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Blog Cabin '08: Privacy Screen for Outdoor Hot Tub A privacy screen is fashioned to offer seclusion for modest hot-tubbers. See lots more info on DIY's Blog Cabin. From "Blog Cabin" episode DBLG-208

The cabin's outdoor hot tub, just off the patio, is afforded a bit of privacy with a four-panel screen lined with thick mesh fabric.

As host Ahmed Hassan heads outdoors to design some picture-perfect landscaping, twin contractors Chris and Simon Hodshon begin work on a paneled screen to provide privacy for the outdoor hot tub. Below is a summary of the steps in the privacy-screen project along with a list of tools and materials used.

Materials and tools:

12 cedar 2' x 6's (8-foot lengths)
12 cedar 2' x 4's (8-foot lengths)
6 exterior door hinges
roll of weed fabric
roll of kennel fencing
exterior screws
staples for pneumatic stapler
table saw
miter saw
air compressor
nail gun
pneumatic stapler
staple gun
measuring tape
pencil
safety glasses

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Steps:

• Determine the size of the screen. The size of a privacy screen will depend on the size and location of the hot tub and the degree of privacy you desire. To allow for ample concealment from passing boaters, this one used four panels that were each 8 feet tall and 36 inches wide. A bit of extra height was needed in this case because of the height and location of the hot tub.

• Create the elements for the inner frame. Rip cedar 2' x 4's in half lengthwise. The resulting 2' x 2's will be used as stops inside the panel frames, providing support for the screen fabric and the metal fencing that stabilizes it in place.

• Build the frame. To create the first of the four frames, cut 2' x 6' cedar planks to length to create a frame that's 8 feet high with an interior width of 36 inches. Secure the ends of the frame pieces together using exterior screws. Once the frame is assembled, secure interior-frame stops, using the ripped 2' x 4' sections cut to length, inside the perimeter of the frame. Repeat these steps to create three more identical frames.
  

  Figure A

• Attach the fabric and support fencing. Once the frames are assembled, the fabric screen material can be installed. Kennel fencing, cut to 36-inch width to fit inside the frame, is used to provide added support for the screen fabric. First, using a staple gun, secure the weed fabric, stretched tight, to the inner frame. Cut away the excess fabric using a utility knife. Cut the fence to the dimensions of the frame interior, and secure it on top of the weed fabric, fastening it to the same inner frame using a pneumatic stapler (figure A).

• Complete the inner frame. Sandwich the fencing and weed fabric between another set of ripped 2' x 4's, securing the wood stop to the 2' x 6' frame with screws. Repeat the steps for each additional panel.

• Connect the panels using door hinges. With all four panels completed, link them using exterior door hinges. When linking the frames together, arranging the hinges so that the screen stands in a "zigzag" pattern helps add stability for the overall structure.

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