Florida lanai - What is a lanai in Florida? [+ Costs & Benefits]

In this article you will learn what a lanai is and why you should have one if you own a property in Florida, as well as their costs and benefits.

What is a Florida lanai?

In Florida, a lanai is a light structure, often made with aluminum and polyester screens, that provides an envelope enclosure to your patio and house outdoor spaces. It can be small, just like a little room to take a coffee with your guests while looking at the sunset, or big enough to hold a pool, so you can call it a real pool cage.

Why are pools in Florida covered with a lanai?

A lanai provides the homeowners with an additional outdoor space with the comfort and amenities of an indoor space. Thus, within a lanai, you can have sofas, tables, some appliances (just like a fridge), furniture, and other objects, like decorative ones.

Florida has a privileged weather and location, which offers advantages to perform outdoor activities all around the year, such as summer sports, yoga, gardening and landscaping, book reading meetings, arts practicing (performing painting, dancing, playing a music instrument, etc.), and all of them and much more you can do in your lanai, alone or with your friends and beloved ones, while enjoying the sightseeing views and mild climate.

Does a lanai increase home value?

Yes! As well as in the case of pool cages, lanais increase the value of your property.

In Florida, a lot of houses have lanais so, if your property hasn’t one, its value will decrease in the real estate market. Conversely, if your property has a lanai, it will increase your home value, both, actual value and also its potential sale value.

Additionally, a lanai increases the curb appeal of your property and, this aesthetic enhancement, will help to increase your property value too.

If you want to buy a property in Florida, it is recommendable to purchase a house with lanai. It will keep high the value of your investment and, potentially, increase your home value in the future.

If you have a property with enough patio space, consider building a lanai. You can design it and decorate it as you wish, provided it complies with all the relevant regulations and your structural engineer obtains the permits.

If you already have a property with a lanai, then make sure to keep it in optimal conditions, to protect the value of your property. Lanai maintenance has a high benefit/cost ratio, which means that with a relatively small investment you will enjoy great benefits, but it must be performed periodically to ensure the structural safety and best performance.

While lanai maintenance is relatively simple, and you could DIY, the best recommendation is to hire a reliable professional contractor, which will do the job quickly and keeping high quality standards, answer all your questions and even can give you some valuable advice.

Which are the benefits of a lanai?

To have a lanai in your house has many benefits. Among them:

• Increase your property value

• Increase your house curb appeal

• Add a living space to your house

• Protect your property and beloved ones

• Can be customized

• Add privacy

Increase your property value

As mentioned above, a lanai adds value to your property. This is particularly important if in your neighborhood other houses have lanais. If most houses around your property have lanais, and your house doesn’t, then your property value will be lower compared to neighboring houses. Thus, to have a lanai in your property is a benefit and not having it could be an important disadvantage.

Increase your house curb appeal

A lanai will increase the curb appeal of your house. You can design it to match with your house's architectural style, decorate it to make you be comfortable and proud, and keep it well maintained, to increase its appeal for potential buyers.

Add a living space to your house

A lanai adds a living space to your house, where you can enjoy all the benefits of outdoor activities with all the comfort and amenities of indoor spaces. And, due to Florida weather and location advantages, you can enjoy a warm climate all around the year.

Protect your property and beloved ones

A lanai is a patio enclosure which helps to protect the safety of your property providing a physical barrier to potential pests, snakes, bugs, dust, debris and other external threats that can harm your pets and beloved ones.

Additionally, a lanai offers a partial protection against solar UV radiation, occasional rains and uncomfortable wind gusts.

Can be customized

You can customize the space within your lanai to add the maximum comfort or serve a specific purpose, just like performing arts, practicing yoga, having dinners or parties, or whatever you want.

You can accommodate sofas, furniture, some appliances, carpets, decorative objects, lighting and sound systems, a bar or even a little kitchen, to share and enjoy great times with your relatives and guests.

Add privacy

Lanais can be designed and built with proper materials (screens) to add privacy to your home. You just have to ask your lanai installer and maintenance contractor, and they will recommend the best materials and strategies to enhance the privacy of your outdoor spaces.

How much does it cost to rescreen a lanai in Florida?

To rescreen a lanai in Florida costs from $0.85 to $2.00 per square foot of screen area, or between $2,000 to $3,500 to rescreen lanais built with polyester and fiberglass panels.

However, those are just average numbers. There are many factors that affect the real lanai rescreening costs. Some of them are:

• The size (height) of lanai 

• The type of materials (type of screen)

• The kind of damage to be repaired

• Customer particular requirements

Therefore, the best recommendation is to ask your lanai maintenance contractor for a free estimate which assesses your particular needs.

How do you keep a Florida lanai clean?

In the first place, remove all furniture, appliances, carpets, decorative objects, chairs, sofas and other stuff from the lanai to prevent any damage or stain to them.

Use a blower or duster to remove the dust from the ceiling fans, light bulbs and frames on the inside part of the lanai.

Then, use a dry cloth to wipe all surfaces to remove dust, spider webs and dirt. Look for bug hives and pest nests, as well as any surface damage in the structure or screens.

Clean the floor of the lanai scrubbing it with a soft brush and soapy water. Avoid aggressive chemicals. Instead, use soft neutral soaps and detergents.

Use a pressure washer to clean the lanai exterior structure and screens. This will remove the dirt, mold, algae and stains. Be sure to set the adequate water pressure to clean the lanai. Excessive water pressure can damage the lanai structure and screen panels.

If you don’t have the necessary time, or don’t want to DIY, just hire a lanai maintenance services provider.

How to decorate a lanai?

There are many ways to decorate your lanai. Some popular ideas are:

• Screens: Select the appropriate screens for your lanai. There are several mesh options, including privacy screens and pet screens. Ask your lanai material provider which is the best for your house.

• Paints: You can paint the lanai walls with different colors, and combine them with the floor, furniture, appliances and other lanai objects.

• Lights: There are a lot of lanai lighting options, from traditional halogen lights and high-tech energy saving LED lights to eco-friendly solar powered lights. Read our blog article on pool cage lighting to get more detailed info about lanai lighting ideas, options and prices.

• Furniture: There are a lot of furniture you can use in your lanai, such as sofas, puffs, chairs, tables, and so on.

• Appliances: You can customize your lanai with household appliances like fridges, kitchens, TVs, home theaters, sound systems, Bluetooth ® and wi-fi connectivity and more, to convert your lanai into the most comfortable and amusing living space of your house.

• Ceiling fans: They will help you to keep your lanai cool and comfortable in summer season and hot days/nights. Just make sure to choose the best ones, which comply with all relevant electrical safety regulations and also to match with your lanai aesthetics. It is very important to fix the fans to the house walls or to the terrace roof, but not to attach them directly to the lanai roof.

• Floors: You can enhance the lanai floor finishing with a wide range of tiles, carpets or stylish deck paintings. Ask your lanai material supplier which are the best options for your floor.

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How long do lanai screens last?

Typical polyester lanai screens have an average lifespan from 10 to 20 years, while the lanai aluminum structure usually lasts between 15 to 20 years.

Lanai designed polyester screens are fabricated to withstand with harsh environmental factors such as weather conditions (high humidity and temperatures, intense solar UV radiation, occasional rains, strong winds, etc.), chemical attacks (from substances just like saltwater and chlorine) and biological agents (molds, algae, bugs and pests, etc.)

On the other hand, aluminum structures are more sensitive to chemical substance attacks, environmental factors and biological agents, which cause corrosion problems and lead to material degradation.

To extend the lifespan of your lanai, use high quality materials and follow the recommendations of your lanai builder or maintenance services provider.

How often should you rescreen your lanai?

Taking into account the previous point, you should rescreen your lanai every 5 years (if your lanai has fiberglass screens) and every 10 years (if your lanai has polyester screens), or when the screens sustain an important damage, whatever occurs first.

By the same token, you should repair the lanai aluminum structure every 8 to 12 years, or when the frames sustain an important damage, whatever occurs first.

However, it is likely your lanai aluminum structure and screens panels have an extended service life with adequate and regular maintenance, i.e., with frequent cleaning, identifying possible surface damages, preventing bug nests and hives, etc.

What is the best screen material for lanai?

The best screen materials for lanais are high quality fiberglass and polyester panels. Those screen panels are commercially available in different sizes and with different mesh density. You only have to ask your lanai materials supplier which is the best for your lanai, taking into account your budget, needs and aesthetic preferences.

If you want to know more about available screen panels for lanais, you can visit our blog article about pool cage materials.