Slatted Garden Screen

A slatted screen does something solid fence panels cannot — it gives privacy and shelter without killing light, airflow or the feel of the garden. It is one of the most useful, forgiving and visually rewarding timber projects you can build. The construction is honest: posts, rails, battens, screws. The only real skill is patient setting-out. Get the posts plumb and the rest is dry-fit, mark, fix.

It is also a brilliant teacher project — you learn how timber moves, why durability classes matter, the difference between cedar and treated redwood in the hand, and how to set out a build so the spacing reads as deliberate rather than wandering.

Flat or gently sloping gardens where posts can be set plumb to a string line. Excellent along boundaries, beside patios, around a hot tub or seating area, as a backdrop to planting, or as a freestanding sculptural divider between zones. Works under a tree canopy too — battens shed leaves better than a flat fence and dry quickly after rain.

Think twice on very exposed coastal or hill-top sites without sizing posts up to 100×100mm and going to UC4 throughout. Avoid completely shaded north-facing nooks where the timber never dries — algae and lichen take hold fast there.

Check boundary ownership and whether anything over 2m (or over 1m next to a road) needs planning permission in your area. Mark utilities before digging — Linesearch BeforeUDig or a quick call to your supplier saves a very bad afternoon.

Draw a simple elevation to scale before ordering. Decide your spacer thickness early and cut a hardwood block for it; eyeballing each batten will give you a wobbly result. Aim for the run to end on a full batten or a clean fractional one — adjust spacing by 1–2mm across the run rather than leaving an awkward sliver at one end.

Three common design styles dictate the sizes:

Close-spaced privacy screen — 38×19 or 44×19mm battens at 10–15mm gaps, posts at 1.8m centres. Maximum privacy, still allows airflow.

Wide-spaced rhythm screen — 50×25mm battens at 30–50mm gaps, posts at 2.0–2.4m centres. Lighter, more architectural, good as a planting backdrop.

Capped framed-panel screen — 44×19mm battens housed inside a 70×45mm frame with mitred cap, panels 1.2–1.8m wide between posts. The most finished look; about 30% more material.

A standard 1.8m-tall screen on 100×100mm posts at 1.8m centres uses roughly 14–16 linear metres of batten per panel at 12mm gaps. The cost estimator and cladding estimator give per-metre and per-panel material figures.

Cedar (Western Red) — the forgiving default. Light, stable, naturally rot-resistant, weathers silver beautifully. Easy to cut and screw. Most expensive of the common softwoods but the lowest-effort over a 15+ year life.

Siberian or European Larch — strong, harder than cedar, takes oil well, looks rich golden when fresh. Slightly more movement than cedar; budget 10mm extra gap rather than 8mm.

Thermowood (heat-modified pine or spruce) — superb dimensional stability, the right call when you want tight, even gaps that stay that way. Slightly darker brown, weathers to a soft grey. Brittle near edges — pre-drill always.

Treated Redwood (Scandinavian pine) — the budget choice. Moves more, needs a finish to look its best, but very cost-effective for long runs. Insist on UC3 minimum, UC4 for any post going in the ground.

Oak — beautiful and dense but heavy. Better for shorter, framed-panel designs than long batten runs. Will bleed tannin onto pale paving for the first year — protect surrounding stone.

Stagger battens on both sides of the rails for visual depth and rigidity. Always pre-drill and countersink hardwoods (oak, accoya). Keep fixings at least 25mm from batten ends to avoid splitting. Use stainless or properly coated screws — plain zinc will bleed rust streaks within a season, especially through oak.

Two rails minimum (top and bottom, about 200mm in from each end of the batten). Three rails for screens over 1.5m or anywhere wind loading is significant. Cap the top rail with a chamfered or sloped strip to shed water away from end grain — without it the rail soaks and rots first.

Keep the lowest batten at least 100mm clear of soil or paving. A pea-gravel strip below the screen helps water drain rather than splash up. If the screen sits on a concrete plinth, slope the top of the plinth slightly away from the timber.

For framed-panel styles, route or chisel a stopped housing in the frame rather than face-fixing the battens — it doubles the apparent quality. For face-fixed designs, a single dab of clear silicone behind each batten end resists water creeping up between batten and rail.

Brush down with a stiff brush each autumn to clear leaf litter from the gaps. If oiled, recoat every 2–4 years before the surface looks chalky. Check the post bases each spring — that is where 90% of failures start. Replace individual battens as needed rather than rebuilding the screen.

Twice-yearly visual check: walk the run, look for any batten that has split, twisted out of plane, or worked loose. Replace one batten in an hour. Re-tighten fixings after the first winter — the timber settles and stainless screws can need a quarter-turn.

If you went with oil, recoat the season before it looks tired — usually 2–4 years. Once it goes chalky and grey-streaked, you are looking at a sand and full recoat rather than a freshen-up.