DIY Privacy Wall You Can Build With Dad!
- Jennifer Pike
- Jun 17, 2020
- 4 min read
Are you looking for something fun to do with Dad this weekend for Father's Day? Then this DIY Privacy Wall is a great option. There is a good amount of time spent on staining and building, so you and Dad can catch up on life while you hang out together. They say, men often enjoy opening up and talking while they work. Doesn't that sound lovely, Homies?
Head over to your local lumber store and pick up these items:
For one 8 ft privacy wall you will need:
3- 4x4 8 ft fence posts (get the store to cut them down to 6ft lengths or do it at home yourself)
27- 1x2 8 ft long wood slats
3- black metal fence post holders
24- wood deck screws
1- wide paint brush
1-mini roller and pan
A nail gun/compressor with 1 3/4 inch nails
Disposable gloves
1 pint stain color of your choice for slats (we used black)
1 pint stain of your choice for posts (we used cedar)
Leveler
Drill
Soft mallet
Sorry Homies! We used the black stain before I could grab a pic! It's Beauti-tone Wood Shield, custom tinted in the color, Black Cat.
Preparation
Find a place that you can lay out your slats and posts to stain. We took a couple of banquet tables and propped them up on some old shiplap in our garage for better drying and application.
We used the mini roller and pan for the black stain on the slats and a wide brush for the posts. We found it easier to gather them together and paint a few at a time, then rotate and do the same on all four sides.
We left gaps in between them so that we could stand there ;). There was crawling involved haha.
We have a lot of slats because we custom made three privacy walls to go around our outdoor dining area. If you only make one wall then the table should be plenty of space. (I spy that CAMP TEAH sign from the Glamping Party lol!! Click to see!
We did one coat on the posts and two coats on the slats.
Because we used oil based stain for durability, it took 8 hours between the coats.
Installation
When it comes time to install, Start with screwing in the post holders first, two on the ends and one in the middle. Measure no more than 8ft apart because your slats are only 8ft long. We opted to have the slats nailed half way onto each end post. That gave a it decorative look on each side.
Use a soft mallet if the posts have issues sliding in.
Level each side as you go and before the final screw goes in.
After all of the posts are up you can start nailing in your slats with a nail gun.
Start at the bottom. Place the first slat approximately 5 3/4 inches from the top of the black post holder. The first piece is the crucial piece to get right. Make sure to level it well.
Using one of the slats as a spacer, nail your next piece above it and remove the spacer. Continue like that until you reach the end of your 27 slats. You should have approximately the same space on the top as on the bottom (5 3/4 inch) after its finished.
Excuse the random chair...we were using it to stand on lol.
Ta-da!!! You made a wall!! Fabulous, right!?!
We continued our project and attached walls on three sides of our deck: two 8 ft sections and one smaller 5 ft section (we opted to not support the smaller wall with a middle post). You can totally customize this to fit your personal space very easily.
Pretend you don't see the gazebo construction going on...oh my that's a mess, right!!!? I wish I could say when this will be done! We were told that it would be a quick build but that hasn't been the case so far. We only have a few short weeks of summer so I'm hoping it will be done very soon. I'll keep you posted!
Here's the BEFORE:
And AFTER!!!!
As you can see in these photos, we desperately need privacy because our backyard has many houses facing ours in both directions.
The slats give just enough privacy without changing the amount of light coming through too much.
We plan to stain everything including the gazebo, deck and fence, attach trellis around the base of the deck, add railings where needed and of course decorate to the nines!!! Expect lights, plants, a new teak dining set (linked below) and much more!! So please come back later this summer when I show you the finished job.
Please let me know if you have any questions at all! I will link a few things below that are coming online to decorate the space. Most will be linked in my amazon storefront.
All lumber and accessories including slat stain are from Home Hardware.
Post stain is from Home Depot.
Have a great Father's Day weekend my friends! Please come visit me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook!!
Thanks for stopping by!! -Jenn xoxoxo
