Privacy Screening for Decks and Outdoor Areas

On the smaller blocks common across newer Hunter estates, privacy is often the difference between a deck you use and a deck you look at.

The planning side

If your deck or balcony overlooks a neighbouring property, NSW planning provisions may require screening. Under complying development rules, a raised deck with a floor level above a certain height generally needs privacy screening where it faces a side or rear boundary within a set distance.

The screen typically must be at least 1500mm above the finished floor level and have no more than 25% openings, or be made of translucent material.

This is a compliance requirement, not a suggestion. Certifiers check it.

Screening options

Vertical timber battens. The most common and generally the best looking. Spacing controls the balance between privacy and airflow. Battens at 30mm wide with 20mm gaps give good privacy from directly side-on while keeping the structure light.

Angled or louvred battens. Angled so you cannot see through from the neighbour’s viewpoint but can see out at an angle, and air still moves. More expensive, considerably better.

Aluminium louvre systems. Adjustable, low maintenance, and they let you tune privacy and breeze through the day. The premium option.

Slat panels in a frame. Prefabricated panels are cheaper but usually look it. Fine at the back of a yard, less so on a main outdoor area.

Planting. Slow, but the best long-term result. Lilly pilly, bamboo in a controlled planter, or a screening hedge. Combine with a low structure for immediate effect while it establishes.

Frosted or translucent glass. Good where you want to preserve light and a view of the sky. Poor where you want airflow.

Getting the balance right

The mistake is solid screening. A solid wall gives complete privacy and creates a hot, still, dark corner that nobody sits in.

Slatted screening with 30 to 40% open area blocks direct sight lines while letting breeze through and keeping the space feeling open. On the Hunter coast, where the afternoon north-easter is the whole point of sitting outside, blocking it entirely is a mistake.

Placement

Work out the actual sight lines before you build. Stand where you will sit. Look at where the neighbour’s windows and outdoor areas are. You often only need screening across one section rather than the whole perimeter.

Screening the wrong side is common and wasteful.

Sun as well as sight

A screen on the western side does double duty, blocking afternoon sun as well as views. Angled louvres can be set to block the low western sun while keeping the outlook to the north.

Materials and maintenance

Hardwood battens weather to grey unless oiled, which on a vertical surface is a longer job than a deck. Powder-coated aluminium needs nothing. Painted pine needs repainting every few years.

For anything within reach of salt air, use stainless fixings.

Cost

• Timber batten screen, built in place: $350 to $600 per square metre
• Prefabricated panels: $200 to $400 per square metre
• Aluminium louvre systems: $700 to $1,200 per square metre

Practical advice

Design the screening at the same time as the deck rather than adding it later. It affects the structure, because a screen catches wind and the posts have to be sized for it.

We build decks and screening together across Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, and we will check the privacy requirements before quoting so the approval is not a surprise.