From box to yard in about half a day.
What ships in your SunProwl kit, the two tools you need, the three site-prep options, and a step-by-step walk through frame assembly, anchoring, screens, and the finishing checks — written so an average mechanically able homeowner can follow it without a contractor on site.
Everything ships in the kit. Nothing sourced at the hardware store.
Open the box and check against this list before you sort anything else. If something is missing, the answer is to call us — not a Saturday-morning hardware run.
Founder-spec
Every SunProwl kit ships with the full hardware pack: 10 mm nuts and bolts, the matched drill bit, and the matched driver bit. If we spec’d it, it’s in the box.
Pre-cut, pre-drilled powder-coated aluminum — labeled and bagged by wall panel so you build one panel at a time.
- Vertical frame posts (corner + mid-span, labeled by position)
- Horizontal top and bottom rails (cut to length, matched to your footprint)
- Diagonal bracing for any run over four feet
- Door frame assembly with pre-mortised hinges
- Base plates — stainless or hot-dip-galvanized, one per post
Heavy-gauge predator-rated mesh, pre-cut and pre-tensioned to your panel sizes.
- Roof and wall mesh panels (rolled, never folded — folds are where mesh fails first)
- Spline bead matched to the panel channel
- Door mesh panel with reinforced corner grommets
- A small repair patch — keep it in the box for the day a branch grazes the run
Every fastener, bit, and bit-driver is in the box. If we spec'd it, it's in the box — you shouldn't need a separate trip to the hardware store for a standard kit.
- 10 mm nuts and bolts — stainless or hot-dip-galvanized, grade-matched to a Miami-Dade 150 mph wind load
- Matched drill bit for every through-bolt in the kit
- Matched driver bit for every nut and bolt in the kit
- Base-plate anchors, sized for your chosen site-prep option
- Quick-release panel clips — same hardware the storm-prep checklist uses
- Door latch assembly (carabiner-style, two-step)
Two tools. Most homeowners already own both.
We deliberately keep the tool list short. Specialty tools would push this out of DIY territory — that is the opposite of what we are building here.
Why so few tools
An average mechanically able person with a drill and a ratchet set can build a standard SunProwl kit in about half a day — no contractor needed.
Drill
Corded or 18 V+ cordless. You will use it for the base-plate pilot holes and to drive the through-bolts.
Ratchet set
A standard ¼" or ⅜" drive ratchet with a metric socket set covers every 10 mm nut and bolt in the kit.
Three ways to anchor the same kit to your yard.
Pick the option that matches the surface under your catio. The hardware and the build are otherwise identical — only the anchor changes.
Same hardware, same rating, every site
All SunProwl hardware is specified for a Miami-Dade 150 mph wind load. The hardware is the same whether you mount to a concrete pad, ground anchors, or a wall — only the anchor changes per site.
A poured slab, an existing patio, or a footer you can drill into and bond to.
When to pick it
Pick this when you have a sound concrete surface and want the strongest possible connection — a through-bolt to a slab is the spec the Miami-Dade wind tables are written around.
Yard, garden bed, or any open ground where a small concrete pier can be poured per post.
When to pick it
Pick this when the catio is freestanding in the yard or there is no existing slab in the right spot. We spec a pier per post — same anchor, poured in place.
A lanai wall, the side of the house, or a window-opening conversion (with the appropriate permit).
When to pick it
Pick this when the catio is a lean-to or run that ties back to the house. The wall becomes one structural wall of the catio, and the opposite side carries the through-bolted anchor.
Build it flat, square it standing, then anchor.
The frame assembly follows the same order on every standard kit. The sequence is the only thing standing between a half-day build and a weekend project.
- Step 1
Lay out and sort
Spread the frame parts on a hard surface (the patio is fine). Match every bag label to the layout diagram in the box. Sorting before you bolt anything keeps a one-hour build from turning into a half-day.
Photo slot — Frame parts sorted by wall panel on the patioReal install photo drops in here. - Step 2
Assemble the wall panels flat
Build each wall panel flat on the ground, not standing up. Slot the verticals into the horizontals, drop the diagonal bracing into place, and snug — do not tighten — every 10 mm nut and bolt.
Photo slot — A single wall panel assembled flat on the patioReal install photo drops in here. - Step 3
Stand the wall panels and square the base
Stand the wall panels into position with a helper holding each one. Square the base by measuring corner-to-corner — both diagonals should match within 5 mm before you tighten anything.
Photo slot — Two wall panels standing, diagonals being measuredReal install photo drops in here. - Step 4
Bolt the corners and add the roof rails
Once the base is square, tighten down every corner bolt and add the roof rails. The roof rails tie the structure together — do not skip this step to save ten minutes.
Photo slot — Roof rails connecting two wall panels at the topReal install photo drops in here. - Step 5
Hang the door and check the swing
Hang the door frame on the pre-mortised hinges, fit the latch assembly, and confirm a full swing without binding. A door that drags by 5 mm at install will drag by 5 mm at year five.
Photo slot — Door frame hung with the latch assembly fittedReal install photo drops in here.
Match the procedure to your surface.
Open the procedure that matches the site-prep option you picked. Each one is the exact sequence we use on our own installs.
Anchor rule
Hardware specified to Miami-Dade 150 mph; through-bolted to the slab or footer — lag screws into deck boards do not qualify.
Through-bolt the base plate into the slab with a matched drill bit and the 10 mm hardware in your kit. Each post carries one base plate and one through-bolt into clean, sound concrete.
- 1Mark each base-plate position. Pilot drill with the matched bit (the depth is marked on the layout diagram).
- 2Set the base plate over the pilot hole, drop the through-bolt, and snug the nut on the underside if there is access — otherwise use the bonded wedge anchor in the kit.
- 3Torque each nut to the spec on the layout sheet. Do not over-torque — the powder-coat is your corrosion barrier and you do not want to crack it.
- 4Re-square the frame against the anchored bases before the next step. Anchors first, tension second.
Spline the mesh. Clip the panels. Move on.
The screen install is the shortest section on this page. Test-fit first, spline second — and never pull mesh drum-tight.
- 1
Pre-fit each panel to its frame
Lay each mesh panel into its channel before you spline anything in. Confirm the mesh clears all corners and tension is roughly even — re-cut is cheaper than re-spline.
- 2
Spline the mesh starting at a corner
Press the spline bead into the channel with a spline roller, starting at a single corner and working around the panel. Tension should be firm but not pulled drum-tight — the goal is wrinkle-free, not guitar-string tight.
- 3
Trim and clip the panels
Trim the excess mesh with a fresh utility-blade and fit the quick-release panel clips at the top and bottom of each panel. The clips are how you storm-prep the catio in 20 minutes — fit every one of them at install.
Six inspections before you call it done.
Every one of these checks catches a failure mode we have either shipped or seen in the field. Skipping one is how a five-year-old catio starts to rattle.
All 10 mm nuts and bolts torqued to spec
Walk the full frame with the ratchet. Anything you skipped at install is the first thing the wind works on later.
Mesh tension is even across every panel
Push on every panel from the outside. If it dimples or ripples, re-spline that panel before you call it done.
Door latch engages with the two-step motion
A raccoon manipulates a single-motion latch overnight. The carabiner-style latch in your kit is a deliberate two-step — confirm it every time you close the door going forward.
Base-plates are flush and the frame is plumb
A base plate that rocks is a base plate that will work loose. Shim or grout where the slab is uneven — never tighten through a gap.
No ferrous hardware anywhere in the run
A magnet walk is the easiest final check. Anything magnetic in the build is going to rust and bleed onto the mesh — replace it with a 316 stainless equivalent from your spare hardware.
Quick-release clips fitted and tested
Pull each clip off and back on once. If you can do it in 20 minutes the day before a storm, you will. If a clip binds at install, swap it now — not when the hurricane is two days out.
Spec'd to Miami-Dade 150 mph — assembled by you.
The Storm-rated hardware you see on the cart, the spec sheet, and the install photos is the same hardware that ships in this kit. There is no upsell for the parts that keep the enclosure where you put it — and there is no step on this page that needs a contractor for a standard kit.
See how the frame, mesh, and anchoring compare against HOA and permit language → /hoa-permits
Or read the engineering choices behind the wind rating → /hurricane-rating
Need a hand instead of a how-to?
If half a day on the patio is more than you want to take on, SunProwl's crew will build it for you — same hardware, same Miami-Dade rating, no DIY kit required. Tell us about your space.
Or email sunprowl@polsia.app — read more on the home page.