Custom Cedar-and-Steel Balcony Privacy Screen

Before — solid grey-painted cladding wrapping a small upper balcony on a dark-shingle craftsman home in Los Angeles. After — a full custom horizontal cedar slat screen set inside a welded black steel frame, with built-in planter boxes, a matching gate at the entry porch, and the same wood-and-steel detail carried down the side staircase. Designed and installed by ProHands Home Improvement.

Cedar-and-steel balcony privacy screen viewed from the street — Los Angeles

Before — Solid Painted Cladding

The original upper balcony had a continuous run of painted wood horizontal cladding finished in matte grey. Structurally fine, but visually closed — it added another wall to the front of the house instead of acting as a balcony. The owners wanted to keep privacy from the street but open the deck up to light, air, and the architecture of the rest of the property.

Before — original grey-painted cladding on the upper balcony — Los Angeles

After — Cedar Slats in a Welded Steel Frame

We replaced the entire cladding run with a custom cedar slat screen — kiln-dried 1×4 cedar boards, horizontal pattern, consistent gaps for light and airflow, set inside a continuous welded steel frame finished in matte black. The screen reads as one architectural element with the dark shingle siding behind it. The cedar warms the whole facade.

View from the upper deck — cedar slat screen with built-in planter boxes — Los Angeles

Built-In Planter Boxes

On the deck side we built integrated planter boxes into the frame, sized to take medium-rooted ornamentals. The boxes line up with the slat pattern from the street side, so the screen still reads as a clean composition when seen from the deck. Each planter has internal drainage and a sealed liner so water never reaches the wood.

Built-in cedar planter boxes integrated into the steel frame — Los Angeles

Corner detail of the cedar-and-steel screen meeting the dark shingle wall — Los Angeles

Why Cedar and Steel Together

Cedar on its own warps and grays out fast in California sun. Steel on its own reads industrial in a residential setting. Set inside a steel frame, cedar pickets stay perfectly straight on long runs because the frame carries the load, not the wood. Visually, the matte black steel grounds the warm cedar so the colour stays calm. Practically, the cedar can be replaced board by board years from now without rebuilding the structure.

Tight detail of the cedar slats meeting the welded steel corner — Los Angeles

Carrying the Detail Down the Stairs

The same wood-and-steel pattern continues on the side staircase — a stair-side screen made of horizontal cedar slats in a welded steel frame, mounted along the diagonal of the run. The stair cladding under the run finishes in the same lumber, so the staircase reads as part of the same project, not a separate detail.

Staircase side screen in matching cedar-and-steel — Los Angeles

Cedar cladding under the side staircase finishes the run — Los Angeles

Entry Porch and Side Gate

At the entry porch we built a matching gate in the same lumber and steel detail, so the entry experience matches the upper balcony from the street. Same horizontal cedar slats, same welded black steel frame, same gap spacing — one design language across the whole front of the house.

Entry porch with matching cedar-and-steel gate — Los Angeles

Sunset side corner detail — cedar-and-steel screen on the upper balcony — Los Angeles

Build Specs

Kiln-dried cedar 1×4 horizontal slats with consistent gap spacing
Welded black steel frame, mitered corners, no field splices
Continuous run wrapping the upper balcony, entry porch, and side staircase
Built-in cedar planter boxes with internal drainage and sealed liners
Custom matching gate at the entry porch
Stainless fasteners throughout, end-grain sealed on every cedar cut
Powder-coat finish on the steel for long-term durability in LA sun

Los Angeles Pricing Notes

A cedar-and-steel balcony screen at this level of detail — welded frame, planter integration, gate, staircase carry-through — is a premium custom build, not a catalogue product. We bid each one after a site visit because frame length, gate count, planter sizing, and finish choice all affect the number. Free same-day estimates anywhere in LA, Glendale, Burbank, or Pasadena.

Why ProHands

ProHands Home Improvement is a Los Angeles handyman and renovation contractor focused on premium finish work — decks, fences, gates, railings, balcony screens, restoration. Owner-operated, fully insured, ★ 5.0 across Google and Yelp. We design and install wood-and-steel exterior work that reads as architecture, not assembly.

Planning a balcony screen, privacy wall, or full front-of-house exterior package?
Call ProHands for a free same-day estimate — LA, Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena.