Making a profit is one thing, gouging is another. For what is being done the quoted price is just that,gouging.

Price gouging can be defined as pricing above the usual market price when no alternative retailer is available.

This is not the case for porch enclosures. There are many contractors in business around the Villages where you can solicit bids. If all the bids come in about the same you are seeing market price not price gouging. Custom windows made with high quality double paned glass properly installed are not cheap. Putting up a bunch of 6 foot sliders from Home Depot or Lowes with aluminum filler panels to fill in the gaps will look pretty cheap and not be very well insulated. Just my opinion.

Not really the case as a contractor lets say U know the cost of a job is $5000 and you would be satisfied with a margin of profit of 30%, so U quote the job at $6500, but you find all the other contractors are charging and getting orders at $10,000 for the same work laughing all the way to bank.

So getting competitive bids within TV is difficult.
It's almost like price fixing

What do you consider high quality glass?

What type is it?

Hate to tell you this look in the parking lot at HD & Lowes U will see these contractors picking up those windows not per se off the shelf but custom ordered thru HD & Lowes.

As far as enclosed lanais looking cheap or not insulated correctly that is exactly the case in all the sub par installs I see here.

contractors (that I've talked to) do lack of knowledge about glass and insulating factors of the framing & overall design and building codes.

Then I guess the real problem is uninformed consumers with way too much money to give away.

Jimbo,
nice write up. I too, would like to enclose my 2nd lanai / house in TV. Several questions. What county are you in? I'm told that many codes changed in Marion and Sumter last December. I want to add a mini split to take the humidity out, and that seems to trigger, electrical, new floor, .. changes that really drive up the cost. Are you not wanting to do that in the future? The floor and electrical outlet spacing is a deal killer for me.

I'm in Sumter, before you get a mini split, and all the added costs, just enclose the area, get your final inspection.

Then open up your sliders or remove them (store in garage) let the A/C that you have try the extra space to see if it can handle it, almost all can.

Then extend the A/C duct from living room etc into the lanai.

THat's what most folks do.

Just so you know a new floor or elec is not required even if you got all permits to condition the space, most contractors don't know this and make folks spend $$ for no reason.


I need to take pics of mine and post them, the Western Red cedar frames came out mint, I used a marine Spar varnish 6 coats.


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Good Info.

Almost done
 

in pic 1 & 2 you see the Western red cedar with 3 coats of spar varnish waiting for 2 or 3 more.

The recess for glass can be seen.

The atrium doors are in the works one on the saw horses another standing up in the back, need to be painted.

Pic 3 looking east you can see the Fl cypress pergola I built 2 years and the pool I installed myself.
The Pergola was recently stained to bring more color out.

Since I had nothing to do you can see a pond in the pic also.

The solar glass is being made to my sizes it will be 2 3/16" panes of glass with a 1/2" spacer filled with Argon gas, cool in the summer warm in the winter.

Another item not in pic is an elec fireplace to cozy things up in the colder months. :coolsmiley:

The entire lanai attic has R30 insulation.


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