Zip screens that hold tight in the Big Bay wind

The zip difference matters more on this coast than most

An ordinary drop screen holds its fabric loose at the edges. In light wind that's a non-issue; in a Big Bay south-easter it flaps, works itself loose, and eventually escapes its guides. A zip screen welds the fabric edge into a zipper that runs captive inside an aluminium side channel — no flapping, no gap for wind to get behind, real resistance rather than a token barrier. It's the single biggest reason zip screens outperform standard drop screens on this stretch of coast specifically.

Fabric choice depends on what the patio is for. Sunscreen mesh keeps the view out to the water while cutting glare, UV and casual sightlines in — the standard choice for a braai deck or covered patio that's used most of the year. Clear PVC panels go further: a genuinely wind-and-rain-proof enclosure that still keeps the view, which is what most winter braai rooms end up specifying instead of mesh. Blockout options exist too, mostly for outdoor cinema setups or a west-facing patio that needs the late sun killed outright.

Motorisation is close to standard on any wide span, and on an exposed position we specify a wind sensor as a matter of course — not a nice-to-have. The sensor retracts the screen automatically before a gust gets serious, rather than relying on someone remembering to do it from inside. Channels are colour-matched to the structure, and spans on multi-screen patio enclosures commonly run into the 4m-plus class per screen, which is a bigger-ticket job than a single window blind but a straightforward one to specify once the measure's done.

What a zip screen costs

Zip screens are priced per square metre of screen, installed. Hand-operated, that is R2,800 to R4,500 the square metre; with a motor, R4,000 to R6,000. The side zips running in a track are what separates a screen that holds in a stiff breeze from a patio blind that flogs about, and that track and its fixings account for most of the difference between this and an ordinary blind.

On an exposed patio we would put the motor and a wind sensor ahead of extra size every time, because a screen that retracts itself before the wind gets up is the one still working next summer. Small openings carry a minimum charge. Every screen has a stated wind rating, and we will give you that figure at the measure rather than a comforting generalisation — along with the real per-opening price in writing.