Most screen enclosures that are built, just don’t last in our local climate. Just take a look at any enclosure over 5 years old and chances are extremely high that you will see faded paint, rusted/broken fasteners, torn screen flapping in the wind, and lots of thin aluminum members which are probably not level/plumb. These are builders grade enclosures; the default level of quality most companies bid when asked to bid ‘a screen enclosure’. Builders grade enclosures use the lowest grade materials to save on cost; steel screws, artisan screen, epoxy paint. Ultimately they become unsightly, and we are called to do a restoration. Here is a good example. We get lots of business from doing restorations on these enclosures, but we’d rather build you something that will stand the test of time from the beginning.
When you ask us to bid a screen enclosure, we quote our GCA Standard. You get materials that will last; 2604 powder coat finish (2605 is available as an upgrade), screen with a 10yr warranty, fasteners with a 10yr warranty. Then we engineer the enclosure to use thicker, denser specialty beams so we can have fewer total beams and maximize view. Each beam is cut site specifically to adjust for changes in elevation (builders grade enclosures use templated pieces which don’t fit level/plumb) of the deck and host structure (no pool deck or house is ever level or square) and of course you get a dedicated project manager.
We say the above from experience. We frequently hear from other customers who went with another company offering builders grade enclosures complaining about screen falling out before 2 years, paint turning green within 1 year, screws rusted within months. Considering the fact that they don’t provide long-lasting value, and most customers are generally unhappy with them, we no longer build any builders grade enclosures for our customers.
