North Valleys, Washoe County
Screens for Stead, Lemmon Valley, Golden Valley and Cold Springs
A-Affordable Screen serves the North Valleys, including Stead, Lemmon Valley, Golden Valley and Cold Springs, with solar screens, custom window screens, rescreening and sliding screen doors. Lemmon Valley is about 10.6 miles and 15 minutes from central Sparks, and Cold Springs a little farther, and the on-site measure and quote are free.
Updated · A-Affordable Screen, Sparks
By the numbers
Homes in North Valleys
76.3% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, at about 4,984 feet above sea level.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (tables B25001, B25003, B25024, B25034). Elevation: USGS 3DEP. Drive: OSRM route, measured 9/30/26.
Two ZIP codes, about 22,700 homes
The North Valleys are not one town, so we use the two ZIP code areas that cover them. Together, 89506 (Stead, Lemmon Valley and Golden Valley) and 89508 (Cold Springs) hold 22,724 housing units in the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 survey. About 76.3% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, 72.3% of units are single-family detached houses, and 50.6% were built in 2000 or later.
The two ZIPs differ. Cold Springs, 89508, is almost all owners, 94.1%, with 88.4% detached houses. The larger 89506 area has more variety: 70.7% owners and a broader mix of older homes, newer subdivisions and some apartments.
New subdivisions next to older lots
Half of the North Valleys housing is from 2000 or later, and those newer tracts bring the familiar needs: wide rear sliders, big family-room windows, and builder screens that are starting to age. Manufactured homes are part of the picture too, making up 9.0% of units in 89506 and 11.1% in 89508. Many sit on larger lots in Lemmon Valley, Golden Valley and Cold Springs.
That mix means a North Valleys visit can be anything from a set of solar screens for a new house to a custom-measured screen for an older window with an unusual size. We measure every opening, so it all gets made to fit.
Higher ground, the same summer
The North Valleys run from about 4,988 feet in Lemmon Valley to around 5,138 feet in Golden Valley and 5,074 in Cold Springs, a few hundred feet above the Reno-Tahoe airport station at 4,410. The EPA's UV Index guide says UV climbs about 2% per 1,000 feet, which puts these valleys roughly 1 to 1.5% above the airport: a modest bump, not a different climate.
The summer itself is the same Truckee Meadows summer, which NOAA's normals put at 65 days a year at 90 degrees or more and 6 at 100 or more. Solar screens on the west and south windows take the edge off that heat before it reaches the glass.
Open country and a steady afternoon wind
These valleys are broad, with long sightlines and fewer trees between houses than in the older parts of Reno. The EPA notes that structures and trees significantly reduce UV exposure, and the flip side is that open lots take more sun and more wind. The afternoon Washoe Zephyr blows mostly from the west; the airport's hourly normals show 12 to 13.4 miles an hour from 2 to 6 p.m. in June, July and August, and gusts of 40 miles an hour or more on about 45 days a year over 2016 to 2025.
On an exposed lot that wind finds every weakness: a window screen with worn tension springs, a solar screen held by too few clips, a sliding screen door that has started to drag. Catching those early keeps the mesh from tearing.
The communities inside the North Valleys
The Census Bureau reports three North Valleys communities as census places of their own, and they differ a good deal. Stead is not reported separately, so it shows up only inside the ZIP 89506 figures.
Lemmon Valley and Golden Valley lean older, with about half their homes built before 1980, while about two-thirds of Cold Springs dates from 2000 on. Golden Valley is the smallest, with 467 housing units, and 98.1% of its occupied homes are lived in by their owners. That is why a North Valleys visit is hard to predict from the address alone, and why we measure before we quote. In older homes, rescreening or a new frame is the usual starting point; in newer ones it is more often solar screens or a sturdier slider.
| Area | Housing units | Median year built | Mobile or manufactured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lemmon Valley | 1,875 | 1979 | 17.1% |
| Cold Springs | 3,700 | 2004 | 10.0% |
| Golden Valley | 467 | 1980 | 10.3% |
| ZIP 89506 (includes Stead) | 17,388 | 1999 | 9.0% |
| ZIP 89508 | 5,336 | 2001 | 11.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Census places and ZIP areas overlap, so the rows do not add up.
A heating climate with a hot summer
It is easy to think of solar screens as all-year equipment, but the local numbers point the other way. NOAA's normals for the Reno-Tahoe airport show 4,669 heating degree days a year against 1,038 cooling degree days, so this is a place that heats for much longer than it cools, and the higher valleys lean that way a little more. July averages a high of 93.9 degrees at the airport; December averages 46.7.
That shapes how we set up solar screens here. West windows take the long summer afternoons and often keep their screens up. South windows gain welcome sun in winter, so many owners choose screens that come off in fall. Our guide to solar screens in winter explains the trade-off, and the Reno sun and climate data page has the month-by-month figures.
New homes in Stead and Cold Springs
ZIP 89506 alone counts 1,435 homes built in 2020 or later, and ZIP 89508 adds 99 more. Once the move-in is done, owners of those houses often start thinking about the west side: solar screens on the family-room glass, a custom sliding screen door in heavier material, or patio shade screens for a covered patio that takes the late sun. We bring samples so you can compare fabrics against your own windows, or you can ask for a free quote online.
Services across the North Valleys
- Solar screens for exposed west and south windows.
- Custom window screens, including odd-size openings.
- Rescreening and frame replacement.
- New custom sliding screen doors, 80 or 96 inches.
- Patio and carport sun-shade screens.
Which screens fit homes in the North Valleys
| Home type | Common screen need | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| Single-family detached houses (72.3% of units) | Solar screens fastened firmly for exposed west walls | Solar screens |
| Built 2000 or later (50.6%) | Upgrading builder sliders and window screens | Custom sliding screen doors |
| Mobile or manufactured homes (9.0% in 89506, 11.1% in 89508) | Screens for nonstandard window sizes | Custom window screens |
| Lemmon Valley homes built before 1980 (52.6%) | Rescreening or new frames for older screens | Rescreening |
| Renter-occupied homes in 89506 (4,734 households) | Turnover repairs and missing screens | Landlords and property managers |
Housing shares: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024.
Services
Our services in North Valleys
Questions
North Valleys screen questions
Do you serve Stead and Cold Springs?
Yes. Stead, Lemmon Valley, Golden Valley and Cold Springs are all in our area. Lemmon Valley is about 10.6 miles and 15 minutes from central Sparks, and Cold Springs is a little farther.
My lot is very exposed. Will solar screens stay on in the wind?
Solar screens need to be fastened properly for exposed walls. We look at each window when we measure and install them to stay put.
Do you make screens for older or unusual windows?
Yes. Every screen is built to the size we measure on site, so it does not have to match a stock size.
Is there a discount for doing the whole house?
Yes, there is a multi-window discount, along with senior, military and referral discounts. Ask for it on your quote, and see the discounts page.
Can the Weatherization Assistance Program help with solar screens?
It may, if your household qualifies. Nevada's Weatherization Assistance Program, run by the Nevada Housing Division with U.S. Department of Energy funding, lists solar screens to block heat from windows among its common improvements for income-qualified households, and nonprofit agencies deliver the work free. For the North Valleys and the rest of Washoe County, that agency is the Community Services Agency (CSA), (775) 786-6023. We do not administer the program or decide who qualifies, so call CSA directly.
Can you make screens for a manufactured home in Lemmon Valley or Cold Springs?
Yes. We build every screen to the size we measure, so a nonstandard opening is not a problem by itself; see custom window screens. Manufactured homes are 17.1% of Lemmon Valley's housing and 10.0% of Cold Springs' in the Census count. Text a photo to (775) 240-0418 and we will talk it through.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (opens in a new tab) · NOAA NCEI, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, Reno-Tahoe International Airport (opens in a new tab) · U.S. EPA, A Guide to the UV Index (EPA 430-F-04-020) (opens in a new tab) · Nevada Housing Division, Weatherization Assistance Program (opens in a new tab)
Since 1997 · Sparks, Nevada
Screens in North Valleys
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Monday-Friday 8:00 am-4:00 pm
We come to you anywhere in the Reno-Sparks area to measure and quote, at no charge.