New Garage Doors · Tuscaloosa, AL
Retractable garage door screens fitted in Tuscaloosa
Want the garage door up for a breeze without letting in bugs and leaves? A garage screen fills the opening behind the open door. We fit retractable and roll-up systems that leave your door and opener working as before.
- Answered 24/7
- Tuscaloosa, Northport and West Alabama
- Retractable and roll-up screens
Updated October 2026
A garage door screen in Tuscaloosa mounts inside or on the face of the opening and only comes into play once the main door is raised. Retractable screens roll into a housing at the header, and roll-up screens are lifted by hand and strapped up. Either lets air in and keeps mosquitoes and leaves out on warm evenings.
Garage screens
Turning an open garage into a screened room
Plenty of garages here do double duty as a workshop, a gym or the place everyone sits on game day. With the door up, the room gets air and light, and also mosquitoes, wasps, leaves and the neighbor's cat. A screen fills the opening behind the raised door so the space stays open to the breeze but closed to everything else.
Screens have to share the opening with the door. The housing or rail must clear the door as it travels, the screen cannot drag on the bottom seal, and the photo-eye sensors at the base of the track still need a clear beam when the door comes down. We plan the mounting around all three so the door works exactly as before. If the sensors start acting up, our safety sensor alignment page covers what to check.
Choosing a type
Retractable cassette, roll-up screen or zippered panel?
| Retractable cassette | Roll-up screen | Zippered panel | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it opens | Pulls down, rolls back into a housing | Lifted by hand and strapped at the top | Zipper door in a fixed screen |
| Daily use | Quickest to open and close | Fine for occasional use | Walk through without opening it |
| Mounting | Housing at the header, side guides | Rail across the header | Frame or hook strip around the opening |
| Car access | Retracts fully out of the way | Rolls up out of the way | Must be unhooked to drive through |
Most retractable systems are custom sized to the opening. A motorized version adds a small motor to the housing.
Cost
What drives the price of a garage screen
We have no published range to point you to for screens, so here is what makes one cost more than another.
What moves the price
- Screen type. A retractable cassette system costs more than a manual roll-up or a zippered panel.
- Opening size. A double-wide opening needs a wider screen, longer housing and stiffer side guides.
- Motorized or manual. A motor in the housing adds cost, plus power run to the header.
- Mesh choice. Standard insect mesh costs least, while privacy, solar or pet-resistant mesh adds to it.
- Mounting surface. Brick returns and uneven jambs take more fitting than a flat wood frame.
On install day
What a screen install covers
- Measuring the opening and the door travel path
- Checking clearance for the door, rollers and opener
- Mounting the housing or rail at the header
- Setting the side guides plumb
- Keeping the photo-eye beam clear
- Running the main door up and down with the screen fitted
- Showing you how to open, close and clean the screen
Two ways to screen the opening
Retractable Screen Systems
A retractable system stores the mesh on a spring roller inside a slim housing mounted at the top of the opening. You pull it down by a handle bar, the edges run in side guides that keep it taut, and a light tug sends it back up. Done well, it disappears when not in use, so the car comes and goes as normal. The housing has to clear the door as it travels, so we measure the door, rollers and opener rail before choosing the mounting depth.
Roll-Up Screen Doors
A roll-up screen hangs from a rail across the header and is rolled up by hand, then held with straps or hooks. It costs less and has fewer parts, and suits a garage where the screen stays down for long stretches, such as a workshop on summer weekends. The trade-off is effort: rolling it up each time you want to drive out gets old on a garage used daily. A weighted bottom bar keeps it from flapping in a breeze and seals against the slab.
Fitting a screen
How a garage screen goes in beside your door
Measure the opening
We measure width, height and how far the door, rollers and opener sit from the jambs and header.
Pick type and mesh
You choose retractable or roll-up, manual or motorized, and the mesh that suits the garage.
Mount and align
The housing or rail goes up at the header and the side guides are set straight.
Test with the door
We run the main door through its full travel and check the sensors before handing over.
Growing suburbs
Screened garages in fast-growing Northport
Northport grew by a third between 2010 and 2020, from 23,330 people to 31,125, and much of that growth came as new subdivisions with two-car attached garages. Those garages are often the most-used room in the house, home to the second fridge, the weight bench and the tailgate chairs. A screen across the opening lets a Northport household keep the door up on a warm evening without letting the yard in. On newer homes we usually find flat, square jambs, which makes for a clean install.
Common questions
Garage screen questions
It should not. The housing or rail mounts outside the door's travel path, and we run the door through a full cycle with the screen fitted.
Not while it is down. Retract it first, then drive out. If the main door ever fails to rise fully, see our garage door repair page.
It must not, and we place the guides so the photo-eye beam stays clear. A screen left down at night should never stop the door closing.
Standard insect mesh stops mosquitoes, wasps and flies. Finer no-see-um mesh stops gnats but cuts airflow a little.
Some retractable systems offer a small motor in the housing with a remote. It needs a power outlet near the header.
Lower it fully, rinse with a garden hose and wipe with mild soapy water. Let it dry before retracting so the mesh does not stay damp inside the housing.
Standard mesh can tear under claws. Pet-resistant mesh is heavier and holds up better if a dog likes to lean on it.
Yes. Single openings are simpler, and the screen is lighter and easier to roll by hand.
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