Strange Florida Garage Doors (North Port, Venice: for sale, real estate, houses)

[Headacher]

I'm still up here in Ill-Annoy. I'm always on Realtor.com looking at houses in the Nokomis/Venice/North Port area. There's something strange about some garage doors down there that I never see up here.

Right now, there's a house for sale at 4913 Ariton Rd in North Port. If you were to search that on Realtor.com, you will see a photo of the front of the house. The garage door looks to be a two-car, but it seems to have been shortened into a one-car with a screen door or perhaps just screening, added on to it.

For the life of me, I can't understand why this would be done. I know this could be taken off and a regular door put back on, but why do some people in Florida do this? Why would anyone put a screen door on a garage? Do people actually sit in their garages in Florida? Some people up here do, but usually just to smoke or drink beer when the wife doesn't want you doing that in the house. But no one puts a screen door on the garage to do that. Up here, they just open up the door.

So can anyone offer an explanation? There has to be a point to this and I'm just not informed on this particular Florida garage door/screen door ritual. Just curious.

[photoman_6]

it happens sometimes when people want to get fresh air, and maybe snoop on the neighborhood.
Maybe some people miss having a nice open porch.

[bbronston]

Description mentions a workshop and fridge in the garage so the owner probably kept one car garaged and used the other space for his shop work. The screen probably made for a very nice arrangement when the weather was nice.

[PBToast]

LOL! OP I had the same confusion when I started looking at FL houses!

I finally googled it and found these: Garage Door Screens: Lifestyle Screens® Garage Screen Door System

Explains how they open and close it!
One reason might be that some HOAs have rules about the garage door always being closed unless you are coming/going. They don't like garage doors hanging open all day. I've read this in more than one set of rules. The screen closure would fit the closed part and allow someone to work in the garage and not expire from the heat.


Another reason might be bugs? Not getting Zika virus while working in your garage? Or keeping out varmits? It looks like a neat idea, just not something we have up north.

[jean_ji]

Originally Posted by Headacher

I'm still up here in Ill-Annoy. I'm always on Realtor.com looking at houses in the Nokomis/Venice/North Port area. There's something strange about some garage doors down there that I never see up here.

Right now, there's a house for sale at 4913 Ariton Rd in North Port. If you were to search that on Realtor.com, you will see a photo of the front of the house. The garage door looks to be a two-car, but it seems to have been shortened into a one-car with a screen door or perhaps just screening, added on to it.

For the life of me, I can't understand why this would be done. I know this could be taken off and a regular door put back on, but why do some people in Florida do this? Why would anyone put a screen door on a garage? Do people actually sit in their garages in Florida? Some people up here do, but usually just to smoke or drink beer when the wife doesn't want you doing that in the house. But no one puts a screen door on the garage to do that. Up here, they just open up the door.

So can anyone offer an explanation? There has to be a point to this and I'm just not informed on this particular Florida garage door/screen door ritual. Just curious.

What you’re seeing in the picture is the stack of three screen doors that covers the entire opening when in use. It’s a two car garage with one double overhead door. The screens need to be put to one side when getting the car out.

Screened garages are good to air out the garage and keep animals out. Some newer homes still have the laundry area in the garage and the heat can really build up in a closed garage in the summer.

I’d like screens for our garage, but I don’t like the track on the ground or how the stacked screens look. I’ve seen another system that stores overhead under the garage door and is pulled down by hand, like a typical overhead garage door. It has a opening with a door built into it. I have not seen one in person though.
http://www.lifestylescreens.com/Index.html

[choff5]

We have an automatic roll down screen over our garage door that I hadn’t expected but now love. When the weather is nice I can put it down, put up the garage door and open the door to the house and the sliders on the back to the screened in patio and get some great breezes through the place.

[imagardener]

No one on our street has these but there are times they'd be useful: working in the garage after dark would keep skeeters out, keep your dog there daytime cause dogs like to see what's going on but they'd be protected from other dogs or getting in the street.

As stated already many older, smaller homes have the washer dryer in the garage and the screen adds ventilation.
You could pull your cars out and your small kids could run their tricycles there or build forts out of the blazing sun. Lots of possibilities. Or your man could sit in his cave and kick back.

My dream is to have my very own garage someday, not for cars but for my hobbies, painting and wood shop.

[CTC]

I think they are great, I am looking at getting one installed. I like to putter around in the garage where my work bench and fishing stuff is kept.

It gets so hot in the garage, and opening it lets all kinds of bugs in.

Like others have mentioned, it would be also be great to get a cross breeze on the back end of our lanai.

[Headacher]

OP here.

PBToast, thanks for posting that link. I took a look and that Lifestyle Garage Door Screen in that video looks really cool! I would like to install that in my garage here in Ill.

jean ji, now I understand that the screen in that house from Realtor.com is just one of several that are stacked up. Having the screen to help air out the heat from a dryer makes a lot of sense. I still don't understand blocking half of a two car garage though. Unless perhaps that's where the washer and dryer are located anyway? (And I saw that you also posted the Lifestyle Garage Door link.)

choff5, having the screens across the entire garage door and creating a cross-breeze through to the screened patio makes a lot of sense.

Thanks to everyone who responded. Now I understand what I'm seeing in those real estate photos.

[dotbowels]

Originally Posted by Celtic_Soul

I think in newer particularly upscale subdivisions, it's pretty trashy

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