comes out of SunPro's sizing formulas at order time. Guessing a finished size from an opening size is how a screen ends up 2 inches wrong.
Three mount configurations and their sizing formulas are documented in SunPro's Motorized Screens Technical Drawings, sheets covering OAH, IAH and IAHR installations (Nov 2019), and in the SunPro Recessed Installation drawing set (sheets A-01 to A-05, issued May 2023).
Width and height limits are set by the housing
SunPro's header installation drawings pair a 5 1/2 in standard housing with a maximum of about 15 ft of width and 11 ft of height, and a 7 in alternative housing with about 30 ft of width and 12 ft of height. If your opening is wide, the housing gets bigger — and a bigger housing needs a deeper recess or a more visible surface mount.
Housing sizes and their width/height maxima are SunPro's published figures from the Header Installation drawing set (sheets A-01 to A-04). Confirm the configuration for your specific order at measurement.
Step by step
You will need: Tape measure, Step ladder, Phone camera, Pencil and paper
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Measure the opening width in three places
Measure the clear opening width at the top, the middle and the bottom. Record all three. Openings are rarely square, and the difference between them is information the fabricator needs.
If the three differ by more than about a quarter inch, say so explicitly — it changes how the tracks get set.
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Measure the opening height on both sides
Measure from the underside of the header down to the finished floor or deck on the left, and again on the right. Record both.
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Look at the header
Photograph the underside and the face of the header above the opening, and note what it is made of — timber, masonry, steel, or a soffit with nothing behind it. This decides which of the three mount types is possible, and it decides the fasteners.
SunPro's fastener guide sets different diameters, materials and embedment depths for wood, concrete, block and steel. Substrate is not a detail.
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Measure the depth available above the opening
Measure how much depth there is between the face of the header and anything behind it. A recessed installation needs a cavity for the housing; a surface mount does not. This measurement is what tells us whether concealment is even on the table.
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Check the jambs for track room
The side tracks run down each side of the opening. Measure the flat, solid width available on each jamb face, and note anything competing for it — trim, a door casing, a light switch, a column.
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Note the power location
Find the nearest suitable outlet or junction and measure to it. A motorized screen needs power at the housing end.
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Send the numbers and the photos together
Send all the dimensions with photos of the full opening, the header and both jambs. We take the finished size from there at the in-person measurement — which is also the point at which the price stops being an estimate.
Where this comes from
SunPro Motorized Screens Measurement Instructions & Technical Drawings (OAH/IAH/IAHR, Nov 2019); SunPro Recessed Installation drawings (May 2023); SunPro Header Installation drawings; SunPro Best-In-Use Fastener Guide (TR-R-002r0)
Published by SunPro Motorized Awnings & Screens.
Mount configurations, size maxima and fastener schedules are SunPro's published engineering data for their products. Reproduced here with attribution; not ACM specifications.
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Every project starts with a real measurement and a real conversation. Nothing gets built off a web page.
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