Over 5 years ago, we found that repainting, re-screening, and replacing the fasteners, can make an old, run down, poorly maintained screen enclosure look like new, and restore structural integrity, at a fraction of the cost of repainting. Since then the repainting has became one of of our most popular services, and still many people are surprised that we can do it. Here are 5 things you should know about it:
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We Can Repaint Your Pool Cage.
Many folks are surprised to know that we can repaint screen enclosures. Painting pool enclosures, is not the easiest — it’s not as simple as just putting a roller on a stick, dipped in paint, to the frame (that would leave unsightly streak). The structures are exposed to the elements, namely wind, rain and sun. With that the metal surface is naturally not the most conducive surfacing to bond. Over 5 years ago we perfected the practice of painting screen enclosures, and since then have painted several hundred pool cages, with over 200 repainted in 2016 alone. Repainting the enclosure is multi-step process that fixes discoloration and makes the finish look like new.
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Restoration is usually 40-50% less than replacement.
An enclosure restoration, which includes re-screen, repainting, and replacing all the fasteners usually costs 40-50% less than replacement of the enclosure on most standard size enclosures, and they look really damn good once completed (see this project here with close up photos). On extremely large enclosures the price difference is further increased with the restoration being much more economical. On small enclosures, the price difference between restoration and replacement might not be so large.
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The fasteners must be replaced.
When it comes to the repainting process we must also replace the fasteners, we generally use a Nylo-tech fastener. The reason for this is 2 fold. First it restores strength of the enclosure. Enclosures are all engineered for the applicable wind capacity at the time they were built, assuming the original new strength of their components. Practically speaking, the most common steel fasteners used on enclosure lose over 50% of their strength in the first year. At this point the enclosure is no longer capable of withstanding the original wind capacity. Replacing the fasteners is the single most important thing you can do to get the wind capacity as close to the engineering standards as possible. It is also around 40% cheaper to replace the fasteners while we are doing the other work. Next, the fasteners must be replaced to ensure a long lasting paint finish. All steel based fasteners (even stainless) will rust in time and that will be further accelerated by dissimilar metal contact. If we paint over the fasteners, and rust builds underneath the paint, it creates problems with the finish. We use a Nylotech fastener, which has a nylon head to avoid the rust issue and give a finish that will stand the test of time.
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The process usually takes 2 weeks.
On most enclosures, from the time screen goes out, until the paint and fasteners are done, and new screen goes back in it takes 2 weeks. As you know, the summer weather here in Southwest Florida is both rainy and windy, with frequent tropical thunderstorms. While these conditions make it difficult to paint, we still paint plenty of enclosure in the summer, however it takes a bit longer to get them done to our standards and as such the timeline may be extending. Also on large enclosures, the timeline will be extended. The largest screen enclosure repaint we ever did took 3 weeks to complete — for just the paint.
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