How to Build a Lattice Around an AC Unit Your air conditioning unit is a necessary evil: you need it to cool your home, but is just kills your outdoor decorating scheme. Hiding it behind shrubbery will keep it out of sight, but will require constant maintenance to keep the foliage away from the unit. Hiding it with a lattice enclosure is a much better option. And building a lattice enclosure will also provide storage space for your trash cans and other outdoor objects you want to keep out of sight. Draw a scale outline of your planned enclosure. Some important considerations are the number of sides, the height of the walls and the size. Spray a circle at the location of the each post, and dig a hole, 1 foot deep and at least 8 inches in diameter, at each circle. Be sure to leave access space between the unit and the enclosure. Mix the cement according to manufacturer instructions, and pour it into the first hole while your helper holds a post in place. Repeat at each hole.

Keep the post straight until the cement sets. Measure the distance between the outside edges of the two poles that will be the endpoints of a side. Mark a cutline on a sheet of lattice, cut it withe circular saw, and hold the lattice against the poles so that the edges of the lattice and the outside edges of the posts are flush. Nail (at 7-inch intervals) the lattice to each post. Repeat until you have covered the desired number of sides.best portable ac unit for the money A 5- to 6-foot enclosure will conceal large municipal trash cans and longer garden tools, as well as your AC unit.ac and heating unit prices Vinyl lattice is more durable than wood.combination heating and cooling wall units "The Complete Guide to Home Carpentry";

How to Build a Two Sided Trash Can Screen Out of Lattice How to Build a Lattice Fence AC Enclosure How to Build a Lattice Area for Trash Cans Installing Gazebo Roof Lattice How to Build a Door or Gate on the Existing Lattice Work Underpinning How to Decorate Above a TV ArmoireFences can also function as air conditioner sound barriers. Air conditioner screens collect debris, such as leaves and dust, to prevent it from getting into the motor and causing damage. The screens are large and cover most of the sides of the air conditioner unit to create more air flow. Unfortunately, air conditioners are designed for function, not outdoor decorating purposes, and they often come in utilitarian colors such as khaki, off-white, olive green or gray. These colors stand out in start contrast to the natural green foliage of your landscaping and create an unappealing focal point along the back of your house. One solution to this problem is to hide your eyesore of an air conditioner screen with a lattice or slatted wooden fence.

The wooden fence will add charm and dignity to your backyard and tastefully hide your bulky air conditioner. Measure 3 feet out from each side of the air conditioner and tap a stake into the ground at each corner with a mallet to mark the position of the fence corner posts. An air conditioner requires 3 feet of space to allow air to circulate properly around it. One side of the air conditioner needs to be left unfenced so that a repairman has enough room to work. Tap more stakes into the ground in a parallel line between the first set of corner stakes to mark the layout of the fence around the air conditioner. String twine between the stakes and tie it so that it is taut. Dig holes for the corner fence posts that are 10 inches wide and 1/3 the length of the post with a shovel. Fill the holes with 6 inches of gravel. Compress the gravel by hitting it down with a tamper into the hole. This will lessen the amount of settling once the post is set in the concrete footer. Add about 2 quarts of water per 50-pound bag of fast-setting concrete to a wheelbarrow and mix with a shovel.

The water amount may vary among manufacturers. Have a helper assist you with inserting the post into the hole and centering it. Check to ensure that it is straight or plumb and have your helper hold the post straight as you fill the post hole with quick-setting ready-mix concrete. Tap stakes 6 inches away from each post hole, aligned with the center line of the hole and the middle of the post. Nail 4-foot-long two-by-fours diagonally to the posts and to the stakes to create braces for the posts with a hammer at 18d nails. Wait 40 minutes for the fast-setting concrete to set and firmly hold the post in the hole. Have a helper assist you while setting the fence panel between the first post and the middle post. Align the ends of the panel with the center line of the post and each other. Nail the panels to the posts by driving 18d nails through the panel railings, at a diagonal line into the posts. Repeat this process to attach the other fence panel to the middle post and the end post. : How to Hide Garden EyesoresUniversal Forest Products: Fence InstallationLowe's: How to Install a Wood FenceQuikrete

: Fast Setting Concrete Mix Photo Credits Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images Suggest a Correction Back in 2012 I shared my experience replacing a post on our pergola that had suffered termite damage.  It was pretty bad (I’m glad ithat sucker hadn’t tipped over!) At that time I also removed a rotten trellis that surrounded the nearby A/C unit (of course I didn’t take a photo of it at the time, so here is my ever so fancy artist’s rendering:) When I tore it down back in 2012, I was left with a spiffy new pergola post and a whole lot of ugly air conditioner (which I am always paranoid about since I worry the kids will throw something inside of the fan or even stick their fingers in!): Back in that original post I had an inspiration photo for what I wanted to build “some day”:believe it or not.. Check out my version: You can see my toddler likes it! The beauty of this design is that it meets the manufacturer’s requirements for clearance and doesn't impede air flow to the unit.

What am I talking about?  Because the purpose of the A/C condenser is to suck in air and run it over the cooling coils (as fast as possible), if you put anything around the outside (or over the top of) your A/C you force it to work extra hard and greatly lower its efficiency.  You should never put bushes, a plant trellis, fence or anything solid around your A/C for just that reason.  That is also why you frequency see lattice around them.. since it allows for a decent amount of airflow and offers a little disguise. Because air is sucked in from the bottom of the unit and blows out via the large fan at the top, that is also why this louver design works so well.  Since the louvers are spaced far apart and are angled upward (the direction of the air flow) the air flow resistance is minimal.  I also made sure to install my panels 12 inches away from the actual air conditioner, which is the minimum clearance suggested by the manufacturer.  Each A/C unit has it's own clearance requirement, so make sure you check before installing ANYTHING nearby.

enough talk about A/C efficiency! I am sure you want to know how I built it. It is actually really straight forward. First I measured how tall I wanted the screen to be and cut (4) 1x3s to form the vertical supports for the louvers.  (Mine panels are 36 inches tall).  Next I calculated how far apart I wanted my louvers to be and what angle I wanted them to be. I settled on 45 degrees since that allowed me to obscure the view of the a/c best with the least disruption of air flow (plus the math was easiest!) In my case, it turned out that I needed 11 louvers, spaced 3 1/8 inches apart to fill the 36 inch span: Next I measured how wide I needed the screen to be and cut (11) 1x3s which would become the louvers.  (My screen needed to 39 inches wide on one side and 37 on the other.. so I cut eleven 1x3s  at 39 inches long and eleven at 37 inches long.) The kids helped me prime and paint them before assembly.  I knew it would be a pain to paint louvers once they were assembled:To make assembly easy, I cut a couple of 1x3s in 45 degree triangles and used them as a ‘jig’ to support the louvers.

I marked off every 3-1/8 inches and lined up the triangle blocks on each mark. This allowed me to maintain the spacing and angles without any complicated math. I used clamps to hold the support blocks in place and then predrilled through the board and into the end of the louver.  I secured each louver in place with two 2-inch deck screws on each end.Then I just repeated the process.. over and over and over.   It wasn’t difficult since I only had to line up and clamp the little triangles and then drill, but it still took a while to assemble all 22 slats.  (That is 88 holes and 88 screws!) Here are the finished products set out near the A/C. I needed a corner support post, so I installed a pressure treated 2x2 and attached the screens with 2-inch deck screws (I also attached the other ends to the pergola post and the fence): To secure the post to the concrete patio, I used a Strong Tie E-Z Base, which was super easy to use (I will eventually paint it white so it doesn’t stand out)  Just like the other pergola post I installed, I used wedge anchors to attach the footer to the concrete.