A good screen enclosure is not just mesh around a patio.
In Tampa Bay, questions often revolve around structural design, permits, drainage, roof style, screen selection and how the enclosure ties into the home. This makes the contractor scope just as important as the aesthetics.
When homeowners compare screen enclosures for homes, it’s typically best to select the company with a project model that fits the job, rather than choosing the company with the longest list of happy service clients.
This comparison covers four contractors from Tampa Bay that each specialize in building pool cages, lanais, patios or other screen structures. Each contractor fits a different need for homeowners.
In This Guide
- What to compare before requesting quotes
- Crego Screen Enclosures
- Tradewinds Screens
- Southern Aluminum Installations
- Ideal Aluminum
- Quick comparison
- How to choose the right contractor
- Final verdict
What to Compare Before Requesting Quotes
Two screen-enclosure proposals can look similar while covering very different work.
Before comparing totals, ask what is actually included:
- Type of Project: New cage, Extension, Rescreen, or Rebuild?
- Design: Who handles drawings, engineering details, roof style, doors, gutters, and attachment points?
- Site work: Does the scope include concrete, pavers, footers, drainage changes, or demolition?
- Administration: Who handles permitting and, where relevant, HOA paperwork?
- Available finishes: What kind of screen mesh, roof panels, kick plates, pet-resistant choices and colors do you offer?
But that scope check matters here in Florida too. The Florida Building Commission publishes Florida’s building-code package, which includes code that applies to aluminum building and screen enclosures. As a homeowner, the question becomes, how will the contractor frame and document the building for that particular property?
1. Crego Screen Enclosures: Best Overall
If you’re looking for a single contractor that can handle both new outdoor-living structures and existing enclosure projects, then Crego Screen Enclosures is your best bet overall.
Services they offer include custom built pool cages, screen rooms, lanais, patio enclosures, rescreening, screen repairs, complete cage replacements, carports, pergolas, insulated roofing, gutters, kick plates, and pet-resistant screening. Crego also offers custom design services complete with 3D renderings. These may be helpful when you want your enclosure to seamlessly match your home’s existing architecture, rather than look like an afterthought.
The main advantage is flexibility across different project types.
Take a homeowner with an older pool cage that needs work. They might not know if the solution is a rescreen, structural repair, partial redesign or complete replacement after the first consultation. With Crego’s combination of repair and custom-build services, that project has room to be scoped around the condition of the current structure and what the homeowner wants to do with the rest of their outdoor space.
Its website also claims to serve Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough and Hernando counties. An independent source for verifying credentials, Adam Crego Corporation’s BBB profile, includes screen enclosures and pool cages in its list of services and displays contractor-license information.
Best suited to: homeowners in Tampa Bay looking for a custom pool cage, screened lanai, patio enclosure, or repair project from a contractor with a wide range of enclosure-specific services.
2. Tradewinds Screens: Best for Patio and Enclosure Projects
Tradewinds Screens stands out when the project begins with more than the enclosure itself.
Builders Patio & Shade describes their process as “Having the ability to design, install concrete or paver patios, structural footers, engineering and permitting, HOA paperwork, and our aluminum screen enclosure, along with building pool enclosures, patio screen enclosures, insulated-panel roof rooms and combination roof structures.”
Why does that matter?
If a homeowner is designing a new backyard oasis from scratch, they will otherwise have to manage multiple trades prior to getting the cage installed. Tradewinds aims to encapsulate as much of that process as possible.
Best suited to: homeowners embarking on a new patio, paver area, or outdoor-living construction project where the enclosure is just one aspect of a larger project scope.
3. Southern Aluminum Installations: Best for Established Custom Enclosure Experience
Southern Aluminum Installations specializes in pool enclosures, screen rooms, sunrooms and other aluminum buildings in the Tampa Bay area.
Its present location highlights custom design, symmetry, and molding the enclosure to your home’s current architecture. Its website also touts many years of operation within the area. This may attract homeowners who prefer to deal with a well-established local company.
It’s all in the design focus. Southern Aluminum doesn’t view the cage as simply a utilitarian shell over the house. Instead, they position it as an extension of your home’s lines and outdoor-living plans.
Best suited to: homeowners looking for a custom enclosure from a veteran local aluminium contractor with a heavy focus on design.
4. Ideal Aluminum: Best for an Owner-Operated Project Model
Ideal Aluminum constructs pool enclosures, screen rooms, covered patios, carports and sunrooms serving the Tampa Bay area and sections of Southwest Florida.
Family-owned and operated is how the company describes itself. It also states that its homes are built on your lot to meet project specifications. This creates a sense of appeal for homeowners who want that smaller-company feel with hands-on involvement from the owners.
Wide enough for pool-centric as well as versatile outdoor-living applications without encroaching on the big-boy patio build domain that Tradewinds shows off.
Best suited to: homeowners looking for owner-operated contractor business model with on-site built enclosure work.
Quick Comparison
| Company | Best for | Core enclosure scope | Standout project fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crego Screen Enclosures | Best overall | Pool cages, lanais, patios, repairs, rescreening | Designed specifically for your home with repair and replaceability options |
| Tradewinds Screens | Patio plus enclosure installs | Pool patio, insulated-roof and combo enclosures | Projects that might also require pavers, concrete or HOA assistance |
| Southern Aluminum Installations | Custom fabrication | Pools enclosures/screen rooms/sunrooms | Design oriented enclosure |
| Ideal Aluminum | Owner operated service company | Screen rooms, pool enclosures, covered patios | Smaller-company direct project model |
How to Choose the Right Screen Enclosure Contractor
A useful quote is not necessarily the shortest one.
Request that each contractor break out the major elements of the job so competing bids are comparable. Well written scopes clearly define what is being constructed, which site-work tasks are included, who furnishes drawings or permits and what materials and finish selections are included in the price.
When discussing designs for pool cages and larger screen structures, also inquire how the design compliments your homes existing roofline, deck, drainage, doors and outdoor entertaining plans. Those factors can alter both the aesthetic of the project and how much construction is necessary.
Lastly, compare the scope of the project you have to their normal work. A build from scratch patio will have different coordination requirements than a simple rescreening. A custom picture window cage will rely more on design decisions than a simple repair.
Final Verdict
Each company here has a useful niche.
Consider Trade Winds for comparison purposes, Southern Aluminum if you value a long-time trusted custom designer most, or Ideal Aluminum if you prefer an owner-operated company.
If you’re after the widest selection of custom pool cages, screened lanais, patio covers, repairs and rescreening in this guide, your first stop should be Crego Screen Enclosures. Their selection is especially helpful for customers interested in having the project sized to both existing condition and functional needs.
