A privacy screen is useful only if it interrupts the view that bothers you. Start with a particular seat and a particular overlooking window. A taller object somewhere along the boundary may still leave that view open, shade the wrong place or become a problem in wind. This worksheet helps you describe the view before choosing a product; it is not a structural design or permission to alter a boundary.
Make a sightline record
Choose the place you want to use: a dining chair, a reading seat or a doorway. Mark its position on a simple plan. Add the opening or path from which you feel overlooked. Repeat for standing and sitting; these are different views. Do not photograph a neighbour's private interior to make the record.
Use a removable mark on your own plan to represent a possible screen position. From the intended seat, ask a helper to indicate that position with a suitable, safely held reference. Do not balance a large board or fabric panel in wind. You are checking whether the position is useful, not testing a homemade installation.
What the geometry can tell you
Here is a hypothetical side view, in metres. One viewing point is at height 1.8; a second is at height 2.4, four metres away. The straight line between them is 2.1 metres high at the midpoint: 1.8 + (2 ÷ 4) × (2.4 − 1.8) = 2.1. A lower object at that exact midpoint would not intercept that particular straight line.
That calculation describes one line only. It does not specify a safe screen height, local planning permission, wind resistance, anchoring, the width required or privacy from other positions. Moving either viewing point changes the result. Take an installation question to an appropriate professional rather than turning the example into a building specification.
Compare three options against the same problem
| Option | Check from the intended seat | Trade-off to record |
|---|---|---|
| Move the chair or table | Is the troublesome view still in line with the seat? | A better angle may reduce usable space elsewhere. |
| Movable screen sold for the setting | Does its actual panel cover the view at that position? | It needs storage, suitable ground and use within its instructions. |
| Planting in suitable containers | Is the view screened now, or only after hoped-for growth? | Growth, seasonal gaps, care, weight and drainage all matter. |
Do not count future foliage as present privacy. Likewise, a product photograph does not establish that a panel is stable in your exposure. Record the manufacturer's restrictions and what you would do when the screen is not in use.
A brief you can send to a supplier
I would like privacy for [seat or activity] from [direction]. The proposed position is [location on my own property]. I need to keep [door, route or view] clear. Please explain the product's use limits, fixing or base requirements, maintenance and storage. I have not yet confirmed whether a permanent installation needs permission.
Add dimensions from your actual site and your preferred level of light. Describe uncertainty directly: “I have measured the opening, but I have not assessed the fixing surface.” That lets the supplier answer the missing question rather than assume it was checked.
Decide whether to buy
Compare the view with the proposed change and with a no-purchase alternative. Check access, daylight and the route back indoors. If the screen solves one view but makes the patio awkward to use, revise its position before buying. Keep the plan and product instructions together so the decision remains understandable later.
The worked record at a glance
Read the worked record as text
- Viewing point A
- 1.8 m high
- Viewing point B
- 2.4 m high, 4 m away
- Midpoint line height
- 1.8 + 0.5 × 0.6 = 2.1 m