West Facing Lanai

[retiredguy123]

I viewed a new house on a golf course yesterday that has everything I have been looking for in a house. However, the screened lanai, the kitchen, and the master bedroom face to the west, and the sun would shine directly into these areas every afternoon. I would like some opinions on how much of a negative this will be and can this be minimized by screening and shading to block out the sun. If you have a west facing lanai, please let me know if this is a serious problem.

[tuctba]

This is the same situation we have now with our second home here in TV. Our first home was east facing lanai which was far better for its use. We since created a front of home sitting area replacing some of the landscape with a paver patio.


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[vintageogauge]

Our lanai and bedroom face a little north of west and it is not that much of a problem, it has no effect on the bedroom but the sun does come into the lanai in late afternoon. I wanted my lanai to face the east to get morning sun but chose our home based on the view, etc. You will realize that if it's 90 degrees and humid outside it doesn't matter which way your lanai faces it will still be uncomfortable with or without the sun shining in.

[Madelaine Amee]

We have the same situation and we have dealt with it effectively. We have a sunroom which is all huge windows. We had a tight fitting canvas blind custom made to completely cover the window from outside facing due west and we have heavy window tinting on that side of the home. We also have Solar shade sun roller blinds made to measure for each window inside the room. With the blind down you will not even know the sun is shining. We use the exterior canvas blind for at least seven months of the year. If you buy this home, do not skimp on your sun protection it is worth every penny in the long run.

The benefit to this exposure is that you get all the sun you need in the winter. We literally live in this room it is bright and sunny year round.

All our other rooms have good shutters. No drapes.

[jojo]

We are most happy with our west-facing lanai and eat most meals there. Wouldn't give up the gorgeous sunsets.

[pbkmaine]

I viewed a new house on a golf course yesterday that has everything I have been looking for in a house. However, the screened lanai, the kitchen, and the master bedroom face to the west, and the sun would shine directly into these areas every afternoon. I would like some opinions on how much of a negative this will be and can this be minimized by screening and shading to block out the sun. If you have a west facing lanai, please let me know if this is a serious problem.


You’ll see the sunsets!

[kcrazorbackfan]

We had one home where the back faced west; NEVER AGAIN! Was miserable in the afternoons trying to grill out, sit outside or do anything in the back yard.

[VApeople]

We have a west-facing lanai.

It is very nice in the morning when my wife and I sit outside and have our coffee.

It is also very nice in the evening if there a few clouds to block the sun. If there are no clouds and the sun comes directly into our house, we pull down the shades we had installed.

[jblum315]

My number one riority was a house oriented NS, and I’m glad I gott one I rented a house with west facing lanai and LR for a month and HATED it. This way I get some sun on lanai in late afternoon which is okay especially in winter

[JSR22]

We rented in August with a West acing lanai and it was unusable. We bought a house with a South facing lanai and we are very happy.

[retiredguy123]

Thanks for all of the comments. I think I may keep looking for the right house.

[vintageogauge]

Thanks for all of the comments. I think I may keep looking for the right house.

You'll find the right house but you won't find the perfect house, there is always something missing. In our case we got the house we wanted, the water view and privacy we wanted, next to lots that don't allow for pools so we don't have to listen to the pumps, the floors and cabinets we wanted and settled for the Northwest facing lanai which was the only thing we didn't want but it too has it's plusses.. Even if you build there will be some restriction on the lot that will stop you from having something or getting stuck next to something you won't like. Keep looking there are tons of homes for sale and tons of lots to build on.

[CFrance]

My number one riority was a house oriented NS, and I’m glad I gott one I rented a house with west facing lanai and LR for a month and HATED it. This way I get some sun on lanai in late afternoon which is okay especially in winter
Ditto. I found the east facing lanai on our first TV home was restrictive in the winter, although we did not enclose it. I think if we had, it would have been great. But judging from trying to sit on the front of that house (west facing), I would never want a west facing lanai due to the heat, unless it was enclosed and air conditioned.


Our new house has an enclosed lanai that gets morning sun and some afternoon sun. We had a retractable sunbrella awning installed on the outside that's remote controlled. That takes care of the morning heat/sun.


Personally, we would never have a west facing lanai.

[TheWarriors]

There are many facts left unanswered. Is it a kissing lanai, (ugh)? Is it a large lanai? Does it afford wonderful views? Do you love the home and layout? What may be hot in the summer is warming in the Winter. Opinions here are just that, if it was so bad do you think they’d build any home facing that direction? You may be putting more credence into someone’s opinion than you would personally warrant.

[coffeebean]

We use our north/west facing lanai in the cooler months only. That is November through April. When the weather is hot, we are not outside in the sun or the shade. I do, however, grill all year round on the lanai. I can handle being in the heat for that two minutes at a time to take care of the grilling.

Mornings on a western facing lanai are lovely for sipping coffee.

We did not enclose our lanai because we do love having outdoor space. Having a covered area for the grill is a must as I can still grill when it is raining.

[vintageogauge]

We use our north/west facing lanai in the cooler months only. That is November through April. When the weather is hot, we are not outside in the sun or the shade. I do, however, grill all year round on the lanai. I can handle being in the heat for that two minutes at a time to take care of the grilling.

Mornings on a western facing lanai are lovely for sipping coffee.

We did not enclose our lanai because we do love having outdoor space. Having a covered area for the grill is a must as I can still grill when it is raining.

Agree, (our lanai faces just north of west) mornings are great out there, today it was 75 at 6:30 AM comfortable to have coffee, went back out around noon to take a break 83 and still very comfortable with no sun. The sun starts to come in one corner of the lanai around 4:00 and it's too hot to sit comfortably out there until around 7:30 so we only lose 3-1/2 to 4 hours or use per day. Those times will change between now and June 21 but we will still have the same amount of comfortable time.

[Love2Swim]

Our lanai faces directly east. This time of year when it is 70 degrees in the morning, it is comfortable all day long. In the afternoons when it is 90 degrees, it is in the shade, and we run the fans and it is not too hot. In the winter, it is too cold to be out in the morning regardless of direction of the lanai. In the afternoons during the winter when things warm up, we have fixed up a sitting area in the front of the house which gets the afternoon sun, and it too is very comfortable. We had friends who sold their house with west facing lanai. They said it was brutal in the afternoon sun and made the lanai un-useable.

[JohnN]

keep looking

[photo1902]

I viewed a new house on a golf course yesterday that has everything I have been looking for in a house. However, the screened lanai, the kitchen, and the master bedroom face to the west, and the sun would shine directly into these areas every afternoon. I would like some opinions on how much of a negative this will be and can this be minimized by screening and shading to block out the sun. If you have a west facing lanai, please let me know if this is a serious problem.

Do yourself a favor. On a nice, sunny afternoon, find an open house with a west facing lanai. You really need to experience it first hand, but they get big time warm, and you might regret purchasing that kind of set-up.

[coffeebean]

Do yourself a favor. On a nice, sunny afternoon, find an open house with a west facing lanai. You really need to experience it first hand, but they get big time warm, and you might regret purchasing that kind of set-up.

Isn't it still warm in the shade when it is 90 degrees? Honestly, the only time I'm outside when it is 90 degrees is when I'm swimming in the pool. That's it. I do not golf because of the heat but that's just me.

[photo1902]

Isn't it still warm in the shade when it is 90 degrees? Honestly, the only time I'm outside when it is 90 degrees is when I'm swimming in the pool. That's it. I do not golf because of the heat but that's just me.

It is, but I've been in at least one west facing lanai home where there is practically no shade in the late afternoon.

[VApeople]

I've been in at least one west facing lanai home where there is practically no shade in the late afternoon.

Our large lanai faces west-northwest, so the sun goes directly into our house late in the afternoon during the summer.

We have shades just inside the screen on our lanai, so when the sun is a problem, we lower the shades. The shades cost $3K and they are well worth it.

[coffeebean]

Our large lanai faces west-northwest, so the sun goes directly into our house late in the afternoon during the summer.

We have shades just inside the screen on our lanai, so when the sun is a problem, we lower the shades. The shades cost $3K and they are well worth it.

We don't have shades over the screen in the lanai. We have vertical blinds on the windows and the sliding door that line the back of the house which faces north west. The sun never streams into the house from the lanai because the lanai roof blocks the sun. We tilt the vertical blinds when the sun streams into the back of the house which is not protected by the lanai roof.

[DAVES]

I viewed a new house on a golf course yesterday that has everything I have been looking for in a house. However, the screened lanai, the kitchen, and the master bedroom face to the west, and the sun would shine directly into these areas every afternoon. I would like some opinions on how much of a negative this will be and can this be minimized by screening and shading to block out the sun. If you have a west facing lanai, please let me know if this is a serious problem.

Homes are square. One side of your home will face each of the four directions. Our home front is east, so we see the sunrise at breakfast. The lanai, on the back is out of the sun till the afternoon.

[vintageogauge]

I lived on a private country club golf course for 13 years and would never do it again, there is absolutely no privacy on your lanai if there is a cart path in front of it, even worse if the tee box is near. People would actually walk over to our deck and ask if I could give them a beer, throwing trash on the ground that would end up in our yard, constant foul language and even urinating on the tee area, more than once I called the police for that dirty trick. After 13 years I had enough. A west facing lanai is nothing compared to living on a golf course.