Privacy Screen Ideas: Tips For Creating Privacy In Your Backyard

With technology making everything fast and easy, privacy becomes a rare commodity. It does not surprise to see many homeowners now going out of their way to keep their private area hidden from the prying eye.

This involves installing privacy fencing for the backyard, allowing everyone inside to do what they want without being conscious about the outside world.

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Although creating outdoor privacy for a yard sounds simple, there remains several things to take into account when designing this latest addition. Let’s look at some ideas on how you go about with creating privacy in backyard.

Privacy Fence Options

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Hydrangea and Cedar Tree

Nature-friendly outdoor privacy screens usually involve the use of plants, turning them into “walls” through proper planting.

Some of the most common options include hydrangea, Podocarpus macrophyllus, and cedar, each one used separately.

However, each plant may look great in full bloom – but they also come with noticeable problems through the years.

For example, cedar trees take too long to grow. It takes roughly 15 years for them to reach a decent height to block the view of the next door balcony and planting a fully-grown one takes time, effort, and money on your part.

Hydrangeas on the other hand, do not provide extensive privacy landscaping protection – especially during the fall season. Imagine all those leaves falling off, resulting to just see-through twigs.

Therefore, combining the two shows as the best option. Start to plant them side by side, making sure that only a very little space exists in between.

This way, plantings of hydrangea and the cedar tree will grow close together, creating a vertical garden, along with excellent privacy walls that does not just look good but also guarantees 100% efficiency. Not only that, but many proved cedar makes a great barrier for sound.

With this type of backyard landscaping this means:

  • Neighbors will not hear you inside
  • You will not hear the neighbors outside

Designer Fence Privacy Screen Panels

If you don’t like committing to long-term pruning and grooming of your hydrangea and cedar, select other options for added privacy. Designer Panels appears as one of the best in the market, typically made from aluminum for incredible lighting.

These panels come in different shapes and sizes with designs that come with plenty of visual appeal. This makes them excellent choices for a porch, small outdoor space, and for patio privacy.

Perhaps, being water-resistant makes one of the best features of the panels. Built specifically for outdoor use, homeowners should not worry about having to constantly change their privacy fence due to wear and tear.

The market sells a lot of this and the most popular ones come from McCarthy Design.

Vinyl, PVC and Composite

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Faux wood privacy screens or fences serves as good alternatives if you don’t really care about getting actual wood and maintaining them through the years. These vinyl fences look and feel like wood with a variety of colors making it easy for you to choose.

The best part about this may seem obvious in their uniform sizes. It means you can create a beautiful and consistent privacy fence without any irregularities typical of wood. You will find vinyl available in many stores today – finding, choosing and installing some of them should not take a long time for an experienced DIY’r.

Wood

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If you want the real deal, go for wood. Apart from being reasonably priced, most wood comes uniform in their size and shape. Estimate how much wood will fit your privacy fence and place the order after checking carefully.

As they say, “Measure twice cut once.”

Wood undeniably looks good and compatible regardless the style of your home. Their aesthetic appeal exudes a timeless effect so no matter what renovations took place, a wooden privacy fence will always look great.

Note that when it comes to wood and faux wood fences, make sure about the spacing. It all depends on how much privacy you want.

Brick, Cement, And Concrete

Of course, if you prefer something solid and thick, a privacy fence made from brick or cement also comes as a viable option. Although they seem expensive, bricks, cement, and concrete will serve its worth. You can go as high as you want without any worries.

The brick / cement also gives you the chance to decorate the fence any way you like it, depending on the colors you prefer for that particular use.

Things To Remember With Privacy Fences

Property Line

When building a fence, make sure about where your property line stops. This serves as a crucial part of the process as you don’t want to spend on building a fence only to find out that you went beyond your territorial rights.

If this happens, the real owner might insist for you to tear down the fence and demand for additional expense. Check your property registration and confirm with your neighbor before building anything.

Rules and Regulations

In most cities, typical rules and regulations apply regarding the placement of privacy fences. For example, Canada allows for a 12 feet height in privacy fences while a regular fence only needs to measure around 6 feet.

Also note that if you live in a neighborhood, they may require a smaller fence to promote friendliness in the community. Hence, it makes a good idea to find out the regulations in your area before pursuing any sort of fence building.

Attract the Eye

An ingenious way of adding privacy to your fencing shows by placing something that holds the eye and prevents it from going further. You can use anything from art to potted plants aesthetically placed along the fencing.

Catching everyone’s attention plays as the whole point of this. Blank spaces on the fencing typically make a person curious about what sits on the other side?

With a piece of attractive material on display however, you squash their curiosity about what they can find on the other side of the fence and direct it to another cause.

Of course, this only enumerates just few of the things to keep in mind when creating your privacy fence. Numerous techniques exist out there. You can enjoy your privacy and keep your home aesthetically pleasing at the same time

DIY Project: Build An Outdoor Privacy Screen

Feeling a little exposed with your backyard design? Well, adding outdoor privacy to your backyard works as easy as building some simple patio privacy screening. Short, tall, short.

An outdoor privacy screen project allows for a versatile decorative screen design you can build in various heights to achieve a clean, stylish, and visually appealing look. Get started by laying out all your supplies. Most home improvement centers like Lowe’s will cut the lumber to size for you.

You can download the supply list along with the step-by-step instructions for this project here.

Briefly, this screen gets built from the inside out. Start with the interior frame then, it gets attached to the outer post with screws. The posts only measure two 2-by-6s with a 2-by-4 sandwiched in between.

Stop for a moment and make sure everything gets squared up. Before you attach the inner frame to your post, you will want to use a framing square like this and make sure you got everything all lined up.

When you screw into the end of narrow pieces, drill a pilot hole to prevent splitting. Afterward, you can finish putting in the rest of the horizontal rails.

Now, time to add a little flash to your screen. Wear gloves when you do this to prevent cutting yourself with the sharp flashing. Use a simple under-weaving technique like weaving a basket and attach it to the inside face of the post with sheet metal screws.

Finally, you can now complete your screen assembly by adding your last two 2-by-6 posts. With cedar, you can either use it natural or use it stained. That proves one of the many greatness of cedar.

Before you digging, call your local utility locating service to check the area. Check with them to make sure you won’t sever any services.

Spend a little time thinking about the layout of your decorative screens. You want to position them to get the maximum amount of privacy, but you also want the design to make sense with relation to your house and backyard landscaping.

Once you marked the spots, start digging. The depth of the holes will depend on the code in your area. Verify this info with your local building officials.

In this part, you will get to see my muscles at work. Depending on your soil, you may want to rent an auger to get the job done more efficiently.

To prep the holes, place some gravel in the bottom for drainage. Then, put the legs of the screen into the holes. The job calls not for a one-person job, so get some help.

Make certain that the legs tower at the same level on the top as well as front to back. And then, use a quick set concrete to secure the screens.

When you start mixing it up, try achieving the consistency of peanut butter. You can always add more to thicken the mixture. You will hit some voids, but it naturally serves as a part of the process.

If you need to make any adjustments to keep it level, fret not. The concrete does not set immediately so, you can make slight adjustments.

These DIY screens provide an exact amount of privacy as it feels intimate and cozy without feeling walled off. I also love that they look great from both sides. So whether you stay out in the yard or enjoying the patio, they look fantastic.

Here’s a few more ideas on the topic!

How To Place A Fence or Screen For Maximum Privacy

Some homeowners enjoy their backyard and the outdoor privacy which comes from natural barriers like trees, hedges, vines, and shrubs. However, this takes time to become established.

Adding a privacy screen or fence, while waiting for long-term plantings to mature may function as the best solution.

Melissa at the empressofdirt.net shares some tricks for placing screens to ensure maximum privacy.

Privacy Fences That Are Not Monotonous, Forgettable But Provoking Practical

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One of the things many people strive for in their yards is the sense of outdoor privacy as well as uniqueness.

In an age where everybody does the same thing to grow independent from trends, your outdoor space seems like an important distinction.

There are a lot of different designs you can add to your basic privacy fence. These “additions” will set you apart from your neighbors and will add a nice flair to your yard. The best part comes when you start to enjoy the privacy it offers.

Check out these provokingly practical privacy fences.

6 “Secret” Ways For Creating A Garden Privacy Screen

Establishing a garden in your yard is definitely a labor of love.

You groomed and watered your garden with diligence every week. When the flowers finally come into bloom, you finally get the chance to enjoy all your hard work.

Time will come when you would like to add an element of privacy to your garden. Several options happen to help achieve this level of privacy such as fencing, lattice, using potted bamboo, or other materials to create a privacy screening.

Sometimes you just want to find a relaxing place in your garden to sit and read. But it can pose a little challenge if neighbors or those passing by can see you and disturb your peace.

To get some “cover” check out this post with 6 ideas along and a video:

Adding Privacy & Beauty To The Modern Home With A Wood Fence

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If you want a beautiful wooden fence without the rustic decor and feel this fence guide serves right for you. One of the main ideas behind modern wood fencing design includes thinking outside the norm.

For example, placing the fencing members horizontally instead of vertically builds one great way to add a modern element to your yard.

Arrange the horizontal wooden planks depending on how you desire or squeezed tight together. You can also use a combination of woods or a combination of materials like wood and concrete or wood and metal. Great ideas at homedit.com:

Gardeners Supply Company shares how you can add a fence to create a private outdoor room and other simple privacy tips. Below list consists of quick 6 tips!

More details come available to make use of which will help create more privacy for you and your family along with the video below. Details via gardeners.com

Fencing – A Guide to the Options from HouseLogic

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Shopping for a fence can be a daunting task, given the plethora of options to consider for price, type of fencing material, maintenance, and durability, but it doesn’t have to be.

You also need to look at your “Fencing Goals.” What’s the purpose?

  • Privacy fence
  • Security fence
  • Decorative fence
  • Safety fence

From zoning codes to selecting from the hundreds of available fencing styles to deciding on the material that works for you. HouseLogic gives a full guide to choosing a fence you’re sure to be happy with.

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