At the risk of asking a dumb question - what's a lanai?

[polkadotladybug]

I've read about lanai's in the different house rental posts and the thread about building in Florida - please help this South Carolina girl out and tell me what is a Lanai? We call them screened porches around here - LOL Is that that a fancy name for a screened porch? Or what is it?

Thanks in advance! LOL

Carol

 

[DMRick]

It's a porch. Usually screened. Sometimes totally weather proofed. Sometimes with a pool in the middle. Also sometimes called a Florida room.

 

[CPM]

It doesn't have to be a porch either. Mine is an enclosed area by screens, with a pool. The ground is cement, no steps. Keeps the bugs out and gives you a larger area to use. I do have a porch too, but in the front of my house.

 

[Mandabella]

It always makes me think of The Golden Girls.

 

[littleshamrock]

It always makes me think of The Golden Girls.

LOL....Me too....

 

[bicker]

My "lanai"-association is to a Tracy Takes On episode...

 

[lucas]

Hi from Boca Raton, FL.

What is a lanai? A major pain when hurricanes come thru! Lots of lanais were blown down during Hurricane Wilma. We were lucky as our frame was not damaged but we still have some panels of screen that were blown out. The screen companies are super busy because so many lanais were damaged and there is a year wait to get them fixed. Many won't even take new customers.

Any hoo.. Officially it is a porch or veranda. Here in sunny South Florida it is a screened enclosure in the backyard and usually covers a pool area. It helps keep out the bugs, iguanas, and other assorted critters. It is great for keeping leaves out of the pool.

 

[CPM]

Hi from Boca Raton, FL.

What is a lanai? A major pain when hurricanes come thru! Lots of lanais were blown down during Hurricane Wilma. We were lucky as our frame was not damaged but we still have some panels of screen that were blown out. The screen companies are super busy because so many lanais were damaged and there is a year wait to get them fixed. Many won't even take new customers.
.

Yes!! You're so right. I noticed many people in our neighborhood just didn't put them back up after Wilma. They had already put them back up after last year. They now have nice iron fences around their pools.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

It always makes me think of The Golden Girls.

Me too!!! That's the first thing I thought of when I saw the thread.

 

[DMRick]

From the on line dictionary

Main Entry: la·nai Pronunciation: l&-'nī, lä-Function: nounEtymology: Hawaiian lAnai: PORCH, VERANDA
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Golden girls lanai reminds me more of a patio.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

My house is basically a rectangle on a concrete slab. The lania is effectively a room facing the back yard which is about half the width of the house and ten feet deep. It is under the roof and at the open corner and midway along the long side are structural colums which help support the roof. Mine is screened in with a screen door to the outside and two sliding glass doors into the house itself.

 

[iggbees]

It always makes me think of The Golden Girls.

that's what i was going to say!

their lanai is only a slightly covered back porch kind of thing. it's got some kind of wood open covering. it's also got concrete for the flooring.

 

[lucas]

that's what i was going to say!

their lanai is only a slightly covered back porch kind of thing. it's got some kind of wood open covering. it's also got concrete for the flooring.

Don't know about the Golden Girls lanai, but here in Florida there is no wood of any kind on a lanai. The floor is what ever is on your patio - cool deck, river rock, brick. Depending on how big your pool is, the lanai covering the pool can be huge and as tall as the roof on a 1 story house. Some people who don't have pools might have a sceened in back patio - you also see that in a lot in apartments. But, most houses have lanais covering the pool area. Makes keeping the pool clean much easier and keeps the bugs and critters out.