How to build a privacy screen/sun shade

First off this is my first instructable so please be gentle. LOL

My wife and I recently bought a new house. Our neighbor has a very large 5th wheel that he parks in his back yard. It is positioned so that it reflects the afternoon sun onto the back of our house and into our living room. We never had a problem with it until he took it for a trip this summer. Despite ambient temperatures being roughly the same as the week before, our house was MUCH cooler and our air conditioner cycled on fewer times. I would estimate about 6-7 degrees cooler.

So I decided to do try and build something to block some of the sun. I though about using trellis to obscure it but that would violate city ordinance for fence height. So I decided to make something that could be put up and taken down easily. Besides that extra heat reflecting off the 5th wheel will save us money in the winter. :)

My solution. PVC and sunshade or screen material.

What you will need:
1.5" PVC pipe cut to length (hereafter referred to as a vertical pole)(I used approx 10 ft lengths, one pole for every 5 horizontal feet of shaded area)
1.5"PVC Slip x Slip connectors (1 per vertical pole)
2" PVC Slip x Slip connectors (1 per vertical pole)
1.5" PVC Slip Cap (2 per vertical pole)
Screw Eye Hangers (2 per vertical pole)
Sun Screen Fabric or Window Screening (I used a 6' x 25' roll of Sun Screen)
Wire/550 Cord/Twine/etc.
Wood Screws (2 per vertical pole)

Tools used:
Drill or drill press & drill bits
PVC Cable Saw (~$5) Not necessary but very convenient
Hacksaw
Screwdriver (Phillips or Thompson depending on type of screws used)
Tape measure

Step 1: Determine how much material you need

Determine the height and width of area to be screened. Pace it off, use a tape measure, guesstimate, SWAG (scientific wild *#$ guess), etc, then go buy/collect/salvage your materials as necessary.

Comments

[9w2xyz]

I would have to agree with the pit bull lovers. One MAJOR disclaimer. Do not get your pit from an unethical breeder. Inbreeding screws up the temperatment. Especially with PIts, how you acclimatize the dog is of paramount importance. Up to the 1 year of life, you have to be there for the dog. Show him kids, birds, other dogs, whatever you want him to get along with. My pits are especially good with kids. One BIG mistake I made. I never let them around cats as pups. As a result today......oh well. You get the picture. My lil girl can pull on his ears and poke him in the eye. He just puts his head down. My silky terrier on the other hand, will snap.

Friends that come in to the house unannounced are usually herded into a corner. He hasnt bitten anyone yet. He's more interested in cats than anything else. Sigh.

[captain Jack]

i want a baby instructible!

[ezfoxz]

I had a ukc pitbull he was prob one of the best dogs and funnest dogs I have ever had he was great with kids always hyper and playing nonstop. Until one day he strangely went nuts the neigbors had company and they had a small poodle I opened the door and he went on a rampage after the poodle then went after the neigbors then after my kids he bit one of them in the back I kicked him off they hid in the house and he came at me agin and was the last move he made he was shot by my best friend we had him 4yrs he was a good dog not sure why he went nuts

[www.microbike.ie]

not very motivational story, better make some ible than spread sad stories :-( I think Rottweilers are much more dangerous then pits

[rockyt]

It looks like the pit bull is eyeballing the child. Pitbulls and kids don't mix well.

[MajHunter]

Actually pit bulls are excellent dogs even around kids. It is all about how you raise the animal. Heck "Petie" from the Little Rascals was a pit bull if I remember correctly. All three dogs are pit bull mixes, and all great dogs. In fact German Shepards are far more likely to bite. Hence why when I'm at work and we are using a K-9 (German Shepard or Malinois) to search I stay well back from the dog. Chows and Rottweilers are very agressive dogs. In short any dog can be gentle or vicious depending upon how you raise them.

[SacTownSue]

I built something very similar to this! When I moved in I had a 50ft redwood tree on the south side. Now I have a dead redwood and lots of sun on the south side of the house. I'm planning on posting mine someday. It's probably different enough... I've been using it a couple of years using wire rope for the structure attached to tree and carport. But this spring that wasn't going to work so I put up the more expensive PVC pipe. Money is very tight for me. By the time it was up it was covered in purple bird lime!
Digression:
The real problem seems to be the people that have the dogs just listed have them for protection. To protect their stash of money and drugs etc. Plus they have a tendency to beat the life out of them every excuse they can think of. Martha Stewart had quite a few Chows. She brings one of them on stage with her a lot and he just lays there looking about as bored as a dog can get.
I used to say that I didn't trust any dog that could bite higher than my ankle. A few years ago a Pom was left in a room with a baby. No more baby... I don't trust any dog I don't know. Even chihuahua's are aggressive.
It's generally recommended not to leave a baby alone with any dog.

[kill-a-watt]

Oh yea, type-cast the poor dog based on breed.

Check out the politically incorrect dog in the photo that is with this blog post.this blog post.

link warning: R-rated language.

[lemonie]

Ooer! you're using PVC

L

[ourika]

Just so you know, when I looked at the family photo, I thought it was great that the dog to t he right looked so happily towards the family. When my American Bulldog/American Staffordshire Terrier gets that look, he's just glad to be there :-)

[crapflinger]

the cleanup step is the best! well done!