diff --git a/automated install/basic-install.sh b/automated install/basic-install.sh
index 74e049e2..8a333eb4 100755
--- a/automated install/basic-install.sh	
+++ b/automated install/basic-install.sh	
@@ -36,8 +36,8 @@ QUERY_LOGGING=true
 
 # Find the rows and columns will default to 80x24 is it can not be detected
 screen_size=$(stty size 2>/dev/null || echo 24 80)
-rows=$(echo $screen_size | awk '{print $1}')
-columns=$(echo $screen_size | awk '{print $2}')
+rows=$(echo "${screen_size}" | awk '{print $1}')
+columns=$(echo "${screen_size}" | awk '{print $2}')
 
 # Divide by two so the dialogs take up half of the screen, which looks nice.
 r=$(( rows / 2 ))