Pool cage restoration in Tampa is the frame and the mesh treated as one job. Paint the cage when the aluminum is straight and the problem is chalk, fade, or light rust. Rescreen it when the mesh is torn, stained black, or pulling out of the spline. Replace members when they are bent, split, or rusted through. Paint does not fix a bad frame.
Westchase Painting Company paints cages in Westchase, Carrollwood, South Tampa, Oldsmar, and Odessa. The crew paints. A screen company does the mesh. The two jobs meet on the same cage, and the order matters. New screen goes back after the coating has cured. Painting first and rescreening later is fine. Rescreening onto a chalky frame is not. The new mesh will outlast the coating, and the next painter has to work around it.
Which Job the Cage Actually Needs
| What you see | What it usually means | The job |
|---|---|---|
| Chalky or dull frame, screen still tight | The coating is gone. The metal is usually fine. | Wash, treat light rust, repaint |
| Torn screen, black mildew on the mesh, spline pulling out | The screen is done. The frame may still be fine. | Rescreen, or mask a sound screen and paint the frame only |
| Bent, split, or rusted-through members | The frame has failed. | Replace those members before any paint |
What Pool Cage Restoration Costs in Tampa
These ranges are already published on the painting page and the Florida pool cage guide. They are market ranges, not a bid.
| Scope | 2026 market range |
|---|---|
| Straight repaint on a sound cage | $1,800 to $4,500 |
| Rescreen when the frame is sound | $1,200 to $3,500 |
| Paint plus rescreen | $3,500 to $7,000 |
| Full cage replacement | $8,000 to $25,000 |
A straight repaint often starts around $1,800. Size, height, and how much rust has to be treated move the number. The paint-only steps live on pool cage painting in Tampa. The walk-through of rescreen, repaint, or replace is in Pool Cage in Tampa: Rescreen, Repaint, or Replace. The longer cost piece, written around the questions people ask, is pool cage restoration cost in Tampa.
Order of the Work
Screen comes off if it is torn, if the spline is loose, or if overspray would ruin mesh you planned to keep. The frame is washed, light rust is treated, and the coating goes on. New screen waits until that coating has cured. Sound screen can stay. It is masked, and only the frame is painted.
Westchase Painting Company does not install screen. If the mesh is finished, hire that trade before or after the paint. A new screen on a chalky frame still looks like an old cage.
Pool Cage Restoration Near Me
The cages this crew paints are in Westchase, Carrollwood, South Tampa, Oldsmar, and Odessa. People searching "pool cage restoration near me" are usually looking for one visit that handles a chalky frame and a dead screen. On our jobs the visit splits by trade. The crew paints the aluminum. A screen company installs the mesh after the coating has cured.
What Pool Cage Restoration Includes
On a straight cage the work is a wash, treatment of light rust, replacement of screws that have rust halos, and a coating on the aluminum. Screws with a rust ring around the head come out. Stainless steel fasteners go back in. Surface rust is wire-brushed or sanded, then treated, before the coating. That sequence is the same one on pool cage painting in Tampa. Restoration adds the screen decision to it.
- Chalk, fade, or light surface rust on a straight frame: wash, treat the rust, paint.
- Torn mesh, black mildew on the screen, or spline pulling out, and the frame is still sound: paint the frame, then a screen company rescreens after the coating cures. Sound screen can stay. It is masked, and only the frame is painted.
- A bent beam, a split member, or metal you can push a finger through: those members are replaced before any paint. Paint does not straighten a beam and it does not fill a hole.
How Much Does It Cost to Rescreen a Pool Cage in Tampa?
Rescreening a sound frame runs $1,200 to $3,500 in the Tampa market. Paint plus a rescreen runs $3,500 to $7,000. A straight repaint, with tight screen left in place, runs $1,800 to $4,500. A full replacement runs $8,000 to $25,000. Those are market ranges, not a bid for one cage. Size, height, and how much rust has to be treated move a cage inside the paint range. The screen company prices the mesh.
Standard fiberglass, a tighter weave meant for no-see-ums, and a heavier pet screen are the screen company's materials. Westchase Painting Company does not sell them and does not install them. A search for "pool cage screen repair near me" is that trade. One torn panel and a full rescreen are their call. This crew prices the coating on the frame.
How to Restore a Pool Cage
Screen comes off when it is torn, when the spline is loose, or when overspray would ruin mesh you planned to keep. The frame is washed until the chalk is gone. Light rust is treated. Rusted screws are replaced. The coating goes on. New screen waits until that coating has cured. Painting first and rescreening later works. Rescreening onto a chalky frame does not. The new mesh will outlast the dead coating, and the next painter has to work around fresh spline.
A chalky cage is not painted until the chalk is washed off. Chalk is dead paint. Coating stuck to chalk peels. Homeowners read the white dust as rot. Aluminum does not rot. It oxidizes. If the tubes are still straight, the wash and the coating are the job.
How Long Does Pool Cage Paint Last in Tampa?
A prepared and painted cage typically lasts 5 to 8 years. The wash, the rust treatment, and whether anyone washes the cage later are what move a job inside that span. Chlorine off the pool and full sun hit the top beams every day. Paint over chalk, with no wash, fails in a season. A coating does not reset a bent or rusted-through frame, and it does not make a cage last as long as a new one.
Can You Use the Pool During the Job?
Stay out of the pool while the cage is being painted. A straight job is typically 2 to 4 days. The wash puts debris in the water, and overspray can reach the surface even when the deck is masked. After the coating has cured, and after any new screen is back in, the pool can be used again. July humidity adds hours to the cure. Furniture stays off the deck until the estimate's cure time is up.
Screen Enclosure Painting, a Lanai, and a Two-Story Cage
A lanai or patio screen room uses the same aluminum and the same coating. It does not sit in chlorine the way a pool cage does, so the rust work is often lighter. People asking about screen enclosure painting are usually describing that frame, or a pool cage, with the mesh still in the question. The paint-only steps, including two-story cages that need scaffolding, are on pool cage painting. If the mesh is part of the job, the ranges on this page still apply. Westchase Painting Company still does not install the screen.
What a New Pool Cage Costs
A search for pool cage cost is often a new enclosure, not a coating. A full replacement in Tampa runs $8,000 to $25,000. Restoration is the spend when the tubes are straight and the problem is chalk, fade, light rust, or a dead screen. Replacement is the job when members are bent, split, or rusted through. Coating that metal traps the failure. The crew will say so on the estimate.
Call (813) 320-8710 or request a free estimate.