DIY: Air Conditioning Unit Cover

Image by Deedster from Pixabay

Lattice on a fence around your garden or as paneling alongside your porch or carport lends an ambiance that utilitarian wood structures can’t quite render:  a romantic, charming frame to showcase outdoor features.  Consider using your spare pieces of lattice to hide a large, whirring metal air conditioning unit. Get creative with shapes and styles to fit your yard. The only real constraints are that it sufficiently blocks the unit from view and opens or moves out of the way for maintenance or repair. It should also be noted that the airflow from the fan should not be restricted.  

Privacy Fence

Create a fence out of sheets of lattice.  Finish the ends by framing the sheets in slats that are sturdy but still thin enough to complement the size of the lattice crosses.  To connect the sheets and provide strength and direction for your fence, get a fence post for each joined spot.  If you select wooden fence posts, you can stain them and the lattice to match.  Vinyl posts generally come in neutral colors you can match with paint.  Shape your lattice pieces and posts into a straight fence, or a three-sided one to enclose the unit from view but allow easy access in back. 

Room Divider

If your unit is situated in a place protected from wind, you could use your framed lattice sheets to build a room divider for a less permanent solution that you can change as you wish.  Attach the edges of the sheets’ slat frames with weather-resistant hinges.  Adopt the classic zig-zag formation to block the unit from view, or bend it around the unit.

Box

For something smaller and tailored to your unit’s size, get its dimensions and construct a lattice box around it, leaving plenty of room on each side for airflow.  Trim the lattice sheets to size and frame with heavier slats one inch thick.  Connect the corners using nails or wood screws small enough that they won’t split the wood.  When making the lid, be sure its width is enough that the edges rest on the box opening.  The box completely hides your unit and the lid easily lifts off when needed. 

Once you finish building your air conditioning unit concealer, stain or paint it and then cover with a weather-resistant coating.  It goes without saying that lattice is made for vine and flower display, and this would beautifully accent any of the above projects.