Hear from Our Customers
Your patio stops being a seasonal space. Those brutal August afternoons where the sun turns everything into a skillet? You’re sitting outside with a cold drink instead of hiding indoors with the blinds drawn.
Your energy bills drop because you’re not fighting the sun all day. Exterior roller shades block heat before it even hits your windows or glass doors, which means your AC isn’t working overtime. Most homeowners see cooling costs drop by 20-30% in the rooms with exterior shading.
Your furniture lasts. No more watching your outdoor cushions fade to nothing after one Texas summer. The UV protection keeps everything looking newer, longer. And if you go motorized, your shades adjust themselves based on sun position and temperature—so you’re always comfortable without lifting a finger.
A Plus Shutters & Shades grew out of A Plus Home Remodel, a construction company that’s been transforming homes across Texas for over 10 years. We’re not new to this—we’ve seen what works and what doesn’t when it comes to Texas heat and outdoor living.
We’re based in Arlington and serve the entire DFW area, but we’re expanding to Lakeway because we know the Hill Country market. Lakeside homes, outdoor entertaining, premium expectations. You’re not looking for the cheapest option—you’re looking for something that works and lasts.
Every installation is custom. We measure, we build to fit your exact openings, and we install it right the first time. You get Texas-made products, a team that understands local weather challenges, and a warranty that backs up the work.
First, we come out to your place in Lakeway and take measurements. We’re looking at your space—patio, pergola, windows, whatever you’re trying to shade—and figuring out what’s going to work best. We’ll talk through fabric options, motorization, and whether you want blackout roller shades or something that still lets light through.
Once you approve the plan, we order your custom exterior shades. These aren’t off-the-shelf—they’re built specifically for your measurements. If you’ve got a 20-foot span or an unusual angle, we handle it.
Installation day is straightforward. Our team shows up, mounts everything securely, tests the operation (especially if it’s motorized), and walks you through how to use it. If you went with smart home integration, we’ll sync it with your system before we leave. The whole process from first call to finished install usually takes 2-3 weeks, depending on customization.
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You’re getting custom-measured outdoor roller shades built to handle Texas weather. That means UV-resistant fabrics that won’t break down in the sun, waterproof materials for sudden storms, and hardware that’s rated for wind and humidity. If you’re near Lake Travis, you know how fast weather can shift—these are built for it.
Motorization is available on everything. You can control your outdoor shade blinds from your phone, set them on a schedule, or integrate them with Alexa or Google Home. Some customers in Lakeway set their shades to automatically lower when the temperature hits 85 or when the sun’s at a certain angle. It’s not just convenient—it’s smarter energy management.
Fabric options range from light-filtering to full blackout. If you want to see out but block heat, we’ve got solar screen options. If you’re trying to create a dark, cool space for afternoon naps or movie watching on your covered patio, blackout roller shades are the move. And because we’re local, we understand what works best for Hill Country sun exposure and lake-effect humidity.
Exterior shading blocks heat before it enters your home, which is way more effective than interior blinds. When you stop the sun at the glass, you’re preventing heat gain instead of trying to manage it after it’s already inside.
Most Lakeway homeowners see a 20-30% reduction in cooling costs for the rooms with exterior roller shades. That’s real money during June through September when temps are consistently over 95. The savings are even better if you’re shading west-facing windows or large glass doors that get afternoon sun.
If you add motorized shades that adjust automatically based on temperature and sun position, the efficiency goes up even more. Your shades lower before the heat becomes a problem, and your AC doesn’t have to fight as hard. Over a few Texas summers, the energy savings often cover a significant chunk of the installation cost.
Yes, but it depends on the product and how it’s installed. We use commercial-grade hardware and wind-rated fabrics for outdoor installations in Lakeway. These aren’t the flimsy shades you’d find at a big-box store—they’re engineered for permanent outdoor use.
For covered patios and pergolas, exterior shades hold up fine in typical Texas storms. If you’re in an exposed area with frequent high winds, we’ll recommend retractable options or motorized shades that you can raise before severe weather hits. Most of our motorized systems can be controlled remotely, so even if you’re not home, you can retract them from your phone.
The key is proper mounting. We anchor into solid structure—not just surface-mounting into thin material. That’s where our construction background matters. We’ve been building and remodeling for over a decade, so we know how to install something that’s going to stay put when a Gulf storm rolls through.
Exterior roller shades block heat before it hits your windows. Interior shades try to manage heat after it’s already inside. That’s the fundamental difference, and it’s why exterior shading is so much more effective in Texas.
When sun hits a window with interior blinds, the heat passes through the glass and gets trapped between the window and the shade. Your room still heats up. With outdoor roller shades, the sun never reaches the glass. The heat stays outside, and your interior stays cooler with less AC effort.
For Lakeway homes with lots of glass—especially lake-facing walls or floor-to-ceiling windows—exterior shading is the only thing that really works. You can keep your views, keep your natural light, and still block the heat. Interior blackout blinds for windows would force you to choose between comfort and darkness, which defeats the purpose of having all that glass in the first place.
Motorized exterior roller shades connect to your home’s WiFi and integrate with most major smart home platforms—Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit, and dedicated automation systems like Control4 or Crestron. Once they’re set up, you control them from your phone or voice commands.
The real advantage is automation. You can program your outdoor patio shades to lower automatically when the sun hits a certain angle, when the temperature reaches a specific point, or on a daily schedule. Some Lakeway homeowners set their shades to lower at 2 PM on west-facing patios and raise at sunset. You never think about it—it just happens.
If you’re adding shades to multiple areas, you can group them together. One command drops all your patio shades, or you can control them individually. The systems we install also have manual override options and battery backup, so you’re not stuck if the power goes out. And if you’re not into smart home tech, motorized shades still work perfectly fine with a simple remote control.
It depends on the fabric you choose. Solar screen fabrics are designed to block heat and UV while maintaining visibility. You can see out clearly, but the view from outside looking in is obscured—especially during the day when it’s brighter outside than inside.
Openness percentages matter here. A 5% openness fabric blocks more sun but reduces visibility slightly. A 10% openness gives you a clearer view but lets in a bit more light. For most Lakeway patios and lake-facing windows, we recommend somewhere in the 5-10% range. You get heat protection and privacy without feeling like you’re sitting behind a dark screen.
If you want full privacy or complete darkness—say, for a bedroom or a covered outdoor sleeping porch—blackout roller shades are the way to go. You won’t see out, but you also won’t get any light or heat coming through. A lot of customers mix both types: solar screens on main living areas and blackout options on bedrooms or specific zones where they want total light control.
From the initial consultation to finished installation, you’re usually looking at 2-3 weeks. That includes measurement, ordering, fabrication, and install. If you’re doing something really custom—like motorized shades across a 25-foot opening or integrating with an existing smart home system—it might take closer to 4 weeks.
The actual installation day is quick. For a typical patio or set of windows, we’re usually done in a few hours. Motorized systems take a bit longer because we’re running power, syncing controls, and testing automation. But you’re not dealing with a multi-day disruption.
We’re based in the DFW area and expanding service to Lakeway and the Austin area, so scheduling is straightforward. Once we measure your space and you approve the plan, we get your outdoor shade blinds into production. Everything’s built to your exact specs—no adjustments or returns because something doesn’t fit. It’s measured right, built right, and installed right the first time.
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