Now screening the uglies

Now the deck is completed (and of course it looks sooo beautiful) it's pretty obvious that it's surrounded by some very ugly structures. In this exciting instalment we're going to erect some screening to hide the uglies, because who really wants to see undies flying in the wind while you're enjoying cocktails on the deck?! First up is the utility area which is going to get a screen makeover.

The first step in building any screen is laying in the frame posts. In this instance I am using some rather tall 125 mm x 75 mm Cypress Pine posts, dropped into 60 cm deep post holes with concrete footings. These will sit in the garden bed right in front of the retaining wall of the garden utility area. The screen is pretty high at 2.5m, as I want it to close off the utility area completely from view.

First step, dig some holes. I told you buying the post-hole digger would come in handy again (at least that's what I tell my wife)!

Dig dig digging again

As you can see below the posts are in and I'm fitting the rails on to hold the screening. The rails are 75 mm x 50 mm treated pine, fitted into notches in the post that I knocked out with a hammer and chisel. Sometimes the old school hand tools are the best don't you think?

Fitting the rails

Here's the finished frame with everything nailed together nicely, and it's even level! Time to fit the screen.

Fence frame done

When I originally conceived this screen in the garden plan my thought was to clad it horizontally with more decking boards. However I changed my mind once the deck was finished as it might just be "too much" wood with boards running everywhere.

On a visit to the Melbourne International Flower and Garden show I came across a fantastic Australian made product called Outdeco Gardenscreen. They are 1200 mm x 600 mm modular panels made from laser cut "tempered hardboard" (very similar to 'Masonite') at 9 mm thick. They come in a wide range of patterns, and include a 10 year outdoor warranty. The pattern I selected is called OSAKA which offers 80% block out, as well as blends in with the overall Japanese theme to the decked area. The panels were available locally from Chippies Timber in Melbourne, but there is plenty of stockists listed on their site.

Sizing up the Outdeco screens

I spaced the posts at 1200 mm centres, and railings at 600 to accommodate 4 panels high by 3 across. 12 panels in total (well 11 and a 1/2 as one needs to fit around the stone wall). The posts had to be painted before the panels are mounted, otherwise you'll see the timber through the panels.

Half way up one row

The panels are very easy to install. I just clamped them up and drilled four countersunk holes across the top of the panel, four across the bottom, and one on each side. I then screwed them down with some leftover decking screws. Once they were all fitted I applied wood filler over the top of the screws, sanded, and then gave them a coat of paint. You could also glue them down, but I thought the screws would be plenty. One ugly done!

First row done, two to go

As well as the utility area to screen off, I also had a rather ugly paling fence sitting behind the water feature that I wanted to screen off. The fence wasn't build level owing to the trees coming over from the block next door, and it just made the whole area look out of kilter.

For this screen I constructed a frame out of treated pine attached directly to the existing fence that I wanted to cover up. It consisted of three posts screwed into the fence, and three rails across the top, middle and bottom. Simple stuff. For covering up this ugly I am going to use a different product called Natureed Screening which I ordered direct from the supplier House of Bamboo in Sydney, . 

Framing up to get rid of the uglies

I really love this stuff because it does such a great job with a really professional looking result. It's made from a collection of 5mm diameter bamboo reed, bound tightly with stainless steel wire. The lengths are woven together in rows to form a complete sheet. I brought two 1.8 m x 3.66 m rolls which was enough to cover the entire length, giving am instant cover up of the ugly underneath! Again, make sure you paint the posts and rails before you fit the rolls, otherwise they'll show through. I dragged out the trusty old Mission Brown again for this occasion.

Natureed

As I'd made the frame the exact size required to accommodate the sheet size, it was a breeze to fit. You just clamp a section of it up, and then staple the cladding to the frame using galvanised staples in a heavy duty staple gun. Get your fingers in and just spread a section of the reeds apart, then staple across the stainless steel wires, then push the reeds back together.Once mounted, I then framed each panel using leftover decking boards with mitre joints on the corners, using the Deck-Max plugs to hide the screws. One more ugly gone!

Outdeco panels are all on, and first Natureed roll is up

The last bit of unintentional ugly left behind is the rock wall. When Stefan built the wall I wanted the top of the wall the be always dead level. Looking at how it was now with the screening up, it would be much nicer if the level changes formed actual garden beds rather than just the slope. 

To achieve this, a new wall small would need to be built across from the drop point of the wall to meet the bottom of the lovely new Natureed screen panels.

Screens completed, time to do something about that wall

I wasn't going to get Stefan to come back just to build a little wall, so I decided to be the hero backyard warrior again and have a crack at it myself. I headed off to a local stone supplier Chris Cross (and no, he didn't make me JUMP, JUMP) and selected a pile of Mudstone pieces that I though would fit the gap. A good selection of big ones and small ones in as squarish a shape as I could find them.

I then just basically followed what Stefan had done, as I had plenty of photos to guide me along! I dug and laid a compacted foundation, put a stringline up, and then picked and placed the stones, fixing them with mortar, and giving the occasional bit of adjustment using an angle grinder with a stone cutting blade. Mudstone cuts like butter luckily, but wear a mask when cutting as it's pretty dusty work!

The end result was a nice enclosed garden bed that met up with the edge of the screen, and you'd never pick that I built it!

Wall fixed

The final piece of beautification was putting in some plants, and of course the objet d'art to fill the hole I'd left in the deck. When I was looking for water features I came across these teak balls being sold at a local place called Water Features Direct. They come in three sizes and are made from distressed teak assembled with nails into a ball shape. Tres' artsy! 

The small one was going to do nicely, so I had them mount it on a concrete plinth (which actually comes from a bird bath) which they stuck some steel reo into, which the ball then mounts onto. Add a couple of lights and the job done is done.

Plants in and looking good

Here's the final side yard product. Deck done, screens up, wall built, plants installed, and lights in.

The side yard is done dude

There's still the ugly old wheelbarrow storage area to deal with, but that's going to have to wait until the rainwater tank goes in up behind the garage. I'll then build a set-back Outdeco screen to match in with the main one giving a (hopefully) seamless view. There's always something to do isn't there?