Raising the lanai floor?
 

One of our projects we're wanting to do is make our lanai a livable space in the summer. It is enclosed (w/ Plexiglas sliding windows), but not air conditioned and it gets hot. The tech with Chuck Farrell said the a/c is big enough to handle running ducts out to the lanai, but I'm concerned with the a/c loss through the Plexiglas. If we have low e glass installed, I've heard that permits then have to be pulled, therefore the lanai floor has to be raised to the level of the home, am I correct with what I've heard? If the floors have to be raised, does it have to be concrete or can a subfloor be built?

Those that have had this done or have checked into this, I would appreciate info from you.

We have a Gardenia and had a lanai with acrylic windows and a 4" step down from living space. Although we had A/C routed to the lanai (we are second owners), our south facing lanai was a hotbox during the day. We had concrete poured to raise the lanai floor and removed the 12' sliders between living space and lanai. Our outside acrylic windows were replaced with 20' sliders that have a low coefficient of heat transfer. This created a new interior space (Florida Room) that is very comfortable throughout the day because the sun's rays no longer heat-up the room and the A/C is able to keep up.
It has been a great improvement to our home. Good luck!

We had our Lanai enclosed and insulated. We low e sliding windows installed and the floor raised with concrete and had the same tile installed in the Lanai that we have in the house. So far we have left the sliders in place since removing them creates a taxable event and since my wife is security focused and wanted that extra protection I haven't looked to see if the tax would be significant or not. Because our project was extensive we needed permits and from what I can see, most reputable contractors will get permits if structural changes are made as well as ARC approvals.

The raising of the floor became a new regulation very early this year in Sumter county.
Required if going to have space air conditioned.

Usually Putting AC without double pane and low E glass is a major opportunity for heating and cooling losses with much higher utility bills.

Have you tried a Portable ac unit. It's not perfect but we Are very happy with our decision. $500-600 total Cost.

Razorbackfan, you need to do some research at Sumter County offices. The building codes were revised (as of 1/1/2015, I think). The results can include any or all of the following: (This is what I recall from newspaper and previous threads.)
1. The newly enclosed area will be classified as class 4 or 5 (I think) living space.
2. The new classification requires additional electrical receptacles.
3. The floor needs to be raised (note I have seen comments regarding water proofing).
4. Split A/C units are not allowed (need to check on this, maybe conditional on the living space classification).
5. Multiple permits required as well as inspections.
6. You will want suitable insulation in the lanai, etc.
Also, there maybe specific requirements for the glass being used to enclose this area, there will be increased taxes, and house insurance, etc.

Good luck with your project.

Do your self a big favor go to sumter county of in Pinellas Plaza and ask to talk to a building inspector about the specific requirements. I have done this twice and they have been very helpful, and eliminated the possibility of me making a costly error.

We raised our lanai floor to be level with rest of the house.
Concrete poured & tiled. Love it!

I don't believe that is true, at least according to a contractor I spoke with. The issue of raising the floor comes down to how far above grade it is. If it is far enough above grade then you don't need to raise it if you are installing a mini-split system. At least, this is how it was explained to me by someone who I believe understands the building codes. A vapor barrier is required either way.

We had an estimate for enclosing --installing glass sliders ---and split A/C system march of this year ----We have pavers on the Lanai even with the door track --

Called the County inspector and he told us as of 1/1/15 if you want to A/C that area --you must add electrical outlets and have a Moisture barrier on the floor
then pour concrete----in our case we would need to remove the pavers install the barrier then either replace the pavers or pour concrete ----

Still pondering !!!!! :confused::confused::cus:

Good Luck

By the way, make sure you get estimates for the additional work, I just had electrical work done on our lanai, and to have it done the way I wanted, it would have been very expensive to install the receptacles in the walls/columns. We were able to have these installed in the ceiling, but THIS IS NOT LIVING SPACE. A neighbor ran into a similar problem.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation (due to recent changes in the building code), and misunderstanding of said code, as well as what was allowed in the past. Go to the building department and ask.

Thanks everyone for the info. I'll head to the building department early next week and talk to them.

Good for you, please let everyone know the results, if you do not mind. It will probably help others considering these conversion.

We were leary about raising our lanai floor 3.5 inches when we were redoing our lanai...the cost was approx. $ 2K more. Then we went to a social at a house that did not have it done. Well an elderly gentlemen tripped and fell at the house/lanai junction and at that point I said we are doing it....raising the floor. BEST thing we have done and no worries about someone falling in our house because we tried to save a couple of bucks. Its now apart of our house and we thourghly enjoy it.

Just remember we live in a retirement community,

Just completed this project...although we did NOT install air conditioning (we face northeast so afternoon sun is not a factor). The space is permitted and the only requirement for adding AC is that there is a moisture barrier...this can be a tile floor or like we did, a flooring of chattahoochee river rock. We did not raise our floor.

Ok, I'm confused. Does the floor HAVE TO be raised to AC the lanai or can it be left alone? We are going to leave the slider in going from the kitchen to the lanai. BTW, has anyone used Magellan to do their lanai? My wife played in a tournament today and one lady was really happy with her lanai they did.