Oldsmar, FL is a city, but since September 1, 2021 its building permits, screen enclosures included, have been issued by Pinellas County. The county handles the permit and inspections, while the city and, in communities like East Lake Woodlands, two layers of homeowner association can still have a say on how things look. This page on screen enclosures Oldsmar residents ask about sorts out who approves what, then covers cleaning, storms and choosing the right job.
What counts as a screen enclosure
A screen enclosure is an aluminum frame covered in insect screen, attached to the house or standing over a pool, patio, lanai or entry. Over a pool, Floridians call it a pool cage. The frame is the engineered part, designed to Florida Building Code Section 2002 and, in Oldsmar, to Pinellas County's 145 mph design wind speed for homes. The screen is the wear part, typically lasting about 5 to 10 years in Florida sun, while a cared-for frame lasts 20 to 30 years or more.
Who approves what for an Oldsmar enclosure
For most Oldsmar cages, up to four parties are involved: the county, possibly the city, possibly your HOA, and the contractor licensing board.
| Who | What they handle | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Pinellas County BDRS | Building permit, plan review, inspections | New cages, structural and storm repairs; work over $500 or needing inspection |
| City of Oldsmar | Architectural approval before permits go to the county | Properties in the Community Redevelopment Area or along the Tampa Road Corridor, for windows, doors, soffits, fascia and siding; screen enclosures are not named, so ask |
| Sub-HOA ARC | Lot-level changes | Neighborhoods inside master-planned communities such as East Lake Woodlands |
| Master association | Community-wide standards | May require review for certain changes |
| PCCLB | Contractor registration | Every contractor working in Pinellas County, including all cities |
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City of Oldsmar Building Division page (interlocal agreement and CRA rule); pinellas.gov residential permits and contractor licensing pages; East Lake Woodlands governance per a local HOA management firm. Fetched 2026-10-13.
The county side, briefly
County applications are filed in the Pinellas County Access Portal under Aluminum Structure, subtype Screen Room/Pool Enclosure, with digitally signed and sealed plans for any structural work. Pools also need the county's Safety Act Letter. If your lot is in a flood zone, the county's Substantial Improvement rules apply. The full county walkthrough is in the pool enclosure permit guide.
How to clean a pool cage in Oldsmar
Gentle and often beats hard and rare: rinse, soft-brush with mild soap, rinse again. Screen mesh can tear and spline can pop under a close pressure-washer blast, so most of the work is a hose and a long-handled soft brush.
- Clear the deck and cover anything you don't want wet.
- Rinse the screen top to bottom with a garden hose.
- Scrub stained panels with a soft brush and mild soap; avoid stiff bristles on the mesh.
- Wipe the aluminum frame and check screws as you go.
- Rinse again, top to bottom, and skim the pool afterward.
- During lovebug season, rinse more often so residue doesn't build up.
UF/IFAS says lovebugs appear in large numbers for a few weeks every April and May and again in August and September. A professional cage wash was priced at about $150 to $300 in a March 2026 Tampa Bay guide. More detail is in the pool cage cleaning guide, and a chalky, faded frame is a job for pool cage painting.
Storms on Old Tampa Bay
Oldsmar borders Old Tampa Bay to the north and sits about 13 feet above sea level, and Helene showed what that means. Near Shore Drive and Tampa Road, one resident reported about four feet of water in the garage in September 2024, and across the street the water came within a foot of the top of a front door.
Surge damage to a cage hides low: the base rail, kick plates, the door frame and the screws into the slab. Wind damage shows high: torn roof panels, bent purlins and a gutter pulled from the fascia. Both need a county permit to repair structurally. Torn screen alone is a pool screen repair; bent or twisted framing is a hurricane damage repair. Pinellas storm repair permits carry standard fees, which the county commission can waive after a major storm.
Picking the right job
Match the job to the worst part of the cage, not the most visible one.
- Tired, faded or brittle screen on a sound frame: pool cage rescreening, from about $1,995 and mostly $2,500 to $6,500 or more for a whole cage in published Tampa Bay pricing.
- A door that no longer closes and latches by itself: pool cage door replacement. Florida's barrier law requires pool gates to be self-closing and self-latching.
- A screened entry or lanai without a pool: front entry screen enclosures or lanai screen repair.
- No cage yet: pool enclosure installation, typically $10,000 to $30,000 or more in the Tampa Bay area.
What a new pool cage costs by size
New cage prices scale with covered area, so measure before you compare quotes. Published Florida figures by size:
| Covered area | Published range | Source scope |
|---|---|---|
| Under 800 sq ft | $6,000 to $9,600 | Southwest Florida company, 2026 |
| 800 to 2,000 sq ft | $9,600 to $24,000 | Southwest Florida company, 2026 |
| Over 2,000 sq ft | $24,000+ | Southwest Florida company, 2026 |
| About 1,500 sq ft, built to today's code | About $23,000 ($12 to $25 per sq ft) | Tampa Bay contractor guide, Feb 2026 |
| Typical Tampa Bay projects | $10,000 to $30,000+ | Pinellas and Pasco contractor, 2026 |
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Published contractor price pages fetched 2026-10-13. County permit fees and sealed plans are separate.
The pool cage cost guide breaks down what drives the number, from roof style to door count.
About Oldsmar
Oldsmar was founded in 1916 when automobile pioneer Ransom E. Olds bought 37,541 acres at the top of Old Tampa Bay, and today it is a city of 14,898 (2020 census) in ZIP 34677. Nearby pages cover Palm Harbor, also permitted by the county, and Tarpon Springs. Every town is on the service area page, and the quote form is four fields.
