Help/advise re backyard and deck area

[tony1982]

Hi team

We completed a pretty extensive deck and outdoor area in September last year. I'm guilty of getting it to a usable situation and then not really finishing it off.

The corner where the BBQ is now....I'm thinking of putting in some kind of "Feature screen" with some lighting and climbing plants approx 3m down the side of the deck and 3m across the back in an "L" shape. I have access to quite a bit of reclaimed hardwood ceiling joists and also some reclaimed 2m long hardwood stair treads that I plan to rip down to uniform depths and somewhat random widths and build out the feature screen. I have an idea of what it would look like in my head but I'm struggling to find examples online. Any inspiration or comments would be much appreciated. 

The area where the trampoline currently is I plan to make some kind of bench seating with a fire pit in the middle and then a small basic outdoor kitchen/BBQ area against the wall on the concrete where all the kids toys are. There is obviously no end of inspiration online but I wanted to see examples of what you guys have achieved on a budget and with medium DIY skills (for reference re my skills I built the deck myself but not the flyover roof)

I also want to do something with that darn ugly fence. Is painting or staining the way to go? Advise on colours, techniques etc much appreciated.

I have loads more questions but that is enough for now. Here's another few pics to give an idea. This website is a great resource by the way!

[Jason]

Hey @tony1982,

Great to see you make your first post after joining so long ago! Don't be a stranger now....

Looks like you've got a fantastic space to work with. I can see you enjoying a lot of happy times with friends and family on your new deck. 

For the feature screen idea, take a look at the Merbau feature wall with vertical garden by @weekenddiyer. An easier project would be to use pre-made screening panels from Bunnings like @ProjectPete in this project - Screening to hide hot water systems.

For the fire pit and seating, have you seen this guide by @Adam_W? -  How to build a fire pit.

And there's loads of fence makeovers on the site, including mine and this recent one by @Nikkaz who used the ever-popular Dulux colour Monument. Using a spray gun is definitely recommended - it's so quick and easy. 

I'll hand over now to the wonderful Workshop community for their thoughts...

Thanks again for joining in the discussion, we are looking forward to seeing you put the finishing touches on your outdoor entertaining area.

Jason

[Nikkaz]

Your deck looks amazing! You could do heaps with that area. Like @Jason mentioned the difference a Spray Painted fence makes is unbelievable!

I will take some photos of my fire pit section for you, all we did was put some crushed rock down and stained 2 long bench stool that were given to us. You could easily make a green wall like on my page and that will bring that space to life.

[ProjectPete]

Good times ahead for you getting busy on these projects - enjoy!

You can keep it simple like @Jason suggested with premade screens, or go the "next step up" using fibre cement boards which you can then paint. The FC boards certainly modernise the look/feel. Unfinished fence I'm doing at my place now below for context. The rear fence has James Hardie Newport cladding and the side is just flat boards. The rear is painted with a normal paint and the side will be painted with Dulux textured paint to give it a rendered effect.

However, don't underestimate the difference simply painting the fence will make. I'm a big fan of Dulux Domino as it's a bold colour choice and works really well against natural tones of timber and grass.

Vertical gardens are another great idea. Pretty, natural and (can be) practical.

[tony1982]

Hi guys!

Apologies for the late reply, I appreciate the responses. Busy time at work so getting time to read through them properly is difficult.

I'll make some time at the weekend to do so.

@ProjectPete do you first build a timber frame to the attach the FC sheets to? I hadn't actually seen that before, looks great. Has a more modern feel than the reclaimed timber look I was thinking but is very interesting.

@weekenddiyer your feature screen looks great! Did you attach the pine frame directly to the deck subframe below? 

@Nikkaz some pics of your fire pit area would be great for inspiration.

Thanks for the warm welcome @Jason . I'll try to be a better contributor!

[tony1982]

Hi again team

I tink I'v found a pic similar to what I had in my head for my "feature screen idea" - something like the below but in a L shape in the corner of the deck where the BBQ sits not. Then have a nice day bed, coffee table and a couple of large pot plants. Kinda make it into a little sanctuary of it's own in the corner.

Any thoughts?

[tony1982]

Hi team

Bumping this, hope that's ok!

I'm still contemplating my "feature screen" in the corner of the deck.

Would it be possible to build a timber frame from treated pine 70x35 and attach this directly to the existing fence (screwing into the posts and rails) and then adding my reclaimed timber to this frame? Or is that likely to be too much weight on the existing fence? The fence is structurally very sound if that makes any difference.  

[MitchellMc]

Hi @tony1982,

Can the deck itself bear the weight instead? Fixing to the fence will be fine, but I would consider not fixing it onto the fence. Depending on how thick the reclaimed timber is, the additional weight on your side of the fence might cause it to become unstable.

Personally, I would build the frame sitting on plastic packers on the deck, the frame would then be fixed to the fence to secure it in place.

Mitchell

[tony1982]

Thanks for the reply.

Ideally didn't want it sitting directly on the deck as I would still like space to plant some low plants in front of it between the deck and the fence.

But on the other hand I don't want the fence to eventually pull down.

I can rip the timber down to whatever thickness I like but I'm thinking around 20mm thick. 

[tony1982]

What kind of plastic packers do you mean @MitchellMc ?