Enclosing a lanai and converting one are two different projects. Enclosing leaves it outside the thermal envelope. Converting makes it part of the house — insulated, conditioned, and built to the same standard as the rest of the home.
Any project that expands the enclosed, conditioned square footage of a Florida home requires a building permit, and drawings must be signed and sealed. A screen enclosure is a shade and insect structure: light framing, generous openings, no thermal requirements. Conditioned space is measured against the house standard. The original lanai slab was often poured as a patio, not as a foundation carrying an insulated wall assembly. The columns may have carried a screen roof, not a rigid, insulated roof. Each of those has to be verified before it becomes floor area someone lives in.
How load reaches the ground in each of the three cases.
Whether the original patio slab can carry the new wall and roof assembly, and what thickening or underpinning is required if it cannot.
Framing, headers and opening protection sized for your county design wind speed.
Replacing or reinforcing a screen roof with an insulated assembly changes both dead load and uplift resistance.
How the converted space ties into the existing structure, and whether the existing wall can take it.
A continuous, verified path from roof to foundation — the item plan reviewers reject most often.
Whether the enclosed space can be classified as conditioned living area depends on the approved project scope and local requirements, and in condominiums it is often restricted by the association as well as the building department. Confirm classification with your local building department before committing to a design.
No. It depends on the existing slab and columns, the setbacks, and what your local building department allows for that classification. Some conversions require foundation work that changes the economics of the project.
That is exactly what the conversion does, when it is approved as conditioned area. That is also why it triggers requirements a screen enclosure never does.
Condominium conversions carry additional restrictions and typically require association approval in addition to the permit. Check both before you design.
We produce the PE-sealed engineering. Your licensed general contractor submits the package to the county. We also offer optional Assistant Filing.
Photos of the existing slab, columns and roof, plus your address, are usually enough for us to tell you whether the conversion is straightforward.