[forward john]

My wife and I finally have a contract and, with luck, we will close on April first. we have rented a house for the month of April and will be looking for a house to buy. My friend from Florida tells me that we should find a house that the lanai faces north or west because the afternoon sun makes it uncomfortable to be outside if we face south or west....Barb and I could sure use some expert advise.....thanks

[golfnut]

Our lanai faces west and we love it, it allows us to enjoy it all winter, in the summer it is too hot but where isn't it too hot in the summer..............GN

[graciegirl]

It is only in the beastly hot months of July and August that we don't use the Lanai that faces west. The rest of the time the sunsets are beautiful and the lanai has two ceiling fans. (Came with the house) I loved the house and only after we bought I remembered that the back faced west. It hasn't been a problem.

[starflyte1]

I prefer a South or West facing lanai, but we just bought a NW facing lanai. We won't trade our home for a S or W lanai, but still believe either is better than NW, but are happy with NW. When we build our pool, it will be in the sun from mid morning on, but the house may be a bit darker inside because of the way it is facing.

[JohnN]

our lanai faces to the NW and is sheltered by the house, so it's basically in the shade all the time, in summer with the fan on, it's tolerable and it's great all other times.
we use it a lot,

just depends on what you prefer.

[l2ridehd]

Mine faces west and it's great year round. Because the pool stays nice and warm in the summer, and lanai fans and a moveable umbrella make it OK even in the summer. But the big plus, is that I can use it the other 9 months when others can't Even during this cold snap, the lanai was fine during the sunny days. I prefer a west facing back yard after owning one.

[chuckinca]

Ours faces North is is usually shaded by the house all day.

[jojo]

Our lanai faces west - gorgeous sunsets, warm afternoons especially great this winter. Very few evenings we didn't eat outside in the evening in the summer. With an extended birdcage I put a small table and chairs at the back of the birdcage and so have morning sun too.

[jdboisvert]

How I wish we had a south facing lanai. Ours is N and we never use it during the winter months. If we only had TOTV back then to bring these issues to our attention.

[katezbox]

Originally Posted by forward john

My wife and I finally have a contract and, with luck, we will close on April first. we have rented a house for the month of April and will be looking for a house to buy. My friend from Florida tells me that we should find a house that the lanai faces north or west because the afternoon sun makes it uncomfortable to be outside if we face south or west....Barb and I could sure use some expert advise.....thanks

Forward John,

Are you the other half of Barb_in_NH? We have been praying an keeping out fingers crossed for you both.

We also were told be our friends in TV and elsewhere in FL that it is best to have a lanai that does not face Southwest. We had a front porch in CT with a south west exposure and it was too hot there in the late afternoons in summer.

Some folks really like having this exposure though, and part of that may be that a courtyard wall or neighbor's home.

One thing we did, was to visit some homes near to sunset (which was easier a few months ago) to get an idea of how the lanai would feel. We decided that we would like our lanai facing Northeast - we like the idea of morning sun while we eat our breakfast. We also plan to enclose the lanai so we can keep it warm in the winter without the strong sun beating in later in the day. Our model of home has most of it's windows in the rear and thought that a south west exposure would be too much.


Good luck.

[duffysmom]

Our Lanai faces Souh East and we love the morning sun. Actually we have sun this time of year until 2pm. In the Summer we turn on the fans. Our model home is an Oleander (Mandavilla) and has many windows so we have tons of light all year. We are loveing Florida and the outdoor lifestyle, even in Summer since we golf and love the courses.

[BarbinNH]

katezbox,

At the risk of butting in on my husband's thread, yes, he is my other half. Our house in NH has a long bank of windows facing west/southwest, and the sun really beats on the house in the summer. I really don't want to repeat that problem.

As to the contract, we are still waiting to hear (officially) about the inspections and appraisal. Maybe no news is good news?

Barb

[Taj44]

Some people make recommendations on lanai's based on their wintertime experiences here. You really need to check out different facing lanai's, west facing for example, when the weather is about 85 degrees, and the sun is beating down late in the afternoon. We had neighbors with a west facing lanai, and they confided they just couldn't use it in the heat of the afternoon, it was just too blisteringly hot. Others may find that tolerable - it just varies from person to person. If you are going to be snowbirds, and spending the majority of your time here just during the winter months, then it may not be a problem for you.

[katezbox]

Originally Posted by BarbinNH

katezbox,

At the risk of butting in on my husband's thread, yes, he is my other half. Our house in NH has a long bank of windows facing west/southwest, and the sun really beats on the house in the summer. I really don't want to repeat that problem.

As to the contract, we are still waiting to hear (officially) about the inspections and appraisal. Maybe no news is good news?

Barb

Hi Barb (andf John)

We think that may be the case. Looking forward to meeting you in person in TV. We were just there checking on the house and it was glorious. Can I tell you how much fun we had at Katie Belle's with our good friends and Rocky and the Rollers!

Counting the days (50!)

Kate