Aluminium Slat Screens in Brisbane: Where They Work and What They Cost

How a screen panel differs from a fence panel

The extrusions are identical; everything around them changes. A standard fence panel is 2400mm wide (2350mm in vertical picket) in 1200mm or 1800mm heights, because that is what a boundary run wants. A screen rarely does: an equipment screen might finish at 1100mm just clearing the unit, a courtyard screen at 1900mm to break one sightline, and a patio infill has to land on the exact gap between two posts: 2170mm, say, not 2400mm. Screens are therefore quoted as custom sizes, cut and assembled to order at our Slacks Creek yard.

The other two differences are structural. A fence gets posts concreted into the ground; a screen usually bolts to concrete, timber or masonry that is already load-bearing. And nobody asks whether a boundary fence breathes, but a screen around a working appliance has to.

Where aluminium slat screens work around a Brisbane home

• Courtyard and balcony privacy. On the tight blocks going up across Logan and Brisbane’s southside the problem is one sightline, not the whole perimeter. A 2 to 3m screen where the neighbour’s window looks in costs a fraction of raising a whole boundary fence. On a balcony, clear it with your body corporate first.

• Air-conditioning condensers and hot-water units. The classic three-sided screen: hides the unit from the path, keeps it accessible, stays open at the top. Profile choice matters most here: see below.

• Bin and storage enclosures. Three bins beside the driveway is the request we hear most. A screen around 1200mm high hides them from the street; add a pedestrian gate from $295 to close the front. The same enclosure suits firewood or a trailer.

• Carport and patio side screens. Filling one or two open sides cuts the western sun, stops rain blowing in sideways and finishes the structure off. Roofing it as well? Our carport roofing panels guide covers the sandwich panels overhead.

• Dividing a long yard. A run set inside your own boundary separates lawn from work area, hides a shed, or gives a back deck some enclosure. It is not a dividing fence, so there is no neighbour to consult and no cost to share. Near the street front, check your council’s front-setback height rules.

Fixing a screen: flange posts, brackets and in-ground posts

Most people assume a screen means digging. Usually not: the surface underneath decides which of three methods you use.

• Flange posts, from $41.99. A base plate welded to the post, bolted through a slab, paved path or timber deck. No excavation, nothing to wait on, and it can be unbolted later. This is how most equipment and bin screens go in.

• Panel brackets, $15 each. Where a screen meets a wall or an existing patio post, a bracket fixes the panel edge straight to it: no post on that side.

• In-ground posts, $61.99. Concreted in, the same as a fence, for screens standing on soil or turf with nothing solid to bolt to.

Whatever you bolt to has to be worth bolting to: a thin path edge will not hold an 1800mm screen in a southerly. And because panels bolt to the posts rather than forming one continuous run, a bay lifts out in minutes for servicing.

Blade or slat? Airflow versus privacy

The welded vertical blade panel, from $399, uses angled blades. Square-on you see gaps; from an angle (how anyone walking past sees it) the view closes up, while air keeps a straight path through. That makes blade the default around a condenser or hot-water unit, where restricting airflow only makes the appliance work harder.

A horizontal slat panel, from $279, gives the flat contemporary look most people mean by “slat screen”. Tighten the spacing for near-full privacy, open it up for light and breeze: tight spacing also catches more wind on an exposed balcony. Our guide to slat spacing and privacy works through that trade-off. Vertical picket, from $368, is the most open of the three; the slat, picket and blade comparison puts all three side by side.

What aluminium slat screens cost in Brisbane

Screens are priced by the part, not the metre, which makes a small job easy to budget. Supply-only starting prices:

Starting prices, supply-only, subject to change. Custom sizes are quoted on enquiry and a written quote holds for 30 days.

A bin screen is a panel or two, a few posts, caps and brackets. An 1800mm courtyard screen costs more per panel and needs its fixings taken more seriously.

Colours and upkeep

Screens are powder-coated in Black, Monument and White: match the screen to the wall behind it and it disappears, match it to the fence and it reads as part of the boundary. Our aluminium fence colours guide shows how each behaves against brick, render and timber. Screens also sit in harder spots than fences, which is where aluminium earns its keep: no rust-out, no rot, and a hose-down a few times a year. Panels carry a 10-year warranty on the aluminium.

Measuring and ordering a made-to-order screen

Because a screen is cut to your numbers, the measuring is the job. Give us the clear opening width at top and bottom (older slabs and decks are rarely square) the finished height, and what the screen lands on: concrete, pavers, deck or soil. Photos help, especially where service access sets the layout. Our measuring guide covers the method.

We then quote the panels, posts and fixings, the screen is made at Slacks Creek, and many custom orders are ready for collection the next day. Pick-up is free, delivery across SEQ costs extra, or we measure, make and install. Showroom Monday to Friday 8:00am to 4:00pm, Saturday 9:00am to 3:00pm.

• Prices, pick-up, delivery and lead times at a glanceHow pick-up and SEQ delivery work.

Frequently asked questions

General information only. Clearances and service access for air-conditioning and hot-water equipment are set by the appliance manufacturer: confirm them before screening a unit.