West facing lanai
 

We ended up buying a home in St Catherine with a west facing lanai, not our original intentions but did so because of several other factors.
Suggestions or comments? Our realtor suggested solar screens? We will be snow birds for awhile, not sure how impacted we will be by the setting sun. At least we can sit out there in the mornings!

Don't make a decision until you live there for at least a few months. A tempory solution could be a roll down curtain.

I would not go cheap. I would buy an electric automatic programmable screen to block out the afternoon sun on a regular schedule.

It will be brutal in the summer, but if you're snowbirds, probably not an issue right now.

Our house came with a western exposure and after living here a year decided to go with a Florida room with double pained glass.

Early was ok but in the summer too hot out there.

pergola

We're also building on a lot with a west facing lanai. Luckily it backs up to the preserve so as the sun gets lower it gets blocked by the trees. We spec'd out the darker/denser 20/20 screen for our birdcage. If that isn't enough we'll have roll down screens installed in the lanai openings.

We are originally from Texas. A south or west exposure is brutal. I swore we would not consider a western facing lanai. Guess what? We have a western facing lanai. I love mornings out there. In the summer we have a lovely east front porch where we enjoy evenings with a cocktail. Some one has to Live in the houses with a west lanai.. if you love the house you can make it work. It’s all about being adaptable and attitude. .

We have a west facing lanai. We installed screens that we can pull down manually.

We also had a patio built in the front of our house so we can sit outside in the evening.

We have a west facing lanai and motorized shades are the best money we've spent on this house. (CoolBreeze Screens) They work for sun control, wind control and even rain control unless it's blowing really hard. I was worried about the lanai direction, but the house had too many other plusses; now it's pretty much a non-issue.

Our west facing lanai has more positives than negatives. We love the views 24/7, added double pane glass (Custom Windows) and blinds, plus a mini split for the summer months. It's great! Good luck.

If you don't enclose it with double pane glass you won't be using it from mid-afternoon until sundown during the summer. Without the insulated glass if it's 95 outside it's going to be 95 or hotter on the lanai with shades and even hotter without. You will have an east facing garage, you won't believe how hot it will get in the garage as soon as the sun starts shining in early morning if you have your door opened. You will however really enjoy your west facing lanai in the mornings with coffee or tea and early afternoon. Your neighbors across the street will be just the opposite so it all depends on which half of the day you want to use your Lanai.

Great view!!

Great view!

Ours faces west as well, I would suggest getting a good blender and making up some frozen margaretas around sunset time.

At 95 degrees aint staying frozen too long.

That is why we now have a Florida room:a040:

Congrats!!! You'll get some beautiful sunsets that will validate your decision. Don't let the glass half empty folks discourage you. We shopped for a west or south facing back yard and could not be happier. Enjoy!!!

You'r not drinking them fast enough. :MOJE_whot:

If you've got a west facing lanai with a long open view you're in sunset Nirvana.

We live on a lake in southern Wisconsin, west facing on the lake. Beautiful sunsets, but not gonna' lie, 4-6 PM on a hot day is brutal, porch is basically unusable. We get shade from trees after 6P, so then it's OK again. It comes down to, are the fabulous sunsets worth having an unusable porch for certain times? Comes down to personal preference I think.

Yep ,unless you have shades you will not spend much time in the lanai for evening sun in summer

We live in Linden. West facing as well. Summer gets hot 2pm-8pm but we use it in before and after. Shade Bros. put in motorized shades. We also have cooling acrylic on the lanai so floor stays cool no matter the temp.

West is best you will love the sunsets.

We also have a west facing lanai and just had a Sunsetter awning installed. We love it! Not only keeps our lanai shaded and cooler but extends our living area by covering the additional concrete pad beyond our lanai! Authority Home Solutions did ours.

Our first home in Bonnybrook had a west facing patio and pergola. It was too hot to use in the summer.

We have a west facing lanai. We enclosed our lanai and have air conditioning, have Coolaroo shades on the inside and an awning n the outside which is power controlled and retracts automatically if windy. All these make our lanai a great room with no problem at all. We can make all the choices based on the weather at the moment. We live here full time so can’t address what should be done when gone.

We got blinds. I close in afternoon & it is amazing how much cooler. Then we open again at night & enjoy our view!

That’s really less than ideal to have the back of the house facing west! Our two story hone in Minnesota, the back faced east. It was great! The deck and backyard were automatically shaded by the house in the afternoons, the most likely time when you’d want to use the deck and back yard.

In Florida, the back of our house faces Northeast, which also gives us shade in the afternoons in the pool cage, the most likely times when we use the lani area. The direction your house faces, should be an important factor when choosing the home to buy.

Our in laws didn’t pay attention to the direction that their homes faced, and ended up getting things to provide shading, but we’re far less than ideal, than the automatic shading that’s provided by your house. Of course that doesn’t help you if you’ve already bought the house that doesn’t face the idea direction, but it’s a reminder for others, or yourself for your next house, to seriously consider the direction that your house faces. Get a compass app on your cellphone, and use it when you look at real estate!

That's what we did. Added bonus is we became closer to our wonderful neighbors, who stop by when we're out on the porch!

We, too
 

Our lanai faces West, too, and we love it. However, knowing that Summer temps and sun would be uncomfortable sometimes, we screened in the front porch. Now, depending on temperatures, we can be in the sun or out of it. Both front porch and lanai have a ceiling fan.

I have a west facing lanai and probably would not purchase a home without the ability to watch our beautiful sunsets. . We have an umbrella if we need to block the sun in the afternoon and that works fine. We also have a small pool and love sitting with feet in the water, a glass of wine. and the setting sun. We are here year around.

We have the same situation. We are trying to decide between manual roller shades or motorized shades.
Pros and cons on either other than cost?

I bought solar screens

I love to hear stories of Sunsets in Minnesota and Wisconsin but Florida has some of the most beautiful...seriously if you stay thru the Summer your ideas of Sun protection will be tailored to your wallets and preferences! Solar Sunscreens do provide protection, and you may prefer to only install them on the top & west side!
I find that a good deodorant is key to party invitations in the Summer !

Always hot.

I also has a west facing lanai. It was brutally hot in the afternoon as it was enclosed with sliding windows. We ended up putting in solar shades, and a retractable awning. With both the lanai was livable. Enjoyed a lot of great sunsets.

I have a west facing lanai. I would say try it awhile before deciding what to do. I spent a lot trying to make it less hot and finally gave up and enclosed it and have a mini split. Some of the enclosure companies will tell you to just put a glass enclosure and with a fan out there and your sliders open it will be bearable. It will not. I tried on of those portable ac units.....too hot for it to handle. Solar shades did help some but I finally decided to bit the bullet and make it an enclosed sun room with it's own ac.

I never wanted a West facing lanai but I have had one for 13 years and love it! Morning shade and beautiful sunsets are worth the expensive of shades. You'll enjoy the experience.

We're snowbirds and a west facing lanai was a buying decision. We love it and use it every night for cocktail hour. It rarely gets too hot during our wintering time and when it does get warm we turn on the lanai fans which are usually enough to take any edge of.
FWIW

West facing lanai
 

We are snowbirds with a western golf course view. So nothing obstructs the sun/heat. Expecting this to be a long-term investment, we bit the financial bullet. We put in glass sliding doors (with screens) that keep most of the heat out. We then combined it with a heater/air conditioning unit. It was then economical to put the same unit in our garage at the same time. It was not cheap. But we are extremely happy with the results and spend about 80% of our waking hours in the lanai. And whenever it makes sense weather wise and we feel like some fresh air, we simply open the sliding glass doors. Please reply with a phone number if you would like more information about the vendors involved.