Tech Tips for DIY's: Mounting Screws

Tech Tip for the Do it Yourselfers
What kind of screws we as professionals here in Austin TX use (when needed) to screw on our Solar Window Screens.

Question :  Mounting Screws.  What kind of screw to use when screwing on a solar screen to a window's metal frame, a wood frame window or wood trim around a window. 


Answer :  There are two screws we use, we use a self-threading Tek Screw and a Wood Screw with 1/4" nut heads.  We use 3/4" and 1" lengths.  The 1/4" nut heads are just a personal preference, as our drills are stocked with 1/4" nut drivers.  Tek screws are only used for screwing into metal.  When screwing into plastic or wood, you would always use a wood screw.  A Tek screw has a sharp bit on it to bore out a hole (basically pre-drill a hole) into metal, which is imperative unless you want to try to pre-drill with drill bits all your holes.  Anyhow, with a Tek screw you would hold the screen in place and simply screw the tek screw through the screen's frame right into the window's metal frame.  If you are screwing into plastic or wood, you would ALWAYS want to use wood screws.  You would never use a Tek screw when screwing into plastic or wood because you don't want to pre-drill (bore out) a hole.  A wood screw will by force and pressure make it's own hole as it's being drilled in.  This is what you want when you mount to plastic or wood.  You want the screw to fit into the plastic or wood  as tight as possible, which means no pre-drilling.  I emphasize this becasue I have seeen SOOOO many times where novice installers have screwed screens to the wood trim around a window using Tek screws only for where those screws were screwed into to become a weak spot over the years and the screw no longer held into the wood, thus the screw and the screen will easily come out. 

For the Self Installers out there ...
"Never use Self-Threading Tek screws when screwing into wood.  I see all over town installs where people have screwed into wood using Tek screws and now the screws have come loose due to rot. Only use wood screws when screwing into wood." 

At JoshHobbs.com we install Solar Screens in the Austin TX area.  At JoshHobbs.com we do not ship or sell our solar screens for self-installers and we only install the screens that we build.  To learn more about our solar screen services and to get installed pricing, please visit our website at  
JoshHobbs.com Solar Screen Services 

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Multiple colors of Solar Window Screens on a home?

Question :  Can I mix and match a solar screen order from you using different colors?  For Example, Can I order Stucco solar screens for the front of my home and the Chocolate solar screens for the rest of the windows of my home? Will this impact my price, will this still be one order thus will I still receive your quantity discount?  How will it look to mix and match different colors of solar screens on my house?  How about mixing frame colors?  Some of my windows would look better using the brown frame while some would look best using the white frame. Can I order solar screens from you for my home's windows with a mix and match of frame colors?


Answer :  Your pricing will not be impacted if you mix fabric and/or frame colors on the same order.  if you have 500" of Stucco and 500" of Chocolate, it's a total of 1000".  Our Quantity Discounted Installed Solar Screen Pricing is based on location.   As long as it's all for the same house / commercial building (the same location), then it's considered one order.

Austin TX Installed Solar Screen Pricing

Having different colors of solar screen fabrics on one house in our opinion does not look good.  We suggest that you use one color of the solar screen fabric for your entire house.  Now, we have installed the solar screens on a person's house whereby they have had a separate utility shed or swimming pool cabana. whereby then you could absolutely get away with using two different colors of fabric.  We just did an install last week as matter of fact that had a swimming pool cabana next to it that we put a different color of fabric on than what they had on the house. 

Different colors of the framing - no problem.  No problem mixing frame colors.  You can absolutely use different frame colors on the different windows of the house / commercial building.  For example around the glass of a swing out patio door.  If you are using the chocolate fabric color, you may want to use the brown frame (depending on the look you are going for).  For instance I am now building screens for a customer that has white framed windows whereby I am using white framing for the solar screens, but she has two side light windows that are wooden framed, and the wood is painted a champagne color.  So, we will frame the two screens for those Windows using our champagne framing.  If we did white framing, the white would stand out against the champagne painted wood.



Learn more about our Austin TX Solar Screen Services at  JoshHobbs.com Solar Screen Services 

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Austin Solar Screen Services   

Austin Texas Solar Window Screens

What does the grey solar screen look like?

Question :  What does the grey solar screen look like?  What kind of exterior would the grey solar screen look good with?



Answer :  The grey solar screen is not a dull version of the black (charcoal), it's almost got a hint of light blue to it.  From our website, order a Free sample kit and you can see the grey material first hand.  It's not a color we use to often, but when it works, it works :)  Here's a picture of a home that we solar screened here in Central Austin whereby we used the Grey Solar Screen Fabric w/ White Frame.

To learn more about JoshHobbs.com Solar Screen Services please visit our main page at JoshHobbs.com Solar Screen Services 

And also be sure to visit our subpages which are chaulked full of valuable information to learn from -

Pictures (Pg1), Solar Screen Services, Austin -TX
Customer Feedback (Pg1), Solar Screen Services, Austin -TX
Questions & Answers, Solar Screen Services, Austin -TX
Videos of How We Install, Solar Screen Services, Austin -TX
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Solar Shade Screens for ALL my Windows "Now or Later" ?

Question :  Should I just put solar shade screens on the windows that I know are getting the most sun?  Should I try solar shade screens on a few windows now, and then solar screen the rest of my windows later?  Is it better to solar shade screen all the windows that I think I may need solar screens for now? I don't know how effective / how well the solar screens will work, I am thinking that I should try a few now and if I like them, do the rest of the windows later, -is this a good idea?


Answer :  We all the time I get asked should we do all our windows, or just shade part of the house.

Yesterday we visited two homes that we solar screened last summer. Last summer both of these homes were partially solar screened because each of the customers only chose to do some of their windows instead of all of them. Well, now we are going to build solar screens for each of the rest of each of these home's windows. The homes are owned by two completely different people, no relation. I was astounded. Two homes in one day. I had no idea until I pulled up to each of these homes that they were previous installations (customer’s home's that we had already worked on). This happens often! Far too often people call us back to finish the rest of their house. We try to tell people that it SOOO much better to do all the windows you think you will ever have a need for solar screens for now. - Now, because if you solar screen all your windows now, you will get to take advantage of our quantity discounts.


The other thing is that people will say that they want to try the solar screens on a few windows to see if they work. They work, yes, they definitely work, so get them now and just be done with it :)  It’s this that happens so often, that people say they want to try a side to see if they work, then we hear back from them saying they worked so well, we now want to get the rest of the windows done.


Also, consistency and aesthetics play a huge factor.  You want your property to look good right ?   And then there's the privacy factor.  The privacy factor is HUGE, and it's something you know nothing about until you experience it with the solar screens.  People call us back often saying the same thing, "we don't need solar screens on these windows for shade, but we LOVE the daytime privacy we get out of them".  The thing is this, the solar screens through us just don't cost all that much, our pricing is so low, why not just do all the windows, save by taking advantage of the quantity discounts and be done with it :)

Learn more about our Austin TX Solar Screen Services at  JoshHobbs.com Solar Screen Services 

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Austin Solar Screen Services   

Austin Texas Solar Window Screens