A 1-1/2 car garage is a 12' door, a regular 2 car garage is a 16' door. I have 3 neighbors install the horizontal sliders by All Around Aluminum of Oxford, FL, so I went with them in 2012. They charged $850 all parts and labor. Another neighbor put a powered roll up screen by a dealer at Market of Marion and paid $1650 for his 12' door. He's not in the yard very much and thought that was better for him. Here's a photo of my horizontal screen and I'm happy with the job All Around performed.
I like it because in a CYV I find you'll spend a lot more time in your front yard or driveway than a single family home. This way I just slide one 3' section to go in or out, and then close it behind me. Also, our washer and dryer are in the garage and it makes a big difference in the heat. My wife is with me most times when I'm driving and she just gets out of the car and slides the screen open or close.
I installed it for 4 reasons:
- The first month in our CYV, a community of 88 villas, a neighbor found a rattlesnake in his garage.
- Once I picked up a 12 pack of canned soft drink that was in the garage to take inside, and a giant palmetto bug ran out.
- In the first year on Odessa Circle, that's the road that borders around our villas and Southern Star Golf Course, a large alligator was seen walking down Odessa Circle.
- As a by product, having your garage door open but yet safe from all of these above creatures, and even the 2 legged creatures who would find it hard to explain how they got into your garage when the screen was closed, the garage and the house is cooler. I crack the attic access steps about 6" and it creates a nice draft through the garage and helps cool the attic. I know it would bad in case of a fire, but I accept the risk in order to cool the house better.
