Are you looking for a way to maintain your privacy and/or upgrade the look of your outdoor space? If so, a privacy screen is the perfect rental-friendly solution. Privacy screens have been gaining in popularity over the last few years as a way to upgrade your outdoor living area. I’ll show you how to upgrade your outdoor living space while saving you money! You will learn how to make the most of your privacy screen through decorative and functional additions. For example, outdoor solar lighting that can also improve the look of your outdoor space. So get ready to create a private and beautiful backyard with the help of a privacy screen.

Alternatively, you could buy a privacy screen, but this example below is $250 and that’s without the solar lights and vines.

If we are doing a comparison, my version was about half the price. Additionally, there are other ways to reduce the price even more. To see what I mean, check out my YouTube video or keep reading!

BEFORE

As you can see from the image below, my balcony wasn’t the prettiest when I bought my condo.

Last summer, I completed the first part of my balcony upgrade. First, I bought these interlocking wood tiles and artificial grass tiles for my patio.

Then, I got an outdoor patio set that could hide additional seating within itself — check out my blog post about it for more details!

Then, a couple weeks ago, I also added a planter with some solar lights to my balcony. See my blog post or my short YouTube video for more details!

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STEPS FOR PRIVACY SCREEN

Please, feel free to check out my full length explanation in this YouTube video or this short video overview. As always, do not forget to subscribe to my channel!

Otherwise, here is a brief overview of the steps. Click the steps to jump to those sections or just keep scrolling!

1. Buy wood / calculate wood needs
2. Cut the wood
3. Sanding
4. Painting
5. Attaching the boards
6. Add solar lights (optional)
7. Add vines (optional)

1. BUY WOOD / CALCULATE WOOD NEEDS

First, you need to figure out what you are going to be working with. I used WeatherShield pressure-treated southern pine lumber.

• Horizontal bars: 1” x 2” x 8’ (x17)
• Vertical bars: 2” x 2” x 8’ (x2)

Cassie Tip:

Make your life easier by choosing project dimensions based on what would be easiest for the lumber you have.

Based on my tip above, I decided to make my balcony privacy screen 8 ft tall. This way I wouldn’t have to cut those boards. Then, I decided to make it 4 feet wide, so I could just cut the horizontal bars in half. Additionally, this made it easier to cut the horizontal boards at a consistent width. Plus, it was the most cost efficient way to make it a similar width to my love seat.

Cassie Tip:

Look at the “actual size” instead of the “nominal size” when calculating how many boards you will need.

As mentioned above, you want to look at the actual size and not the nominal size when you are calculating how many boards you will need. Therefore, I used 1.5″ (as opposed to 2″) when I was calculating how many horizontal boards I wanted.

Based on personal preference, I wanted the boards to be the same width apart as the boards themselves (e.g., 1.5 inches). Hence, I knew I wanted 34 horizontal boards, which would mean I needed to buy 17 of the horizontal boards!

Cassie Tip:

Make sure your lumbar is dry to avoid warping.

Unfortunately, I made a fun rookie mistake of buying damp wood. Therefore, I had to lay it out in the sun with weights to try to prevent warping (see image below). It was a complete pain in the butt, so please learn from my mistake!

Cassie Tip

You can save costs by spreading out the space between the horizontal bars, or by not having the horizontal bars go as low as I did (especially if they will be hidden by a love seat or some other furniture).

2. CUT THE WOOD FOR YOUR PRIVACY SCREEN

Cassie Tip

If you don’t have your own saw, you could ask your local home improvement store to cut it for you or rent some tools.

Luckily, I have a miter saw since I do a lot of DIY projects. However, if you don’t have your own saw, there are multiple options. For example, you could ask your local home improvement store if they can cut it for you or you can see if you can rent a saw. Check out those links for more information!

Otherwise, start by measuring half way (4 ft) on the horizontal boards and mark it up so you know where to cut.

Once you have marked up the halfway point, then you can start cutting your boards.

3. SAND THE BOARDS

Now, it’s time to sand the boards to give them a more polished look. You can sand them with a sanding block, but I am impatient, so I used an orbital sander to expedite the process.

Additionally, you will notice that I am wearing goggles and a mask. This is because it can be dangerous to inhale the sand/dust particles and because I didn’t want to get it in my eyes, so I would recommend that you also wear goggles and a mask.

Cassie Tip:

Save time by sanding multiple boards at once.

As noted in the tip above, I also was sanding multiple boards at the same time to further expedite the process.

When you are done sanding, it’s important to clean up the sand/dust before you paint the boards. Otherwise, having those particles around make it a lot easier for your boards to have a very bumpy paint job and likely requiring additional sanding between layers.

Therefore, I dusted the boards off with a paint brush and then vacuumed it up (see image below). You could also sweep or use a shop vac.

4. PAINT THE PRIVACY SCREEN BOARDS

When it comes to painting, there are multiple different methods that you could use to paint the boards. I opted to paint it by hand with a good old paint brush, but you could also spray paint it or use a paint sprayer. If you are going to use one of those other methods, be sure to watch my YouTube video for tips and tricks on spray painting or my video on how to use a paint sprayer!

Additionally, I like to use gloves when I paint so I don’t have to worry about getting paint all over me, but that’s completely optional!

I used Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch paint since it can be used for indoor and outdoor projects and can be used on a variety of project surfaces, including wood, metal, plaster, masonry or unglazed ceramic. Plus, I have used Rust-Oleum products for other projects and they turned out nicely. Once I find a brand that I like, I typically stick with it because I know how it will turn out.

However, I would make sure to check the directions for whatever paint you choose, especially in terms of recoat/dry time and minimum recommended number of coats.

As you can see from the photo below, I like to put boards that I am painting on some scrap wood so they don’t stick to the paper/cloth I lay down to protect the floor. This helps prevent it from the paper attaching to the boards.

Cassie Tip

Watch some good documentaries while you paint since it can take a while if you are painting by hand. Check out my blog post about my favorite entertainment while I do my projects!

5. ATTACH THE BOARDS

Now, it’s time to attach the horizontal boards onto the vertical boards.

You can either screw them together or use a nail gun. I just got a new nail gun, so I wanted to use it and I also felt like it would be quicker. However, if you are going to screw it, scroll down to the section about adding the solar lights for tips on screwing!

Line Up The Boards

First, I wanted to attach the top horizontal bar to keep the vertical bars in place and make the “frame” for my privacy screen. I used my carpenter’s square to make sure it was at a right angle (see image below) before to nailed the board to the frame.

Once I knew it was at a 90 degree angle, I used my nail gun to attach it to the vertical boards.

Cassie Tip

If you are going to use a nail gun, then learn from my mistake and shoot them in from the back side so you don’t have to patch the holes.

Then, I laid out the rest of the boards to make sure I did my math correctly and didn’t have to spread them out more than I had planned.

Afterwards, I had a couple extra, so I was seeing if any of the horizontal boards dipped or weren’t even and replaced them with one of the spare boards.

Nail the Boards

Then, I started nailing them in. I kept a spacer (spare board) between boards while I was nailing them so that I didn’t end up accidentally nailing them crooked.

Cassie Tip:

You want to do 2-3 nails at each connection point to prevent the boards from being able to turn.

Cassie Tip:

Don’t put your hand on the sides of the boards when you are nailing because sometimes the nails would pop out of the sides.

Additionally, there were some nails that were sticking out a little bit. So, I had to hammer those down so they were flush with the boards before I patched it up with the wood filler.

Lastly, when I was hammering some down, I would notice some boards popping up a little on the other side. So, I used wood glue that comes with tiny tips to help put some glue under the boards. Obviously, if I had to do it over, I would glue it before you nail it.

Patch Up the Nails

Now, you have to patch over the nails to give it that professional look. This is why I said to learn from learn from my mistake and shoot them in from the back side so you don’t have to patch the holes.

First, you put wood filler over the nails. I used black wood filler to make it easier to blend with the black paint, but any wood filler will do.

After the wood filler dries, you sand it over with a sanding block to make sure the surface is smooth and aligns with the rest of the board.

Then, I wiped the ends with a rag to get any dust away from sanding and painted over the sanded areas to make sure it matched the rest of the boards to give it a seamless look!

After your paint dries, then you can add a top coat. I used Varathane Polyurathane because I already had it. Luckily, there are spray paint top coats and top coats that can be used with paint sprayers, so regardless of the method you use, you can still apply a top coat to help protect your privacy screen!

6. ADD SOLAR LIGHTS

Once again, this step is optional. I don’t have any lighting on my balcony, so it would get very dark at night. I thought this was a clever way to add some outdoor lighting. The nice thing is that it’s a great option for people that don’t have outlets on their balconies or patios! Solar energy also saves me from having to pay any additional money for my electric bill!

If you don’t like the specific solar lights I picked, there are PLENTY of options. Alternatively, you can check out my blog post about updating balconies. I have an entire section on lighting!

Figure Out Placement

Anyways, I measured how tall my love seat was and used the tape measure to indicate the love seat height to help me figure out which horizontal bar I wanted the lights to be on before I drilled the holes.

Once I figured out which horizontal bar I wanted it on, I wanted both of the solar lights to be the same distance from the edge. Therefore, I marked 1 foot in from both sides.

Luckily, the solar lights I was using tell you the distance between the holes that you hang on the screws. The distance is 190 mm.

Therefore, I divided 190 mm by 2 to figure out the distance from those marks I made for where I needed to drill the holes. It ended up being 95 mm on both sides of the points I originally marked (see image below).

Attach Solar Lights

After I had it marked up where I needed to put the screws, I pre-drilled the holes to prevent the wood from splitting. This means that I used a drill bit that was smaller in diameter than the size of the screw. This makes a path for the screw when you are drilling or screwing it in and helps prevent the wood from splitting.

After you pre-drill the holes, then you change your drill bit to be on that fits the screw head or you can use a screw driver to put the screws in. You don’t want to screw them all the way in because you have to leave a little room for the solar light to be able to hang from.

Finally, you can hang the solar lights on those screws!

7. ADD VINES TO YOUR PRIVACY SCREEN

Lastly, I wanted to add vines to give it some life. However, I know absolutely nothing about growing real vines. Therefore, I used fake vines that were $8 when I bought them.

I toyed around with them to try to get a placement that I liked and that looked good with the solar lights. Apparently, my cat wanted to help (see image below).

After I found a placement that I liked, I went on the back side and used a staple gun to staple the vines to the back of the horizontal bars. This part isn’t required, but I have a very windy balcony, so I wanted to prevent the vines from blowing away.

And that’s it! Now, it’s time to put it out on your balcony or patio! My love seat helped secure it to the wall. However, if you need a free-standing option, there are plenty of ways to turn this into a free-standing option as well!

Check out my balcony Pinterest board for additional inspiration!