Pool Cages, Lanai Screens and Screen Rooms in Northwest Hillsborough County
Hillsborough Screen Enclosures builds and rescreens aluminum screen enclosures for homes in Town ’n’ Country, Carrollwood and Citrus Park: pool cages, lanai screens, screen rooms and screened patios. Tell us about your project in the form or call (641) 505-8233 for a free quote.
Work performed by Top Tier Home & Building Solutions, Licensed Florida General Contractor #CGC1527718
Town ’n’ Country, Carrollwood and Citrus Park: Unincorporated Hillsborough County
None of these three communities has a city government. The U.S. Census Bureau lists Town ’n’ Country, Carrollwood and Citrus Park as census-designated places: unincorporated communities of Hillsborough County. That matters for your project. Hillsborough County reviews and inspects your permit, and the county’s Land Development Code decides where an enclosure can go on your lot.
Updated October 2026. U.S. Census Bureau: 2020 Census and American Community Survey 2020–2024.
- Town ’n’ Country: 85,951 residents. 60% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, and the median home was built in 1984.
- Carrollwood: 34,352 residents. 68% owner-occupied, and the median home was built in 1984.
- Citrus Park: 28,178 residents. 66% owner-occupied, and the median home was built in 1993.
Half of the homes in Town ’n’ Country and Carrollwood were built in 1984 or earlier, so many pool cages and lanai screens here are decades old. If your frame is still solid, a rescreening may be all you need. If it isn’t, a new enclosure is designed to the current code.
Parts of Town ’n’ Country have a history of flooding. Hillsborough County lists a regional drainage project in the Lower Sweetwater Creek watershed to lower flood levels around the Henry Street Canal and the West Hillsborough Avenue neighborhoods. If your lot is in a flood zone, the permit rules change (see below).
Types of Screen Enclosures
Updated October 2026
- Pool cages. An aluminum frame with screen walls and a screen roof over the pool and deck. Roof styles include mansard, gable, hip and dome (Fixr). A pool cage can also be part of your pool’s safety barrier. The Florida Building Code accepts a standard screen enclosure as the barrier when it is at least 48 inches high, no opening lets a 4-inch sphere through, and the door is self-closing and self-latching (FBC Residential, Section R4501.17).
- Lanai screens. Aluminum framing, screen walls and a door that close in a covered lanai or porch, so you can use it without bugs.
- Screen rooms and screened patios. A screened room off the back of the house, often with a solid roof. With a solid roof over a pool, the county counts the enclosure as a building, which changes how close it can be to your property line (see below).
- Rescreening and repair. New screen on an existing frame, a few torn panels or the whole enclosure.
Which screen? 18×14 fiberglass is the traditional choice for pool and patio enclosures. 20×20 “no-see-um” screen stops tiny biting insects. Vinyl-laminated screen goes below the chair rail or where you want privacy (Phifer). The screen also changes the engineering. The Florida Building Code lets an 18×14 screen be designed for 0.88 times the wind pressure of a standard 20×20 screen, and denser screens are designed like a closed building (FBC Building, Table 2002.4).
How Much Does a Screen Enclosure Cost in Town ’n’ Country?
Updated October 2026. National cost guides. None publishes prices for northwest Hillsborough County.
- New screened pool enclosure: $5,708 to $16,608, with a national average of $10,675 (Bob Vila, May 2024, citing Angi). Screen enclosures cost about $8 to $15 per square foot (Fixr, January 2025).
- Rescreening a pool enclosure: about $7 to $9 per square foot of enclosure, labor included. For example, $4,200 to $5,400 for 600 square feet (HomeAdvisor, June 2026). Fixr puts a pool cage rescreen at around $5 per square foot.
- Repairs: $295 to $1,593, with an average of $925 (HomeAdvisor, June 2026).
These are national averages from third-party guides, not our quote. Your estimate comes after we see and measure your space.
What Changes the Price
- Size and height of the enclosure (Fixr, Bob Vila).
- Roof style. Mansard, gable, hip or dome (Fixr).
- Screen type. Standard, no-see-um, pet-resistant or vinyl-laminated (Fixr, Phifer).
- Hurricane-area construction. Fixr estimates roughly 10% more for stronger frames where hurricanes and high winds are expected.
- Permit and engineering. Hillsborough County asks for plans signed and sealed by a Florida-registered architect or engineer (see below).
- New frame or rescreen. Rescreening reuses the aluminum frame, so it costs a fraction of a new enclosure (HomeAdvisor, Fixr).
Permits for Screen Enclosures in Unincorporated Hillsborough County
Updated October 2026. Requirements change. Confirm them with Hillsborough County Development Services before work starts.
A new pool cage or screen room in Town ’n’ Country, Carrollwood or Citrus Park is a Residential Miscellaneous Permit – Building, applied for online in HillsGovHub. The county’s checklist asks for:
- Building plans designed to the current Florida Building Code and digitally signed and sealed by a State of Florida Registered Architect or Engineer.
- The Risk Category of the structure, shown on the plans.
- A site plan drawn to scale with all existing structures, lot dimensions, setbacks, easements and any wetlands.
- A tree statement. Trees 12 inches or more in trunk diameter need their own permit to be removed.
- A recorded Notice of Commencement (Florida Statutes 713.13) before the first inspection.
- If you build it yourself as an owner-builder, an Owner Builder Disclosure Statement.
- If the property is in a Special Flood Hazard Area, full compliance with the county’s flood rules, ASCE 24 and the Florida Building Code.
Florida’s $7,500 exemption does not cover a new enclosure. Since July 1, 2026, owners of single-family homes can ask for an exemption for work under $7,500 (Florida Statutes §553.79). It does not apply to structural work or to property partly or fully in a flood hazard area, and you still have to apply in HillsGovHub. Hillsborough County has not said whether rescreening qualifies, so ask Development Services at (813) 272-5600 before you skip a permit.
Is your lot in a flood zone? Check the county’s “Find My Flood Zone” tool. High-risk areas (Special Flood Hazard Areas) are the zones labeled A or V.
How Close to the Property Line Can a Pool Enclosure Go?
Updated October 2026. Hillsborough County Land Development Code, Section 6.11.94, codified through Ordinance 26-8 (January 2026).
- Screen roof, attached to the house: it may extend into the required rear and side yards, keeping at least 3 feet from the property line. It cannot go into the front yard, unless the front yard works as a rear yard with no street access.
- Screen roof, detached from the house: the county treats it as an accessory structure.
- Solid roof over the pool: the county treats it as a building. If it is attached, it can extend up to 13 feet into the required rear yard, always keeping at least 10 feet from the line, and it cannot go into side or front yards.
- Near wetlands: no closer than 15 feet to a Conservation Area or 25 feet to a Preservation Area (Section 4.01.07).
Easements are shown on the site plan, so check your survey before you choose the size.
Built for Florida Wind
Updated October 2026. Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023), in effect since December 31, 2023. The 9th Edition takes effect on December 31, 2026 (ICC-NTA).
- Wind pressure by address. Screen enclosure frames are designed to the wind pressures in FBC Building Table 2002.4, which go from 110 to 170 mph and depend on how exposed the site is. The design wind speed is read for your address, and Hillsborough County asks for the Risk Category on the plans.
- More than wind. Each main frame member is also designed for a 300-pound load on any one-foot length (FBC Building 2002.4). The AAF Guide to Aluminum Construction in High Wind Areas is accepted as meeting engineering practice (2002.4.1).
- Removable panels. Vinyl, acrylic or glass panels in a screen enclosure must be removable and labeled to be removed when winds exceed 75 mph (FBC Building 2002.3.3).
- Lessons from hurricanes. After Hurricane Charley, the Florida Building Commission saw aluminum pool coverings and lanais torn loose, “with some anchoring bolts actually pulled from the concrete decking,” and concluded that “only stainless steel should be used” for connectors.
Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30 (NOAA).
HOA Approval in Carrollwood, Citrus Park and Town ’n’ Country
Many subdivisions here have a homeowners association. Check its rules before you sign. For example, the Carrollwood Village Phase III HOA, in unincorporated Hillsborough County, says that “every exterior change requires prior written ARC review and approval” and that “ARC approval does not replace any permit.” Its community standards also require that “all pool cages and screens must be maintained, and any tears or rips must be repaired promptly.”
Under Florida law, an HOA can review the location, size, type or appearance of a structure only to the extent its declaration or published guidelines give it that power. It cannot require the building permit before its review (Florida Statutes §720.3035).
Get a Free Quote in Town ’n’ Country, Carrollwood or Citrus Park
Tell us about your pool cage, lanai or screen room in the form, or call (641) 505-8233. See all our screen enclosure services.
We also build screen enclosures and lanais in Westchase, Brandon and Plant City.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a screen enclosure cost in Town ’n’ Country?
National guides put a new screened pool enclosure at $5,708 to $16,608, with an average of $10,675 (Bob Vila, citing Angi), or about $8 to $15 per square foot (Fixr). Rescreening an existing pool cage runs about $7 to $9 per square foot (HomeAdvisor). Your price depends on size, height, roof style, screen type and the permit. We give you an estimate after we see and measure your space.
Do I need a permit for a pool cage in Carrollwood or Town ’n’ Country?
Yes, for a new one. Both are unincorporated, so the permit comes from Hillsborough County: a Residential Miscellaneous Permit – Building in HillsGovHub, with plans signed and sealed by a Florida-registered architect or engineer, a site plan and a recorded Notice of Commencement. Florida’s $7,500 exemption does not cover structural work.
Can I rescreen my old pool cage instead of replacing it?
Often, yes. If the aluminum frame is sound, rescreening replaces only the screen and costs much less than a new enclosure. That is about $7 to $9 per square foot according to HomeAdvisor, or around $5 according to Fixr. If the frame is damaged or corroded, a new enclosure is designed to the current Florida Building Code.
How close to my property line can a pool enclosure be?
In unincorporated Hillsborough County, a pool enclosure with a screen roof attached to the house can go into the rear and side yards but must stay at least 3 feet from the property line. With a solid roof it counts as a building: up to 13 feet into the required rear yard, and never closer than 10 feet (Land Development Code, Section 6.11.94).
Does my HOA have to approve a screen enclosure?
If your community has an HOA whose declaration or guidelines cover exterior changes, yes. Carrollwood Village Phase III, for example, requires written ARC approval for every exterior change. Under Florida law, the HOA cannot make you get the building permit before it reviews your plans (Florida Statutes §720.3035).
