vinyl lanai enclosures
 

aside from an old recommendation for martin aluminum services, wonder if anyone has good or bad experiences to report for enclosing lanai with vinyl windows?

chacha

We are now in mid-construction of putting Sliding glass windows in the lanai area. in fact we are making this into an expanded family area by knocking out the sliding glass doors! The windows are in, SGD out, electric roughed in along with insulation and the drywall should be up monday! The weather has really played havoc with all constrction the past few months.

Let me know and feel free to stop by tomorrow if you want to see a job in progress..but the windows are in and you can get a great perspective of how it is going to look. The windows BTW are (5) Sliders over double glass transoms so pretty much all glass!

Glass
 

chacha, we also put in glass windows, sliders over glass transoms, and we love it. The price was very close to acrylic and we had a great experience with White Aluminum. With all the driving rain we had this week, our lanai remained dry and cozy. Good luck....

Not sure what you are looking for but I have had acrylic windows (up and down versus left and right) for eight years and have no complaints.

To each his own.

Definitely worth the investment. You can enjoy another room of your home during inclement weather. And, chachacha, it keeps the dust and dirt on the outside where it belongs. I think you guest, who seems to spend a lot of time on your lanai, would appreciate it, too!

:throwtomatoes:Never never never never....use Advance Construction..a year of arguing,(Seniors against crime said they are an uncooperative company and cannot deal with them) Contractor is blaiming manufacturer..Custome Windows who came out to take a look but would not give me a report of their findings..they state they are not allowed to but must report to the contractor, who still is blaiming the manufacturer...
If I were down there I would take him to court..but I cannot as I as still living up north...
I hope people are reading my post because it has been a horrible nightmare and waste of my money investing in an enclosed lanai because I chose the wrong contractor....

I do the same with my acrylic windows. What is the diff?

either one works well as far as I've seen.

Another vote for White Aluminum. We preferred glass over acrylic and the price was close. They did a great job.

thanks
 

thanks everyone. will pass this information and any other comments to my friend who wants to have this done. i am ok with my lanai open to the elements as i hardly ever go out there! too busy breaking bones while dancing at the square!

zcaveman

As stated before alot comes down to personal preference but there are diffferences.

--Cost is within 10% of each other.

--Wind tolerance for Vinyl/Acrylic is 70mph and for Glass 110mph. Anything over 70 mph it is recommended you remove the vinyl insert. Glass needs to meet florida hurricane standards.

-- The framing for glass windows will be stronger (by county code) for the windows are much heavier,

--Vinly/Acrlyc over time will scratch and possibly discolor (look at the golf cart windshields) where glass is more permanent and longer lasting

--Glass can provide you Low-e and insulation protection (less heat gain/loss in summer and winter)as well as better noise control.

--glass enclosures offer more options such as expanding the family room by knocking out the SGD, ability to enjoy a 4 season florida room with heat and AC.

-- Property taxes will be less with a vinly/acrlyic enclosure but in discussions with the county tax office, I estimate it should be no more than $100-200 per year for year round comfort and a definitely increase in property value by using Glass.

We used custom windows located in Fruitland park and we are very satisfied. Got acrylic with amber tinting and full ceiling to floor sliders.

My wife and I looked at houses yesterday for the first time. We were surprized at the vinyl windows on some of the lanais. Without exception, every one we looked at had problems with separations and discoloration. What we saw was enough to convince us to use acrylic or glass. Others may have had good luck with vinyl, but we saw what we saw.

Lanai Enclosures
 

We would like to enclose our Lanai but need recommentations - What are the different enclosures that you have chosen and also names of good companies to use. Thanks

Thank you for the heads up on Advanced alum. I'm getting quotes now and have already crossed them off the list.