If your garden is fenced off by certain types of fence, such as a metal fence made of double rod mats, you can do without the laborious construction of a stone wall as a privacy screen. With a little manual skill, you can also subsequently weave security strips made of foil or dimensionally stable polypropylene into the gaps in the fence.
A metal fence can be made opaque using plastic strips
Choosing the right material
A privacy screen made of plastic strips can basically be threaded into all fence variants that are constructed like a grid. As a rule, these privacy protection strips are mainly woven into fences made of double rod mats. The corresponding strips are also available in standard widths for this purpose. The following things are helpful for the transformation from an open metal fence to an opaque privacy screen:
- Plastic film or dimensionally stable polypropylene strips
- Clips for attaching the privacy film
- a rolling aid (not absolutely necessary)
- Cutter knife for cutting
The work of threading is basically possible with two reasonably skilled hands, but of course it is easier and much faster with a few more helping hands.
The threading of rigid plastic strips
Plastic strips with a thickness of just over 1 mm are available from specialist retailers and are extremely weather and UV resistant. These can be threaded between the various metal rods with one hand, while simply pushing from one side with the other hand. The exact way of threading depends of course on the distance between the metal rods. In most cases, however, it makes sense to have two metal rods in front of and behind the plastic strip at the end. You don't need mounting clips with this type of threaded privacy screen, but depending on the width of the fence panel, you should add about 1 to 3 cm when cutting your plastic sheeting. After all, the strip "loses" length when threading it in, which would otherwise be missing in width at the end.
Thread in thin privacy film
When using thin plastic film for privacy protection in the garden, about 20 to 40 cm should be added to the actual width per strip. This "excess length" is required because the end of each plastic sheet is placed around the last metal rod and about two metal rods further on is fixed with a fastening clip. If long fences are to be provided with an original privacy screen of this kind, it can be worth renting a roll-off aid. This can easily be hung on the fence at the respective height and enables you to work much faster.
tips
The foil or the polypropylene strips for the privacy screen on the metal fence are available in cool print patterns and bright colors. However, you should find out in advance which design options are permitted according to the local regulations in your community.