My name is Josh Hobbs, and as of 2025, I have been a veteran of the solar screen industry in Austin for 19 years. I was the first to introduce PVC-coated fabrics to Austin. Before my arrival, everyone was using 3/4" framed screens along with Phifer’s 90% Super Solar, 70% Sun Screen, and 65% Vimco options.
In 2006, I collaborated with ASM, the Cibolo screen assembler, and Phifer, the fabric manufacturer, to bring in Phifer’s line of Suntex 80% and 90% fabrics. The PVC-coated Suntex fabric is the strongest material available for building solar screens. However, it posed challenges for solar screen assemblers because it is very thick and difficult to work with. Rolling it into the frame can be exhausting due to its thickness.
At that time, most installers were using 3/4" x 5/16" framing, which is designed for insect bug screens, not solar screens. The thinner aluminum framing is cheaper, which is why many installers opted for it. Unfortunately, this results in poorly assembled screens that will inevitably bow and appear unappealing. In fact, I don't even use that type of frame for bug screens anymore.
Back in 2006, I standardized on a heavy-duty 1" x 5/16" framing specifically for solar screens. It's crucial to inquire about the frame size used by Austin Texas solar window screen installers, as it is irresponsible to use 3/4" bug screen framing for large solar screens. I implemented these improvements in 2006 while still managing to be the lowest-priced Austin solar screen installer. I achieved this competitive solar screen pricing due to my low purchasing costs from high-volume assembly orders and because my wife and I personally handled all installations.
Examples of some of my 2022 lowest-priced Austin solar screen installations
All of these solar screen installations were completed in 2022. Every Austin, TX, home shown here received my black fabric screens, and all the windows featured are made with 90% sun fabric. I have six solar screen color options to choose from. Click here to see how dark the solar screens with 90% fabric will make the inside of your house. Here is a great video of mine that I made to explain to home-owners the difference between my 80% and 90% shade fabrics. I use a Textilene 80% and 90% sun control fabric for solar window screens. That's a fabric that is made to be in the sun all of the time. For my patio roller shades, I use a thinner fabric that provides 97% sun shade.
Examples of some of my 2008 lowest-priced Austin solar screen installations
These are some old lowest-priced Austin solar screen installations that I did back in 2008. It's obvious because of how grainy the pictures are. Average cameras back then didn't take all that high-resolution pictures.
The middle picture is a North Austin commercial solar window screen project I did. The business manager who led this project approached me to express how pleased his team was with the shade provided by the solar screens. I even created a video about our conversation, which you can watch here. Notice how grainy the video is; it was uploaded 16 years ago. These are very large, 44" wide by 108" tall, 90% solar screens. This building was equipped with interior office window shades, but these shades did not prevent the sun from hitting the glass. When the sun struck the glass, it caused the glass to become very hot, which in turn transferred heat into the building. The solar screens installed on the outside of the glass effectively stopped the sun from heating the glass.
2018 solar screen installation for an apartment community in Austin
Not only do I have the lowest-priced Austin solar screens for single-family homes, but I also provide them for Austin Apartment communities. I provide multi-family apartment solar screen installations for all of the Central Texas area.
コメント