Lanai glass enclosure

[BPRICE1234]

Hello, we are wanting to enclose our lanai. I have seen plenty of post asking for suggestions on companies.

My question is for those after the install, is there anything you would have done differently? We are looking at fullview but I am more interested in pro/cons.

For instance, do you open all the doors or just 1 or 2? Did you go with fixed glass if it opens to just grass?

What about tinted glass, we love our view and wonder if the extra equipment takes away from the view?

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks, Bryan

[villagetinker]

We used Fullview.
About 2/3 of the lanai has grass/garden so these areas have either fixed windows or windows that slide to open. All of these areas have fixed windows at the bottom ~18 inches.
The remaining 2 areas have either 3 or for sliders so we can open the entire end into the birdcage.
If you plan to air condition this area you need to be class 4 or 5 (Sumter County), pay attention to this detail, as Sumter County will not allow you to add AC if it is class 1 to 3.
We chose hurricane rated windows, double glass, and tinted.
If you have a pet, you can do what we did was to have a pet door installed in the lower section that connects to the birdcage.

Feel free to send me a PM and we can discuss further over the phone.

[Lottoguy]

I would strongly recommend tinted privacy glass. Avoid the glass on the bottom of the walls because they could get hit with a pebble when someone is cutting your grass. Those mowers kick out lots of things.

[Jim 9922]

Be sure to include electric outlets in the new outside walls.

[Bay Kid]

I have sliding windows to the side. Major problem is getting the outside clean because of the full screen. I have been quoted a big price to have them cleaned by pulling the windows out from the inside or replace the screen with every cleaning. Be careful with the design.

[villagetinker]

I have sliding windows to the side. Major problem is getting the outside clean because of the full screen. I have been quoted a big price to have them cleaned by pulling the windows out from the inside or replace the screen with every cleaning. Be careful with the design.

Our screens are removeable, just like typical window screens, I agree if the design has fixed screens this would be a problem.

[rsmurano]

Not true about the class designation that Sumter county puts on your install. We had this done to our lanai:
Brought the level of the floor up to the level of the houses floor,
Put electricity in the floor for media center and electric chairs. Also put electricity in outside posts.
Used double pane windows made with egas,
Laid tile down to match interior of the house,
Insulated the ceiling in the lanai,
And put a Mitsubishi split heat pump in the ceiling,
Using the Cielo thermostat to program the heat pump.
All of this it’s rated as a class 3 which means no increase in property taxes.
2 things you need to do to keep it a class 3 install: 1) keep your original doors intact, 2) put in air conditioning/heater. My Mitsubishi heat pump is classified as a dehumidifier which is the same Mitsubishi split that everybody buys but it has a dehumidifier gauge next to the unit so if it gets to humid in their, it turns on

[talonip]

Unless your lanai is directly into the afternoon sun you don’t need double pane. You can block some of the sun with landscape bushes like bottle brush. I have had two houses with single pane and Mitsubishi humidifiers lol. Works perfectly.

I used custom windows on the last one. Single pain with screens on outside. Love the screens they use. They are dark and give an another level of privacy. I have two ceiling mounted units due to the size of my lanai. M and S air conditioning did a great job. During last hurricane no problems or water leaks. The windows have some tint.

[crash]

Hello, we are wanting to enclose our lanai. I have seen plenty of post asking for suggestions on companies.

My question is for those after the install, is there anything you would have done differently? We are looking at fullview but I am more interested in pro/cons.

For instance, do you open all the doors or just 1 or 2? Did you go with fixed glass if it opens to just grass?

What about tinted glass, we love our view and wonder if the extra equipment takes away from the view?

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks, Bryan

Ours opens in the center with a fixed glass on either side. No screens since it is inside a bird cage. Fixed screens makes it hard to clean the doors they are heavy. Definitely use dual pane glass. We raised the floor highly recommend doing that.

[Iowatransplant]

We enclosed our lanai with Kolbe patio doors from Romac Lumber in Leesburg. Full view. 12’ doors that split in the middle so the outside panels are stationary and the center opens to 6’ for ease of moving stuff in or out. Screens easily move for cleaning. Fibrex material is superior to vinyl or aluminum. Double pane and hurricane rated. Love the outcome and considerably less expensive than the quotes from the “typical” enclosure companies using vinyl or aluminum.

[Bay Kid]

Our screens are removeable, just like typical window screens, I agree if the design has fixed screens this would be a problem.

Sorry to say mine are fixed. I wish there was a good screen company that could design removable screens.

[Cneigoot]

Could you give some idea of the cost? My Lanai is approximately 10x20.

[Donnahamilton999]

Hello, we are wanting to enclose our lanai. I have seen plenty of post asking for suggestions on companies.

My question is for those after the install, is there anything you would have done differently? We are looking at fullview but I am more interested in pro/cons.


For instance, do you open all the doors or just 1 or 2? Did you go with fixed glass if it opens to just grass?


What about tinted glass, we love our view and wonder if the extra equipment takes away from the view?

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks, Bryan

I would not do Anything different I live in Village Of Deluna if you’re interested in stopping by and see him and I am happy to show it to you. Full View did my enclosure. They did a great job.

[jimhoward]

Could you give some idea of the cost? My Lanai is approximately 10x20.

Roughtly $20K if you use double pane glass and don't do any modifications (like raising the floor, adding tile, removing sliders, adding mini-split, adding electrical, etc). Fullview or similar supplier can give you an accurate price estimate very promptly.

[Bwanajim]

I really don't understand all the people putting glass in their patio. I like the patio all open so we can feel the breeze and see & hear the birds, everything being outside.

[rsmurano]

Is your house windows single pane or double pane? Nobody uses single pane unless you want to go cheap. Our windows are huge, each probably 4x the size of our house windows. Single pane will let the heat or cold in because there is no insulation or egas to help keep it warm/cool inside.
On each end we put large windows that open to let the breeze come thru in the spring and fall, sometimes in the winter.
If you are going to enclose your lanai, do it right by doing the floors, electrical, tile/carpet, and heat/cooling it and if you sell you will get top dollar for it. I heard that it is now 3x the cost compared to when we did it 2 years ago.

[vintageogauge]

They try to push fixed screens on these enclosures as they are more profitable. I had mine enclosed with sliding doors and sliding screes, easy access for cleaning. Another thing to watch for is transferable warranties, most of them only give the original buyer of the enclosure a warranty. We went with Chip at All Season Rooms, he can install lifetime warranty windows that are transferrable to the subsequent buyer which is value added when you end up selling your home. Also I might mention that a floor air conditioner will cool of most enclosed lanais without having to worry about what class your room will be. Very easy to make a copy of the exhaust pipe so that you can vent it to the outside by using a 3/4 x 8" pine board that you groove the top and bottom and slide it on the door track then close the door and put a safety bar on the bottom to hold it tight. Works great and saves you thousands of dollars.

[pgettinger01]

Fullview did ours and the quality was great. Unfortunately it is expensive to do. There are multiple inspections and permits. to do. They did it all but it takes about a 4-6 weeks to do. It is custom glass. We ordered two layer glass because we back up to the Turnpike and it was noisy.

We did have the Solar Guys insulate the attic and the lanai with blown in insulation and a radiant barrier.

We did not get a split HVAC unit. We leave the sliding glass door and the kitchen window open. When the air conditioning unit is replaced I will increase the tonnage for the additional 200 square feet.

If you install a split HVAC ($6,500) and a floor your taxes will also increase.

[pgettinger01]

About $,20,000 to enclose with double pane glass and insulate the attic and lanai with blown in insulation and a radiant barrier. This does not include the HVAC unit. Remember you are adding 200 square feet to your home. This is the least expensive way to add year round square footage.

[zuidemab]

Hello, we are wanting to enclose our lanai. I have seen plenty of post asking for suggestions on companies.

My question is for those after the install, is there anything you would have done differently? We are looking at fullview but I am more interested in pro/cons.

For instance, do you open all the doors or just 1 or 2? Did you go with fixed glass if it opens to just grass?

What about tinted glass, we love our view and wonder if the extra equipment takes away from the view?

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks, Bryan


I did remove all Lania screen because it is now surrounded by Birdcage. Use sliding doors (not sliding windows). It is far better for access to the Birdcage. I would do that everywhere there is now or any future chance you will want to walk to the Birdcage or outdoors. Windows have a higher threshold. This gives you an option for opening up and smelling a fresh outdoors day and hearing the birds or closing it and having nice air-conditioned expanded space with a outside view.

[BPRICE1234]

We are next to the turnpike as well. I'm hoping it will cut the noise a bit. Mostly we are doing it for the cool and hot weather.

[Carlsondm]

We had our lanai enclosed by Fullview last year after considering several bids. We are very happy with the work.
The area that will go into our new birdcage has sliders. The sides that face just the grass are fixed. It really depends on how much you want to open it up. We added window coverings on the inside of the lanai at the suggestion of an experienced neighbor to reduce our cleaning of shades. We are very glad we did.
Our lanai is just a little larger than 10 x 20. I would expect $22,000 to enclose it with double pane and maintain the 150 mile an hour storm rating.
What would we do differently? We might have more seriously considered raising the floor since it is a step up and step down to walk through to the birdcage. We are very happy with the decision to go to double pane glass rather than single because of the higher storm rating and the sound deadening. When we had the work done, neighbors were mowing their lawns before 7 AM in the morning. We can barely hear it with the enclosed lanai. Our lanai is much cleaner after wind and rain events and we no longer have to clean mud off the floor. It is now a four season room and has not required a split. We did add insulation above the lanai.
One of our neighbors had a closet built on one end of their lanai and had it completed with stucco surfacing. It looks like it belongs with the house. If you need more storage, you might want to consider that. If you do, plan for a fixed panel where you put the closet. Then the remaining sliders will be smaller and reduce expenses. We are very pleased with our new space and wish we had done it years earlier.

[patfla06]

We used Custom Windows and put in single pane full glass sliding doors. Had tinted glass and it doesn't mar the view at all. We tiled the floor, insulated the attic over the lanai.
Added a Mitsubishi mini split which is very efficient.

We can use the lanai all year round. We have an Eastern exposure so no shades needed.