This was a weekend project and it is definitely a beginner-friendly project. It can be built in any outdoor space, where you need some privacy. Not just privacy but this wall defined our backyard seating area. Here is how to build it:

Tools we used

• Miter Saw
• Brad nailer
• Orbital Sander
• Measuring Tape

Materials

• Thirty Four 1x2s
• Four 2x4x8
• Wheels with locking mechanism

Cut List

• Overall Wall height – 80″
• Overall Wall width – 96″
• Wheel height – 3″
• Horizontal base – one 2×4 – 96″
• Legs – three – 2x4s – 24″
• Posts – three – 2x4s – 72″
• vertical slats on either sides – two 1x2s – 72″
• Horizontal slats – Thirty Three 1x2s – 92″

Steps

1. First step is to get the pressure trated lumber. For any outdoor projects, you will need to check the tag before buying the lumber to make sure they are suitable for outdoor. 

Also, make sure all your 1x2s are straight. You can check them as shown in the picture below.

 

 

2. Once you have everything you need, it’s time to make the cuts. You can find the cut list above, for the wall we made. We need 1 horizontal base, 3 legs(2 ft) and 3 posts(6 ft high). Keep in mind that while planning the height of posts, you have to consider the height of legs, base, and wheels, if you plan on adding them.

3. Now sand them lightly. We only sanded it once with 180 grit paper. I think it’s good enough for a wall that stands outside. 

4. Plan is to arrange the 2x4s as shown in the picture. On long stud stands across the legs and it will be the base for all the vertical posts.

Screw in the long 2×4 to the legs using 2-inch outdoor screws. It is always a best practice to drill a pilot hole first, and then drive the screw through the pilot hole. This avoids any stripping of wood.

Once you do that the base will look like this. You can add wheels either now or later. We added them in the end.

5. We added the vertical posts in 3 places. The 1x2s or slats will be nailed to these posts. We used a Kreg jig and 2.5-inch pocket hole screws to join these posts to the frame. You can use other ways too if you think Kreg joints won’t be strong enough for your wall. For our 6 ft long posts, these are fine but it would’ve been even better if we went for other stronger joints or added some extra support.

 

Our plan is to add the slats as shown. We added a 1×2 on the edges and nail the others between them. 

So, first, we added the edges on the posts on either side. Then, we measured the gap between the two vertical slats. Now we have the required length of these 1x2s. We cut over 33 1x2s to the required length.

6. Let’s get to painting the slats as it would be difficult to paint them once we nail them. I used a paint roller and painted them in batches. We got the “Dark Salte” Solid Acrylic Stain + Sealer from Cabot.

7. Now we nail all these slats to the posts. We used 1.5-inch brad nails and used a 0.5-inch spacer between the 1x2s. We had some scrap wood that we cut to 1.5 inches. You can also use another 1×2 if you want 0.75 spacing between the slats.

8. Last step is to add wheels. We got these from amazon and they have a locking mechanism. So, we can move the wall whenever we want. Although, we noticed that adding wheels made our wall wobble a little since the stability is reduced. To add some stability, we used some wire hooks to hook the wall to our pergola. These are extremely convenient for our purpose and are very strong. These hooks are to make sure the wall doesn’t move or fall when there’s heavy wind.