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This Merbau slat fence provides a neat privacy solution for an outdoor area.
The project
For my first ever building task I tackled a Merbau slat fence around this new slab I just had laid. The purpose was to increase the usability of our courtyard, and so far I am pretty happy.
There were a couple of rookie errors with the fence, like not measuring correctly and the top slat being 10mm above the top of the post (a post cap has hidden that somewhat). The gate wasn't level so I had to adjust the slats to level them.
But on first glance it looks good and hopefully most people won't notice unless I point things out. I also want to continue a screen along the front wall for some added privacy.
Here's the courtyard before I started.
Slab and posts put in.
Happy I got to buy a drop saw.
The side gate.
I used 50mm steel posts. I was going to use aluminium but they didn't have enough in stock. I just tacked some 20mm angle on each post so I could secure the slats from the rear so you wouldn't see exposed screws on the outside.
I wanted to share the progress because I have been looking all over the internet for ways to do this style of fence without going to ready-made posts with slat inserts. Hopefully it will help someone else. I have no experience with this, just asked a couple of tradies along the way where I wasn't sure about something.
Help and inspiration for your screening projects
Experienced Bunnings Workshop contributor Adam_W has put together this handy step-by-step guide: How to build timber screening.
You can also check out our Top 10 most popular fence projects and 10 screening ideas for outdoor areas.
Let us know if you need a hand with your own projects. We're here to help.
