Lanai & Pool Cage Cleaning
Stonebridge

Water-facing enclosures catch more humidity, insects and spider webs than others, and shaded frame members turn green. With so much water on the course, that’s a common pattern in communities like Stonebridge.

Frames from the late 1980s and 1990s have usually oxidized to a chalky film. An aluminum brightener removes it and restores the finish; pressure just spreads it around.

Coach-home and villa owners often have smaller screened lanais. Those are quicker to clean and priced to match, and neighbors in the same building can book on the same visit.

Ten neighborhoods, many enclosure sizes. Stonebridge is split into ten neighborhoods of garden homes, coach homes, attached and detached villas and single-family homes. A garden home or attached villa may have a compact screened porch with no pool at all. A single-family home on a lake lot often has a full cage over the pool with the lanai under the same roof. We price by the enclosure in front of us, so a villa owner is not paying for a pool cage they do not have.

Fairway-side screens take a beating. When a home backs onto a fairway, the lower screen panels and kick plates on that side pick up grass clippings from mowers, fertilizer dust and mud splashed by course irrigation. Errant golf balls leave small tears and bent mesh. Those lower panels get extra hand brushing, and we flag any tears or popped spline for you before we rinse, since water pressure on a torn panel only makes the hole bigger. Clippings rinsed off early come away easily.

Birds on the cage roof. Stonebridge is a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, and the club runs early-morning bird walks. Herons, egrets and ibis that feed in the lakes like to perch on cage beams, and their droppings stain the top screens and the frame below. We pre-treat those stains with a biodegradable cleaner, and keep our rinse water modest because whatever runs off a lakefront yard ends up in the lake the birds are feeding in.

Original screens on older homes. Homes here were built from the late 1980s through 1999, so any cage still wearing its first screens has had 25 years or more of sun on it. Old mesh turns brittle and the rubber spline shrinks out of its channel. Before we clean, we press-test a few panels by hand. If the screen is near the end of its life, we drop the pressure further and tell you which panels are likely to fail, so a rescreen can be planned rather than discovered.

Roll-down shutters on the lanai. Some Stonebridge homes have roll-down storm shutters over lanai openings. Their tracks collect sand, pollen and dead insects, and a jammed shutter is the last thing an owner wants when a storm is on the way. We brush out the side tracks, rinse the housing gently from below and keep water away from any motor or switch.

One-story homes, low cage roofs. Most homes are one-story ranch and traditional designs, which keeps the cage roof low. We clean the top screens from the ground and the lanai with extension poles and never climb on the cage, which can bend beams and pull screens loose.

Spiders and lake bugs. Lake lots draw swarms of small flying insects on still evenings, and spiders follow them. Webs fill the upper corners of the cage and the gap where the screen meets the house wall, and egg sacs stick tight to the beams. A plain rinse leaves most of that behind. We sweep the corners and beam joints with a soft brush before any water goes on, which is also why a lake-side cage stays clean longer after our visit.

What your neighborhood association covers. Each of the ten neighborhoods has its own documents. In Thornbrooke, for example, a listing shows the monthly fee covering lawn care, irrigation water and security. Screened enclosures are normally the owner’s job, but some attached-villa groups handle exterior items together, so check with your manager. Either way, we can work through the association or directly with you.

Gate and timing. Stonebridge has a guarded gatehouse, so we get registered with you or your manager before the visit. Seasonal owners often book the week before they come down, so the lanai is clean the day they arrive. If you are already in residence, most cages are finished in a morning, and you can use the lanai again as soon as the floor dries.

Pricing. Villa and coach-home lanais under 800 square feet start from $249. Standard pool cages begin at $299, and larger enclosures of 1,500 to 2,500 square feet start from $399. Brightening chalky frames adds $75 to $150, and the cage plus deck floor package is from $399.