Lanai Placement

[k2at]

I am sure there are lots of answers to this query, but is their an ideal placement location for a lanai (North, East, south or West)? I will be looking for a house and was not sure which of the above is the ideal location. Your comments would be appreciated.

[Barefoot]

I'd definitely vote for a north facing lanai. Much cooler.

[Lucko]

Depends on the time of day and the season you are likely to use the lanai. Morning sun is good in cool winter and bad in summer etc. We had a west and it always was warm by mid day and then too warm, but great in the morning. We just built and chose a north lanai for best all day and all year use, but you should choose one to fit your life style. FWIW -- we have seen several that are only 9 feet deep and they are easily blocked by tables and chairs etc. We had a nice 12' by 20' on the Austin and the new one on the Lantana is oversized at about 12' 6" by 29' and we love them both ! Some people really use the lanai and others don't and some enclose them to get different use and climate control.

[chuckinca]

We have a North facing Lanai and like it

[graciegirl]

We just loved our house and realized after the fact that the lanai faced west. It really worried me, but proved not to be a big problem. It really isn't much warmer than the front porch is in the summer. We plan to plant some screening shrubbery but have used it in the evenings.

[jojo]

We have a west-facing lanai which I initially put on the negative side of the decision equation when we were in the market. We moved in July and I love it. I would now purposefully choose west. It's not been too hot. We've eaten most of our lunches and dinners out there--just three or four times it was too hot. The sunsets are beautiful. And I think the warmth will be great this winter. The living area of our home in Ohio faced north and was too dark. I love the light as well.

[fizzbyn]

We chose East for the lanai. It was the only orientation that guarantees no West sun ever. Plus the master bedroom is on that side and we like a cool MB in the afternoon. If you choose a North or South lanai, most of them have a East/West exposure on the sides which means the sun comes in both in the mornings and afternoons. We've had all kinds of orientation for garages in the past, and besides North, we found West works pretty good. The garage is cool in the mornings and doesn't heat up until late afternoon. If you have an East facing garage, it heats up in the morning and stays hot all day. Our kitchen nook is West, but we'll mostly use it for morning coffee and breakfast, so it will be shaded at that time. Also think about your side windows, if you have any. We didn't want a West facing dining room and kitchen window, or bathroom window either for that matter. So we picked a lot where our house would have those windows facing North. These are the things we considered when picking out a lot. I think it is an important decision.

[NJblue]

Ours will be facing south, but by my calculations it should give us warmth when we want it (the winter - because of the low sun at that time of year) and shade during the summer - because the sun goes more directly overhead at noon and then sets in the more northwest direction).

[Mintjulep]

Also a big consideration for us.
Our lanai faces north which was our preference.

But thank goodness everyone doesn't like the same thing.
That's why there's Chocolate and Vanilla...

[k2at]

Tnx All for the responses to my query. The direction my lanai faces may not be a major consideration after all in that if there are snakes on people's lanai as I have been reading on another thread, I am not going out on mine no matter which way it faces.

[pm10]

Ours is on the north side, and we love it!