How to build a screen above 2m fence?

Steve5

Hi,

Our property looks down to a road and I want to add a screen above my 2m fence to block my dogs from getting excited about cars going by. 

Adding the screen inside the fence line means no conflict with council 2m fence restrictions.

My idea is to repurpose some leftover 1.8m wide shade cloth and celing battens.  I only need to cover a section about 5m wide.  (see drawing)

6m ceiling battens will be rivetted together to make the posts  which will be concreted into the ground about 600mm (see drawing).

Grommets will be added to the shade cloth and a pulley to the top of the ceiling batten poles to raise the shade cloth into place. 

The shade cloth will be loosely wired to the ceiling batten poles using insulated wire a similar gauge as internal house wiring.  This will allow raising and lowering the shade cloth as needed.

Any thoughts or ideas greatly appreciated.

MitchellMc

Hi @Steve5,

I think you'll find those ceiling battens are not designed for exterior or inground use and would likely rust out quickly. Perhaps consider using galvanised pipe which has a much thicker wall and protective galvanised coating. Apart from that, I think it's a fairly solid idea. 

Instead of using the electrical wire, you could neaten up the loops and create them from 6mm rope and rope slice clips. Remember, when you add your grommets to the shadecloth, you should first fold the edge over so your grommet goes through at least two layers. This will help prevent the grommets from being pulled out of the shadecloth.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell