Time to upgrade your patio and garden with some privacy screens. These will help section off certain parts of your garden creating little nooks and relaxing spots. What makes this a simple and fun DIY project is you can get very creative while beautifying your backyard. As all projects will require some tools, this project is no different. You’ll need these tools specifically to make the project work best.
What You’ll Need
Tools that you’ll need:
- Cordless drill
- Staple gun
- Phillips screwdriver
- Hand saw
- Pencil or marker pen
Materials that you’ll need:
- Pre-cut lattice board
- Slotted wood strips
- Outdoor paint or wood sealer
- Wood screws (1-inch and 2-inch)
- Door hinges
- Decorative fabric
- Twinkling Christmas lights
Privacy Lattice Fence Variations
#1 Portable Lattice Fence
Now to get things started you begin with precut sections of lattice board. These can be cut to length at hardware stores such as Home Depot or Lowes. This way you can cut the right height and length from a 4×8 foot sheet. For this project, you’ll want to slice off 2 feet from the 8-foot section. Then you can have them cut down the middle so you have two identical 6 foot by 2-foot pieces.
You will also need to cut your slotted wood strips to the correct length using your hand saw. You will need to measure the total length of the lattice and the slotted wood. This is done by placing the lattice inside the slot at the top and bottom and then measure the combined length. This tells you how long the side strips need to be. As a rule, measure twice and cut once, so you avoid making a mistake.
You can then cut for both sides of the lattice that makes a support frame. The top and bottom pieces will be shorter, so you measure the gap in between where the two side slots are sitting. After you’ve cut two pieces for the top and bottom of your lattice fence frame, you can now screw them together. Look at the top edges where the pieces meet and make a dot at the center point where these two slotted wood pieces meet.
This mark is where you’ll be screwing long wood screws through the wood to attach these pieces together. The slotted wood will now hold the lattice board with little effort. After finishing your marks at the top and bottom, you can then drill pilot holes using your cordless drill. Always use a drill bit that’s one size smaller than your woodscrew. This is so the threads of the screw will go through wood easily but have enough bite.
You should make sure that the pieces line up when you’re screwing them together. If you are going to make an entire section of lattice wall. Each section needs to have hinges attached to the sides just like they are folding doors. This way, a section can be folded in half and stored when the weather isn’t so nice outside. Mode than three sections should unfold with alternating hinges to each piece will fold into itself like an accordion.
Getting each section to stand is a matter of building feet that attach to the bottom. You can cut left-over slot wood sections that are screwed onto the sides of the lattice frame it can free stand by itself. After this, you can start to decorate your lattice any way you like. You should also consider sealing the wood with a wood lacquer or quality outdoor paint.
Add decorative see-thru fabric
This fabric is stapled onto the lattice and gives the backside of your lattice more color and appeal. It doesn’t have to be see-through, but it’s not a bad idea. You can essentially use any fabric you like. It just reduces blowing wind and gives a bit more privacy. You can choose to use gllittery fabric, netting, and even burlap to get various textures and colors.
Add sparkling lights
You can also add little Christmas lights that can be strung over the lattice board. It can be placed in a formation along the edges of the frame or randomly across the lattice itself. If they twinkle, this makes it appear more magical at night.
#2 Smaller Wall Sections
The idea here is to fill sections of your outdoor patio with lattice frames that can be added in between wooden support beams. You’ll need to measure carefully so these smaller sections so can be screwed into existing wood beams. This allows for further privacy in your backyard and still gets adequate airflow. The same decoration techniques work the same when you’re finished with each lattice frame.
Since these are going to be smaller and not free-standing, they’ll need to be screwed in permanently. These also need to be sealed correctly so they will last longer being outside. These sections can also have hinges on them to create window-like openings or doors. Once again, these need to be carefully measured so they will swing outward. They will also need a latch so they will stay closed.
#3 Use Lattice Sections for Decoration
Sections can be measured so they can be used as a roof over a patio terrace. These sections can also be used as decorations. By making smaller sections intended as set pieces that are built around candles and other outdoor decorations, these are treated just like a changing screen that uses hinges and free stands on its own. These look great along the edges of a table and give a nice decorative trim you can further customize.
If you want to extend the privacy of your fence border, you can add some extra trim along the top. This gives you a bit more privacy so that neighbors cannot see directly over your fence. This way, your fence will also have more style and fit in more with the design you’re adding to your outdoor patio. It also blends in with the other lattice fencing that is spaced all around your backyard.
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