Just finished a small (re)construction project for the north alley...

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

Last fall we replaced the aging air conditioner with a new one. In a Duh! moment, we forgot to check the physical dimension of it when we ordered it.... It turned out to be 8" taller than the original one so the screen we had built years ago for that one was too short for the new one. I considered various options and settled on adding 8 inches to the bottom of the old screen. We just finished it yesterday and got it in place before the rain started today. We need to level it properly, but it doesn't look too bad I think. We had to cut down the Solomon's Seal that grew beside it when we moved the screen to the patio to work on it. When that regrows it will add additional screening.

Some pictures:

The original screen - May 2014:

Working on the patio making the screen taller (the screen is on its side or upside down in some of the pictures below).

Washed and ready to be worked on:

Taller and almost finished priming ready for a new coat of paint:

Painted (and upside down!) - Benjamin Moore 'Oak Grove' - the same color as the body of the shed in the backyard:

Screen in place - needs some leveling and plants to grow back!

The air conditioner is still visible through the screen but it's not so screamingly obvious and the airy screen doesn't significantly affect the airflow for the air conditioner.

Comments (5)

mnwsgal
6 years ago
Great job. Will the SS get tall enough to hide the screen? Is it on both sides. Regardless, the screen is better looking than the air conditioning unit.
woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada thanked mnwsgal
woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
Original Author
6 years ago
You can see in the 2014 picture the approximate height of the SS (there is some on both sides of the screen structure). So, the SS likely won't be as tall as the 8" taller structure but it should be tall enough to still block a lot of visibility of the ac unit.
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SUSAN namway
6 years ago
I don't make many comments, but WOW! That looks great. I love to see a well done project -nice color!
woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada thanked SUSAN namway
Chris Reher, z5b
6 years ago
I have nothing to add except to say that the space you have there is exactly what I'm working on. Same amount of space between the house and a wire fence. I am also planning on planting on both sides with a path down the middle, going for a dense and lush look like that.
Didn't even think to use logs for edging. I am SO stealing that idea. I also have lots of Solomon Seal to divide and move there.
woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
Original Author
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Chris - you're welcome to steal the ideas :-) The logs are 6" pine logs. They rot out in about 10 years. We replaced a couple of the rotted ones with cedar ones - from a neighbour who was taking out a cedar hedge! We'll see if those ones last longer.... The originals were pretty inexpensive so replacing them after 10 years isn't a big cost. To keep the logs from rolling, we scooped out a shallow trench to settle them into when we put them down. The logs act as a moisture sponge and also provide food for the plants as the logs rot, so the plants do well there and survive dry periods better than they otherwise would.

eta - the path isn't running down the middle here - the alley is 8' wide. The narrow bed with the log edge is just a bit over 12"; the path is about 3' wide and the bed against the house is the space leftover - so a bit less than 4' wide. Here are a couple of picture from last year:

looking up the alley from near the patio (I'll probably be moving the big astilboides plants to another area next spring):

looking the other way - past the patio towards the back of the property:

clematis on the gate at the end of the alley - picture taken from outside the gate (there is more access past that shrub than is evident in the picture - although I do need to cut it back regularly :-):

Just finished a small (re)construction project for the north alley...

Comments (5)

mnwsgal

woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
Original Author

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SUSAN namway

Chris Reher, z5b

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Just finished a small (re)construction project for the north alley...

Comments (5)

mnwsgal

woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., CanadaOriginal Author

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SUSAN namway

Chris Reher, z5b

woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., CanadaOriginal Author

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BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
Original Author

woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
Original Author