Pet Screen Installation in Sarasota, FL

Here's the math that makes pet screen a no-brainer for pet owners: if you're calling a screen repair company two or three times a year to replace panels that your dog or cat has torn through, you're spending more on repeated repairs than you would on a one-time pet screen installation. Pet screen costs more upfront, but it eliminates the revolving door of panel replacements.

The material itself — Phifer PetScreen — is a vinyl-coated polyester that's engineered to resist tearing, puncturing, and stretching. Dogs can lean against it, jump at it, and paw at it without punching through. Cats can claw at it without shredding it. It's the same screening material used in commercial and high-traffic applications where standard fiberglass wouldn't survive.

Beyond durability, pet screen keeps your enclosure intact, which means the bugs stay out and your pets stay in. In Sarasota, an intact screen enclosure is the difference between enjoying your outdoor space and getting eaten alive by mosquitoes every evening.

Pet screen works on any type of screen enclosure — pool cages, lanais, patios, porches, screen rooms, and entryway enclosures. The most common approach is a targeted installation: pet screen on the panels your pets actually reach, and standard fiberglass on the panels they don't.

For pool cages, we typically install pet screen on the lower panels from ground level up to about four feet. That covers the zone where dogs lean, jump, and scratch. The upper panels get standard screen since pets can't reach them.

For lanais and patios, the same principle applies — pet screen on the bottom rows and any panels near doors where dogs rush in and out. Screen doors themselves are a prime candidate for pet screen since they take the most abuse.

If you have a particularly energetic or large dog, we might recommend extending the pet screen higher. And for cat owners, we look at what surfaces the cat can jump to — like shelving, furniture, or window sills near the screen — and install pet screen at those levels too.

Installing pet screen follows the same professional process as any screen installation, with a few adjustments for the heavier material. We remove the existing damaged screen and old spline, thoroughly clean the spline channels, and install the pet screen with appropriately sized spline.

Because pet screen is thicker and stiffer than standard fiberglass, it requires slightly different technique to get proper tension. The spline needs to be the right diameter to hold the heavier material firmly in the channel without deforming the frame. This is where experience matters — improper tensioning can pull the frame or leave the screen baggy.

We've done hundreds of pet screen installations in Sarasota, so we know how to handle the material properly on every type of enclosure. The finished product should look clean and taut, just like a standard screen installation but dramatically more durable.

Sarasota is a pet-friendly community, and we work with pet owners throughout the county. Whether you're in a home near the beaches of Siesta Key, a neighborhood in Lakewood Ranch, or a property in Venice or Englewood, we'll come to you for a free assessment.

During the estimate, we look at your enclosure, talk to you about your pets' behavior, and recommend which panels should get pet screen. We don't push you to screen the entire enclosure if you don't need it — targeted installation on the right panels gives you the protection without unnecessary cost. If you're tired of replacing torn screen panels every few months, give us a call and let's solve the problem for good.