Garage door ?"screens"?
 

I've been looking at lots of preowned homes online and on many, it appears that the garage door is covered with something like a screen. Is that what it is? And what is its purpose?

Thanks!

Screens
 

We saw so many of them too and didn't understand it. We thought they were so people could sit in their garages and look out.

We have friends who have a screen on their garage and they explained that they are great for working in the garage without bugs AND when the weather is nice, they open up the house and get a better breeze with the screen as opposed to when the garage door is closed!

Well thanks! That explains it. I guess it makes sense, but it kinda looks funny!

Oh... I'm not sure that's the only reason for them. I'm just learning, just like you. :)

We saw a few kinds of screens before we purchased, but we weren't impressed with what we say. After moving in we saw our neighbor across the street has what's called a retractable screen, liked it and will have it installed eventually. To see this screen and a video of it's installation, go to: Thumper's Retractable Screen Doors

Sky,

Why did you get a screen on your garage? Would there be another reason than the one's I stated?

When we lived in a patio villa we had a garage screen for three reasons:

1. Our cats! I didn't want the litter inside the house so the garage was the choice. However, we could never leave our garage door open for fear the cats would run outside the garage before or after using their litter boxes We had a cat door installed so the cats could go from the house into the garage at will. So having a screen provided the security of keeping the cats contained yet having the garage door open to air the area and keep litter smell at a minimum.

2. I smoke and used the garage as my computer room. Having a garage door screen helped keep the cigarette stench at a minimum by providing air flow.

3. Our washer and dryer were in the garage. During the summer it was unbearably hot so having a screen let us keep the garage door open to help cool down the garage to make it more bearable to be out there while doing laundry.

We no longer need a screen. We moved to another home, our cats died, our laundry room is located inside the house, and I use the lanai for my computer work.

We bought a pre-owned cyv that had a screen. We did not particularly like the looks of it and planned to remove it after we moved in. HOWEVER, we have found that when we open up the kitchen door into the garage and our other doors, there is a wonderful breeze throughout the house so we have many, many days when AC is not needed. We've decided to leave the screen!

Garage door screens
 

We also have screens on our garage door (sliders). We installed them because our laundry is in the garage, and having screens gives you lots of light, keeps the garage cooler, and let's you open the house door for cross ventilation. The sliders allow you to go in and out without raising the whole thing up and down, and our screens are the type that you can see "out" but not see "in" very well. I personally like what I have.

Our garage had sliding screens when we purchased it. I actually considered removing but left them up and now glad I did. I like that you can leave the garage door open while you're home illuminating the garage and it still looks nice to the neighbors, keeps it cooler, lets out the fumes from charging the golf carts and allows you to go in and out if you're working outside. The sliders lock together which provides some security because the screen is made of aluminum I believe.

We chose to have a screen installed in our garage. It rolls up by a hand held remote or by the wall mounted control. We did this because our garage got way too hot in the summer and we needed to get a breeze going through our house. We have a designer home with an open format and we knew by installing this screen, we could have the screen down, and leave the doors open in the laundry room, and we would have a wonderful breeze.

We don't regret it one bit. Also, we have a dog, and she loves to go from the lanai to the garage. The screen is sturdy and shouldn't be damaged by the dog although she has never jumped or scratched at it which is great because she is a big dog.

We used Michelle's Hide A Way Screen and we are a satisfied customer.

If anyone is considering a garage door screen I recommend getting one with the white screening. From the outside during the daytime you cannot see into the garage with the white screen. It gives more privacy and keeps people from seeing what's in your garage. Mine can be kind of scary sometimes!:22yikes:

We have always had the sliding garage door screens with the solar (white) screen material which not only provides privacy but actually keeps the garage cooler than the outside air. In the hot summer months, the garage is still very warm, but always cooler than the outside because of the solar screen which helps deflect the heat from the sun. The purpose of the screen was to keep the dog from running outside everytime we opened the door and to keep the critters from playing in the garage and getting inside the house (mainly the geckos) when we leave the door from the house to garage open for the fantastc breeze. Now that we don't have the dog any longer, I still would have the screen for the other reasons listed above.

Ditto to the last to posts. Relocated to a new house in Buttowood from Poinciana and plan on putting up sliders w/privacy screen before the warmer months get here. I personally do not think they look objectionable and are so darn practical wouldn't be without. DG

It's nice to be able to keep the garage door open and not worry about pests. Besides insects we had one neighbor a couple of months ago find a rattlesnake in his garage, and this is in Southern Star Villas which was just finished last summer in Tamarind Grove.

Actually the insects aren't bad here, I grew up in St. Petersburg where we had roaches so big you could put a saddle on them. They're called Palmetto bugs and I haven't seen one here so far, although they are attracted to certain palm trees. We had other neighbors on Odessa Circle that surrounds our villas have an encounter with an alligator that walked across several yards. He apparently came out of one of the ponds on Yankee Clipper or Southern Star Golf Courses.

One of the reasons we bought a CYV was because of the fenced yard, I did not want to be walking a dog at night when I couldn't see the ground or what was laying on the ground.