Wash it, gently
Lanai ceilings are usually mildew rather than dirt, and mildew needs a cleaning solution and dwell time, not brute force. High pressure on a screened enclosure damages the screens and drives water where it should not go.
Lanai & pool cage painting
Lanai and pool cage painting.
The lanai is the room most people out here actually use, and it takes more punishment than anything else on the property. It sits in shade and humidity, which is what mildew wants, and the cage around it takes sun and salt air all year.
It also shows. A tired ceiling and a chalky white frame age the back of a house faster than anything, and both are straightforward to put right once the surfaces are properly cleaned and the right primer goes on the aluminum.
What's covered
What this work includes.
- Lanai ceilings, beams and support columns
- Screened enclosure and pool cage framing
- Railings, screen doors and kick plates
- Exterior walls under the lanai roof
- Rust treatment at fasteners and joints
How it's done
The work, in order.
Deal with the rust before anything else
Cage frames rust at the screws and the joints first, closer to the water especially. Rust that gets painted over bleeds back through as brown streaks within a season, so it gets treated and spot primed first.
Prime the aluminum properly
This is the step that decides whether cage paint lasts. Bare or chalked aluminum needs a primer made to bond to it. Paint straight onto a chalky frame and it will peel off in sheets, which is why so many repainted cages look worse two years on than they did before.
Mask the screens, or plan around them
Spraying a frame with the screens in means careful masking and slower work. Sometimes it makes more sense to coordinate with a screen replacement if the mesh is due anyway. We will tell you which situation you are in.
Finish the ceiling and columns
Lanai ceilings want a coating that copes with constant humidity and shade. Columns and beams get the same treatment as the rest of the exterior so the whole back of the house reads as one job rather than two.
Common problems
What people call us about.
Black streaks across the lanai ceiling
Mildew, not dirt. It grows in shade and humidity, which describes every lanai in this county. Painting over it without killing and washing it off first just feeds it a fresh surface.
A cage frame that leaves white on your hand
Chalking. The old finish has broken down in the sun. Nothing sticks to a chalked frame until it has been washed back and primed for aluminum.
Brown streaks running down from screws
Rust bleeding through. It needs treating at the source. Recoating over it hides the problem for about one season.
Paint peeling off the cage in sheets
Almost always the wrong primer, or none. Aluminum is unforgiving about this in a way stucco is not.
What to expect
Timing, and living with the work.
How long it takes
A lanai on its own is usually a day or two. A full cage depends on the size of the enclosure and how much rust treatment it needs, and it runs longer when the screens stay in and everything has to be masked.
While we're working
You lose the use of the lanai and the pool deck while we are working and while things cure. We will tell you which days those are up front. Pets need to stay inside on the working side, and the sprinklers on that elevation should be off.
FAQ
Lanai & pool cage painting questions.
Do you paint pool cages on their own?
We do, though more often it comes along with a wider exterior repaint. Ask us either way and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth scheduling as a standalone visit or better bundled with other work.
Do the screens have to come out?
Not necessarily. It means more masking and slower going with them in. If your mesh is near the end of its life anyway, it is often worth doing the screens and the frame in the right order rather than working around them.
Why is my lanai ceiling black in patches?
Mildew. Shade plus humidity is ideal for it, and lanais have both year round. It cleans off, but it needs treating rather than just rinsing or it comes straight back.
How long does a repainted cage last?
It depends almost entirely on whether the aluminum was prepared and primed correctly, and on how close you are to salt air. Prep is the whole story on cages, far more than the coating that goes over it.
Do you coat pool decks and lanai floors?
Deck and floor coatings are a different trade with different products. Ask us when we are out and we will tell you straight whether it is something we would take on or whether you want a specialist.
Our promises
What you can hold us to — in writing, on every job.
Written price, held
You get a clear written quote after the walkthrough, and that is the number you pay. Scope changes only ever happen with your say-so, in writing.
Clean at the end of every day
Floors and furniture protected, drips caught, site tidied before we leave — not just on the last day, but every day we're in your home.
Walkthrough before final payment
We walk the finished job together and fix anything you point out before you settle up. The job isn't done until you say it is.
Coatings picked for this climate
Sun, humidity, and salt air decide how long a finish lasts here. We specify weather-rated, low-VOC products chosen for the Gulf Coast, not whatever's cheapest.
If the back of your house has started to look older than the front, this is usually why. Get us out and we will tell you what the ceiling and the cage actually need.
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