One Way to DIY a Horizontal Privacy Fence
On a trip to San Diego , I came across a home a block from the beach that had a beautiful tall horizontal fence . It’s beauty captured my attention and I knew I wanted to replicate something similar for my home . I went to The Home Depot and purchased 2x4’s and started the process .The original fence we had had large gaps and I could see neighbors walk by as I was in my yard. I wanted to make a nice seating area where we could enjoy some family time and have it be as private as court be. Let me show you what I did to a corner of my yard.”♥️
Step 1: Cut your boards
The very first thing I did was cut each of my 2x4’s ( Douglas For) into 4 equal parts .
Step 2: Sand the boards
It must have taken me a few days to sand each individual board , but sanding is important . Some boards have really rough edges and if you want your stain or paint to go on easily and have a great finish to it , you sand your heart out 😂. I think I ended up sanding about 198 pieces of wood.
I figured that I was going to need to make 6 panels to the areas in my yard I wanted to cover. Each panel would consist of 33 boards and the separation between each board would be 0.25 inches.
Step 3: Stain the boards
I would say that I almost got to the point of despising staining . 198 boards. All 6 sides of each board had to be stained so that I can be satisfied with the finish. Sometimes you have to take some time off from a project because some parts are draining , but I pushed through!
I used Thompson’s All on one Stain and Sealer in the color Autumn Brown .
Step 4: Prep and paint my support and accent boards
✨ Each of my panels will consist of 3 black vertical support boards and 33 stained horizontal boards .Something else I wanted to add to my horizontal fence was some blank accent boards that would mend each panel together . It was the Aesthetic I was going for , but it also covered the places I put a screws in perfectly ! I split a few 2x4’s down the middle so they would be a bit thinner
I used the color Tricorn black for those boards .
Step 5: Set up the panels !
As I mentioned above, each of my panels will consist of three support boards. Once those boards are spaced out evenly on the floor. Start attaching your stained horizontal boards with a nail gun .
The separation of each of my boards was 0.25 inches, but you can separate as much as you’d like . It’s your preference . I was given advise on the spacing to allow for more air flow , but my boards are pretty sturdy and we do not live in a windy state !
Here are my finished panels!
They looked pretty light weight to me on the floor ,but when I tried picking them up it was tough ! I asked my husband for help putting them up on our fence ! You definitely need an extra pair of hands putting them up .
Step 6: Put the panels up !
We put the panels up with deck screws . We attached them securely to the 4x4 on our original fence .
Step 7: Lag screws for extra support
You can never go wrong with extra support . We didn’t want to take any chances that our fence would wobble to fall.
First: drill your pilot holes through the panels and the 4x4.
2nd: Make your hole for the lag screw with a spade bit
3rd : Insert the Lag screw
Spade bit
Lag screws
Step 8: Place the Black accent boards where each panel meets and you have yourself a beautiful finished project . Take a look !
I put my blood , sweat and tears into this project . It was my first big project after the bed I had helped make early last year . I used the very little time I had of my weekdays and most early mornings and late nights on my weekends . I love the outcome and it totally upgraded my space . I no longer see anybody's face when they walk my my fence . I call it our temporary fence , but we plan on sticking it to a brick fence later down the line .
I know that the price of lumber is through the roof right now, but it made sense for us at the moment since we had just recently built a brick fence between our side neighbors and our half was around 3000$ This project cost me around 200$ . I only paid for the wood and stain because I already had most of the material 👌🏼
I will put an estimate of the price for those who need the extra material or tools !
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This turned out so nice
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Great job!! You should be proud of yourself!
That is hard work.
I agree you also have beautiful hair.
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Will these cut boards warp in the sun?
Do you think 2x4 was overkill? It seems to me that fence pickets would be sufficient, less wood, and less costly. Looks great though!
I love thé fence, I love your hair! I do NEED to know… where did you get the planter that is in front of the fence with the snake plants in it? I NEED some of those!
thank you!