Creating a private escape in your own backyard can help with stress and promote family together time. The backyard patio is a great place for gatherings, cookouts, or just a quiet moment or relaxation. Creating privacy is necessary.
Building a privacy screen around your patio with lattice work is so easy anyone can do it, even if you do not have any building experience. The finished result gives plenty of privacy while maintaining air flow and increasing beauty.
Materials Needed for the Lattice Privacy Screen
To create the screen around your backyard patio, you will need at least four four-by-four wooden posts, pre-fashioned lattice work, hammer and nails or a nail gun, and a post hole digger or shovel. You may choose to use screws instead of nails for a more secure construction. The amount of lattice work and the number of posts depend on the size of your patio and the area you will be enclosing. Paint, stain, or waterproof treatments can be used.
Building the Lattice Privacy Screen
The first step to any home or garden improvement project is careful planning and a lot of measuring. Use small stakes and string to map out where you plan to build your lattice outdoor privacy screen. Use a level to make sure that the line of the screen will be straight. It is hard to successfully attach lattic work to a warped privacy screen.
At each end of the planned privacy screen, dig a hole with the post hole digger that is at least two feet deep. Plant a four-by-four post in each end hole, making sure they are square with each other. That means they must face exactly the same direction so your screen is straight. This can be done by checking with a long straight edge such as a non-warped two-by-four board.
For a less permanent structure, fill the holes firmly around the posts with soil. Tamp it down well to give the posts a firm foundation. You may also choose to use cement to fill the holes and create a more permanent outdoor privacy screen.
If the privacy screen is longer than one length of the prefabricated lattice work, you must plant another four-by-four post in the ground. Repeat the steps above until you have enough to hang the lattice work pieces on.
Attach the lattice work next. Hold the sheet of lattic up toward the top of the four-by-four post and nail or screw it on. Repeat with the other pieces until you are done.
As a finishing touch that will both beautify and extend the life of your outdoor privacy screen, buy four-by-four post caps in a shape you like. These often come in ball shapes or pyramid shapes. These will not only give your privacy screen a nice finish, they will cause rain to run off the posts instead of seeping down inside and causing rot.
