Screening help

Hi
Just after some advice
We are removing a large shrub along our fence line, and will be getting a large screen made to block our neighbours and to 'modernise' our entertaining area.

We are looking doing a big merbau/jarrah type screen. It will cover the entire fence, and be about 1m above the fenceline.
It will sit right up against the fence.

Anyways ... is there a cheaper way than using merbau/jarrah ?
Is pine an option ? Can it be painted to 'look' like a nice jarrah ?
The key is we want the look to be modern.

You'd need to use treated pine, and yes, it can be stained - but it still won't look like jarrah. The green colour of the chemical treatment alters the colour of whatever woodstain you use. You might be perfectly happy with the effect, but I suggest you grab a piece of treated pine and a sample pot of a suitable woodstain product and test it out before ordering any materials. Some paint shops might have samples on treated pine.

There are lots of other options for privacy screens though - it just depends on what you like and the effect you're after. Bamboo or reed products can work well, rendered blueboard gives you lots of choices of colour and effect, and I'm sure there are plenty of other ideas if you're on a budget.

These are a few of the efforts of H1 members - if you use the search function, you'll find lots more:









And a couple off the net...

What's your neighbour like? Just asking because if we were to do a screen that was 1m over the fence height (regardless of actually being helpful and providing privacy), ours would make a complaint to our council. I think the max you can do a fence/screen is 2meters high (you might want to check with our council).

thanks guys .. some great stuff to think about there
Our neighbours are OK. I dont think it would be a prob as he has built sheds up against his side of fence, so he isnt really losing any view.
I will def check with council tho.

Hi - I've heard that merbau leaches out red stain so if you go with that you'll want to make sure the stain isn't going to affect pavers or house paint etc.

A friend of ours did a merbau screen and it looks great so personally I'd probably still that path ...

Leaching isn't a problem if you prepare and treat it properly. We used a deck cleaning product on ours, and then gave it a couple of coats of Ultradeck, same as we do for our decking. No probs at all.

When you get materials delievered, don't leave the new timber on paving in the rain though....

hey
the area has been cleared, i have some pics to post , but i am getting this error ..

'Sorry, the board attachment quota has been reached.'

You need to host your photos on an external website, like Photobucket or Flickr.

Instructions are here if you're not sure: http://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1272

thanks buddy
here we go


pics of the area where the screen will go
and a snap of my local Jim who got rid of the fern and is doing the job

we aim at getting a nice modern looking screen along the fence, and then putting a pizza oven in

some more pics guys
could be finished tomorrow

we decided to go with treated pine, painted a light colour (same as deck screen )
thought the jarrah look might be too dark and claustrophobic







[img]http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/4835/1000636d.jpg/img]

finished !

just needs another coat of paint

That makes a huge difference from the shabby old fence. Privacy's a bonus!

Well done.

WOW that looks GREAT!!!!! well done.

Great job!

Love it. We were going to go for a slatted screen, but we needed a noise barrier as well.
That looks fantastic deathgod.

Fantastic, dg! Love the light colour - it brightened the area instantly!

Sooo, are you in Sydney and would you recommend your installer? (we will need one)

Tx guys !
we are heaps happy with it.
We are in Ocean Grove, coastal Vic.
My installer/builder was my local Jims mowing guy.
We have been mates for years, and he did a great job.
All up cost $2400
Wood, paint, cement, paint and he did a couple of lil maintenance jobs at the same time.

thinking of putting a pizza oven in for summer.