DIY ~ Beautify a Chain Link Fence with Bamboo!

• By Barb
• Posted in DIY home and garden craft projects
• On August 3, 2013
• 29 Comments.

What do you do if you fall in love with a home surrounded by an ugly five foot high chain link fence? It is a great enclosure for pets, but aesthetically not so pleasing. This was my daughter’s dilemma when she purchased a darling cottage in Oregon.

There are vinyl or wooden strips you can thread into the fencing, but she wanted to cover that fencing as well as make her yard more private. Bamboo screening/fencing to the rescue! Bamboo screening comes in different heights and can be attached to the existing fence. There are poles and split bamboo as well to choose from. It is quick, easy and way less expensive than tearing out the chain link and replacing it.

We transformed the front of the property a few years ago by covering that ugly metal fence, and this year finished the side yard. The two of us covered a sixty-five foot run of fence in just under three hours for under $200. Now it looks much better, screens out the neighbor’s messy yard and provides privacy and a nice backdrop for her plantings. (Note: in the front we attached the screening to the outside of the fence so the good side shows. On the side yard, we put the good side inward.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the three materials you will need for 65 feet of fencing. Adjust accordingly for your fence project : Bamboo screening/roll fencing (we bought 5 rolls of 13 ft by 5 ft split bamboo screening), 2 rolls of 18 gauge plastic coated steel wire and a pair of wire snips. Cut the wire into 6 inch pieces and stow in a bucket. Fencing for this project cost $186.95. Wire added on $11.94 and we had wire snips for a total of $186.95.

Just three easy steps, but definitely a two-person job as the bamboo screening is floppy until secured. We found it is best to have a person on each side of the fence when attaching  the screening. First, unroll and stretch the screening out along the fence to be covered. You may need a few lawn chairs to prop it in place until it is wired on. Next, with a person on either side of the fence, thread pieces of wire through the screening and chain link fence, twist the ends together and turn any ends inward. We found it was much more efficient to attach the top of the entire run of fence first so it was held in place as we attached middle and bottom wires. Wires were attached every foot or so across the top, middle and bottom.