Lanai - enclosed? Open? Screened?

[Russ_Boston]

To help out us prospective buyers:

Lanais - Do you prefer yours open or enclosed? If open I assume you'd want it to be screened. I'd like to hear from those that don't have pools since i assume that those with pools have a screened lanai. But what the heck do I know, that's why I'm asking.

Let's hear about the pros and cons of open or enclosed.

[villager99]

i've left mine just screened as i like the open feel. i turn on the ceiling fan in summer and don a sweat shirt in winter. so i can use it year round.

[Avista]

Our lanai is enclosed acrylic. The acrylic is darkened (like sunglasses). We have 2 lounge chairs out there. I also put up a long folding table when we have a full house with grandchildren. I can serve a lot of people and with the children there is no carpeting to worry about.

It is a nice quiet room. Great for reading. When it is hot like this, we only use it in the morning. Then close the sliding door until evening. For about 9 months out of the year, we leave the sliding doors open and it stays cool. Windows slide completely open, so if we want, it is just like a screen lanai.

[nanci2539]

For those of you who just keep it screened, I assume you just have outdoor furniture in your lanai.

I've driven by (on myvisits) and saw many lanai's with TV's in the area so I have to assume if you use furniture or electronics that are not weather proof, you need some kind of enclosure like glass or acrylic?

And on another thread, they talked about if you enclosure the lanai, your assessment goes up. Is this statement only if you enclose it in glass or does it make a difference?

Is glass better than acyclic?

[SteveZ]

Florida building codes get tricky when you start having glass windows - different permit requirements as the "room" classification is changed, affecting electrical, taxing, etc.. That's why acrylic is popular.

Had a screen porch for years in Seminole County (FL) and rarely used the room due to weather conditions. After I put in acrylic, the screen porch became the den and it got year-round use.

In my recently purchased (July) TV home, I immediately planned for turning the lania into a, acrylic "den." Installation will occur in the beginning of October.

[dandt]

We love having acrylic (not glass!) with which we can totally close the lanai, but also keep the option of having it very open. We have a bird cage outside that, so we're still screened.

It really seems the best of both worlds.

[Russ_Boston]

I like that idea Dan - thanks.

[Happy Villager]

Our lanai was screened when we purchased the home and we had it enclosed with tinted vinyl. Without the windows the lanai would get dirty and we were constantly cleaning the furniture and tile floor. The windows can slide open from the top down or bottom up if you want the open area. The vinyl is a little less expensive than the acrylic. The acrylic is the way most people seem to be going now. We are having our front porch enclosed and we are going with the acrylic. The salesman did tell us that they do use a spacer bar when the acrylic window is over a certain size to keep it from bowing. Has anyone with the acrylic windows had a problem with their windows bowing?

[rballruss]

We also have the spacer bar which gives a nice look. After enclosing ours with acrylic, it has become my favorite room. In fact, it is where I am now typing this on the laptop and watching CNN on the wall-mounted LCD TV. We just added ceramic tile. The sliding windows allow for the breeze to come through, but not so during these 90+ degree days. We leave the sliders open that lead into the greatroom so the lanai is climate controlled.

[Faith]

When we decided to enclose the lanai, I was informed by the builder that glass windows would involve a new assessment, since it is "officially" a new room. Using acrylic does not change your assessment. We went with acrylic, and it is great - and we do have a new room!