The side of the house is where everything ugly ends up. Wheelie bins, gas bottles, pool gear, bikes, the stuff that has nowhere else to live. It is also the strip people walk straight past on the way to the front door.
You can hide the lot. The trick is doing it so it still works on a Tuesday morning when the bins need to go out. Here are the enclosure ideas that actually hold up in daily life.
What you can screen down the side of the house
If it is necessary but ugly, it can be enclosed. The usual suspects:
- Wheelie bins, out of sight but easy to wheel out on bin day.
- Gas bottles, tidied and screened instead of sitting out in the open.
- Pool pumps and filters, hidden without cooking them.
- General storage, a custom run down the side for bikes, garden tools and the odds and ends that clutter the yard.
Ventilation and safety come first, especially with gas bottles
This is the part most storage ideas skip, and it matters.
Bins need to breathe. Seal a bin inside a solid box and the smell has nowhere to go, so it builds up and hits you every time you open it. A slatted screen lets air move through and keeps things fresh.
Gas bottles must stay ventilated. An LPG bottle should never be shut inside a sealed, airtight enclosure. If a bottle ever leaks, the gas needs to disperse at ground level rather than pool in a closed space. A slatted screen with an open bottom is the safe way to hide a bottle. Keep bottles upright, ventilated and well clear of anything that could ignite them. If you take one thing from this article, take that.
Access that works on bin day
The quiet failure of most storage ideas is that you cannot get the bin out without a fight. Build in a hinged gate or leave the opening wide enough that the bins roll straight out. Design for the annoying five percent of the time, not just the photo.
Do you need council approval?
In most cases a screen or enclosure is not a full fence or a solid wall, so it usually avoids the approval a bigger structure would trigger. That said, rules vary, so check with your local council for anything close to a boundary or above a certain height. Better to ask first than move it later.
Make it look like part of the home
The difference between an enclosure that looks planned and one that looks bolted on is matching. Line up the colour and slat direction with your aluminium privacy screens, fence or gate and it reads as part of the house. A woodgrain aluminium finish softens the look if you want something warmer than a flat colour. Worth checking which colours actually last in the Queensland sun before you decide.
Built to fit the awkward strip down the side
The side of a house is narrow, uneven and never a standard size, which is exactly why off-the-shelf storage never fits it. A made-to-measure aluminium enclosure fits the space you actually have, will not rust in the coastal air, and needs nothing more than an occasional rinse to stay looking sharp.
At Premier Gates we build custom aluminium covers and enclosures locally, usually installed within about 5 to 10 days. If the side of your place is doing the job of a junk drawer, get a quote and we will tidy it up properly.
FAQs
Can you store a gas bottle in an enclosure? Only a ventilated one. Never seal an LPG bottle in an airtight box. A slatted screen with an open bottom is the safe option.
How do you hide wheelie bins but still get them out? Build a hinged access gate or a wide opening so the bins wheel straight out on collection day.
Do I need council approval to screen my bins? Usually not for a screen, but check with your local council near boundaries or above certain heights.
Will an aluminium enclosure rust? No. Aluminium suits coastal Gold Coast conditions and will not rust like steel.
Got a pool pump or aircon unit in the mix? Here is how to hide it without blocking airflow.