Putting wood over chain link gate

Question

I have a chain link gate that I'm looking to put some wood fence panels over and increase our backyard privacy. I'm looking to use cedar fence planks, and just screw them onto metal frame of the fence at the top and bottom.

Here are some shots of the gate, the dimensions of each gate panel are 69W x 79H.

(this shot is taken looking from the street side to show the turn buckle... I should tighten this one as things are now to correct some of the sag on the left gate)

(here is the turn buckle on the other side)

I think that weight is a factor here, I don't want to load up too much wood onto the gate or it will put more strain on the hinges and the connecting chain link fence. I'm thinking I will use 1/2 inch thick cedar planks, or some thickness around there. Going to put planks just on the inward facing side of the fence as well, as opposed to putting it on both sides.

Does anyone have recommendations or advice as far as whether I might run into issues with this plan? I think any sag could be corrected by some turn buckles (there are a couple of turn buckles already attached to each fence post, as seen in pictures above). The weight of the wood doesn't seem like it should cause too much issue, but I'm really not sure if I should do more to reinforce the fence or gate.

Answer 1

They're not the prettiest things in the world, but there are plastic strips designed specifically to be threaded through the chain link itself for privacy. Anybody walking by could stop, put an eye up to the fence and look through (10 year old self waves), but if you're not looking or you're driving by, they provide a nearly solid wall to block the view, they weigh almost nothing, and they have enough gaps to let the wind through.

Additionally, there are tarps (for lack of a better word) that are also made to be attached to chain link fence for privacy. They are usually a heavy duty fabric in a tight mesh. These aren't as see through to the pedestrian (disappointed 10 year old self waves again) so they do provide some additional privacy defense at that level. They are effectively opaque to those driving by, while the mesh again allows wind to pass through and they're reasonably light weight.

Most of the time, I've seen the plastic strips in green and white, though I've seen other colors, and the tarps I've seen all seem to be green. I'm sure if you looked hard enough, you could find either of them in brown. It would blend reasonably well from your side and be more than a sufficient match for the traffic whizzing by on the road.