Lone Star Solar Screens

This is the third time (once in Dallas and twice in Houston) that I have purchased the black 90 Textilene solar screens for windows that face south. In all cases, Lone Star did a excellent job of staying in contact and promptly installing the screens. I would very much recommend Lone Star and the Textilene solar screens.

Fred came out a couple of times once to quote the job and the second to measure the windows.
Date to measure 9/28/13  The install date was 10/16/13. Being in construction I know it would take at least a week to  fab the screens. They did wash 3 of our tallest widows then installed the screens . In all the installation took about 3 1/2 hours they cleaned up and were gone. They did a great job for us. We will put the 90% to the test this summer. The main thing I wanted was to protect the wood floor from fadding with the three 26'x5' windows facing the east sun light.

It took a week for someone to come out and look at the window that needed a solar screen.  You could tell they were disappointed that I didn't need my whole house done,  It took almost 2 weeks to get the screens.  I don't know if that is the norm or not.

Very professional, polite and punctaul both in person and over the phone.  Great quality screens! We had 17 screens installed, 16 windows and one door, all fit perfectly.  I was pleasnetly surprised that they neatly stacked our old screens in two piles (one in front, the other in back).  No damage was done, and they were incredibly neat.  Will definately reccomend, to all.

Called the company and asked if they served the New Caney area and she said no maam.

excellent,

They are really expensive. They are a high end company. He was nice and cordial. He was up front about the cost and they could do custom installation. They have their own engineer.

This was a very good experience despite some of the older reviews out there.  The Houston team was very cordial and professional.  We set an appointment easily and Fred showed up on time.  He measured that day and the screens were installed within 10 days as promised.  We paid promptly and received the warranty shortly thereafter.
I need to call them back out for a slight bowing at the top of the larger screens, but it's nothing that affects performance or appearance.  most people probably wouldn't notice, but i'm just anal about some things.  we'll see how that goes.

I previously posted a review that I was not pleased with the lack of response to a system message that I sent thru the Angie's List link.  I received an apology letter in which the owner recognized that there was an issue with monitoring messages for the Houston location.  As a good will gesture, they offered a 25% discount.
Alfonso came to my house, measured my windows and gave me the quote.  He indicated it would take a few days to have the screens made and he would be back the following Saturday to install the screens. 
He did return the following Saturday, 7-27-13, and installed the screens in about 30 minutes.  They look good, do not make the room dark and should block 90% of the UV rays. 
I am glad that I gave this company another chance.  Likely I will have additional screens made in the future and would recommend them to anyone considering solar screens. 

Lone Star Shades did a great job!      The price was very reasonable.  We paid approximately 850.00 dollars for the windows for our entire home.  We did not pay until the job was done.  They forgot one window, and would not let us pay for the rest until the job was complete.  The employees were fast, efficient and very respectful.  The one thing that I would mention- this is a permanent installation.  We did not wash the outside windows before the shades were on, and now I wish we had.  The relief from the heat was immediate, and the AC actually cuts off during the day now, even in the heat of summer.  We have already recovered part of the cost of the shades from the savings on our electric bill and given our older AC unit a chance to go for an extra year or two, we hope.
       Lone Star was willing to put shades on as few or as many windows as we liked, and there was absolutely no pressure at all to buy any more than we wanted.  The representative said "It's up to you- you can always see how you like it and do more later."  We were only going to do the windows on the side that faces the afternoon sun, but the price they quoted for those windows was so reasonable, we decided to have the whole house done at once to give a uniform look and better energy savings.
       Lone Star offers a 80% and a 90% coverage for the solar shades, and we went with the 90% to reduce the heat as much as possible.  However, I was so excited that I did not read all the information well, and some of my plants are not happy with the sunlight reduction.  If you have a lot of plants, you may want to consider less coverage.  I am moving some plants to the porch and replacing them with low-light plants inside.  I still may have chosen the 90%, but I do wish I had paid a bit more attention at the time.
I would and will absolutely use Lone Star Shades again on our next home!

Had a great experience and we recommend them to several people in my neighborhood.  He was very professional and very nice.

Was not punctual at all in calling me back. After saying that they could help me with installing thermal solar panels, they later called and said they do not do that service any more. It took a long time and multiple calls from me to get to this conclusion.

.I contacted the company and the receptionist was friendly and very happy to hear from an Angie's List customer. She scheduled an appointment based on my convenience.   Oscar came to our house to give us an estimate. He was punctual and explained our options. We met with Oscar on a Thursday and he installed the screens the next Monday.  There were no hidden charges so the total charge was exactly the amount of the estimate. We are very pleased and would recommend  Lone Star to friends and family.

It went well. There was about a 2 wk time period between the order and putting them in. They will call the day before installation. I love the privacy the screens give the house and look forward to lower a/c bills.

This company was absolutely WONDERFUL!!!  I could not believe the price and the screens come with a life time warranty.  I was told that if a screen is damaged in any way they would replace it.  Additionally, unlike many company's, they did not want any money until the job was completed.  They went as far as to tell me that if I could not be home for some reason during the installation they would just place the bill in my mail box and I could mail in the payment at a later date.  I could not believe it when he told me this.  I was however home and the installation was very quick.  The windows look GREAT with the new screens.  I am very pleased and have referred several friends.

Jesus came back out to re-screw the bottoms of the screens for better attachment. They are better than what they were before. I had solar screens installed on our windows when we lived in Arizona and I will say those companies in AZ know how to put on solar screens a lot better. The screens will suffice for now.

Be sure before they leave the job you check the screen installs from the inside. Noticed the day after the install that the majority of the screws they put through the bottom frame of the screen was not attached to anything. The screw just went through the screen frame and is sticking out. I did call them and they are going to schedule a work order for them to come back out next week. We'll see how it turns out then.

Luis Valencia was my initial sales person. He took the measurements for all of my windows and he was very professional about explaining the process and in getting my quote. The installers did a good job, from what I can tell as a woman, washing the windows and tracks and installing the screens. Some of the windows are upstairs so I cannot see close up from the ground. But, from what I can see it looks like they did a good job and they were very professional. The only issue I have with the company is with the office staff. I was told by Luis 5 to 7 days before installation and when I called the office staff on Friday I was told the install would occur no later than the following Wednesday, which would be about right as to the time frame Luis gave me. When I called back on Tuesday I was told they could not do the install until this Friday. I was also told that because of my location that I had to be scheduled further out. The office staff told me they don't usually do jobs out this far. I was not happy with that either as I was never told that I lived too far out and if that was the case I could have used a different vendor. I was called right back on Tuesday because they knew I was upset and advised me my screens would be installed on Wednesday as I was originally told. I was not happy with the scheduling snafu, but so far that would be the only issue I had with the company. Other than the scheduling issue I would use this company again. Also, they don't give senior citizen discounts :(

The technician arrived exactly when scheduled, measured the windows, and gave us a price.  We authorized the work on the spot.  A crew came out and installed the screens a week later.  The price we were given was called an "estimate" but that's exactly the amount they billed us for.  The people we dealt with were polite and efficient, and the installation crew cleaned up the yard after they were thru.

They came out do the estimate and that was fine. When I called to set an appointment to have new screens installed is where it went down hill. I excluded three window from original estimate because of future renovations will remove these windows. The guy seemed a little upset so the deduction was very minimal ... way below what the average cost per window was. But I agreed to the price. They already have all the window measurements so I asked when can we get it done. The best answer he had was "oh sometime next week" I then asked can you be a little more specific on the day and his response was I can call you the day before. Really? I felt that I was put on the back burner like I was wasting his time.

I started the process back in September of 2012.  A Lone Star rep came to my house and gave me an estimate and recommendation for the solar screens.  He followed up with me on several occasions, but I was not quite ready to move on the purchase.  Then the various holidays hit and now I was into January 2013.  A Lone Star rep called me several times telling me winter pricing had gone into effect and the price had dropped.  In February 2013, I received another call telling me the price had dropped another 5% and decided to act. 
The window washing was priced separately at $130 of the total amount I paid Lone Star.  They did an excellent / professional job of window washing.
The installation crew of 2 people showed up on time and completed the job in an appropriate amount of time and did an excellent job. The only item that I questioned was that they did not carry off the old solar screens.  Not a big deal.

Overall the result was satisfactory. They look good and serve the purpose we bought them for.
I wish I could say that it went flawlessly, but while the original visit with Jason went well and we elected to go with Lone Star because they gave better value for our limited dollars, we did  have some issues that could have been avoided.
Issues:
1) The measuring crew spoke just a few words of broken English. (This comes into play later)
2) The measuring crew mis-measured the eyebrow window for the Master Bedroom it was inches smaller than needed.
3) Once installed, the screen for the eyebrow window for the Master Bedroom, was installed over a temporary board I had blocking it, even after the crew was told it was temporary and needed to be removed before the screen was installed. I am sure the issue was the language barrier.
4) The original screens over my double hung windows were removed and tossed aside, resulting in some damage to them.
Jason did come out personally and fix the eyebrow window. I have nothing but praise for him. But the work crew Lone Star used did not have the same level of customer care and concern for the property during the work performed.
I give Jason an "A+"
I give the work crew a "C"

These guys make it SO easy!!   This was the third estimate we got from Angie's List referred companies.  They were by far the least expensive.  I won't say cheapest because their work is in no way cheap.  I think they can do that because all they do are solar screens and they know what they're doing.  Andre came out, gave me an estimate without specifically measuring each window. (all the other estimates took forever because they measured every window).  Really, that's what an estimate is, right?  He gave me the prices with and without a grid.  By the way, we went without a grid, and in the end the estimate price is exactly what I paid.
We called and gave them a green light and a few days later my husband noticed them leaving our house (he assumed they were there taking measurements, as we weren't home).  About a week later, 3 guys showed up, did all the screens in about 30 minutes, and left a receipt on the door.
My husband forgot to tell them I also wanted the little window on the back door done, so I called them and asked if we could also have that window screened.  They said sure, and told me it would be an extra 16.50 for that window.  About a week later, they had come out and measured and put up that screen.  We left the check in a location they would find while doing that last window, and we were done.
Overall, this was the best experience I've had with having work done to the house.  It was so easy.  I will DEFINITELY recommend this company to everyone I know wanting to get solar screens.

A rep came out to give me an estimate within a day or 2 of my initial inquiry.  He made really good recommendations regarding screen and frame color selections. Screens were  installed approx. 1 week later. OMG! My Lone Star screens are really beautiful and my indoor climate is much cooler. An added bonus is the curb appeal they add to my property. I should have called Lone Star a long time ago!

It went well , the way Jason describe the service would be is the way it happened, no surprise.

I found them to be excellent.  I had no issues or problems.  They were very knowledgeable, and they did everything right.  I didn't really look at other solar screens, but I thought it was a fair price for a good amount of work.  I have huge windows all over the house.  They came out and measured everything, and then they made the screens to order.  Several of them were not correct.  They were going to try to make it work.  They left and several days later, they came back with all the proper sizes, and they were done.

You won't be disappointed if you choose Lone Star!   

DO - Check the per window price (total cost by number of windows).  It's a few dollars difference between companies BUT it's the way the companies count the number of windows on the house.  For example, I have two large windows on the front of my house divided into three panes.  Other companies counted those windows as three windows each, 6 windows total.  Lone Star counted as one window, hence a much lower total cost.  

DON'T  - wait until the hottest part of summer to get screens like I did.