The mountain deck that cooks while the air is cool

Sightlines

Measure on the plan, draw the area that actually needs privacy, then move A, B and C along the sightline. Every candidate is sized against the same geometry, and the one you pick is something to test with a sheet before anything is built.

The line

Blocked now

Place being protected

Who can see in

From this seat: The table on the deck. The line is toward The house upslope, a window. The section is this one line, not a view of the whole garden. A linked photograph is a note on this line, not a calculated performance.

No photograph is linked to the selected protected spot or observer yet. The geometry can still be read, but a kept candidate will have no photo-evidence reference.

Read the geometry in October

The line itself does not move with the season, but a deciduous canopy can stop blocking it and view openness can change.

Ground distance: 68 ft
Direction: N · 0°
Vertical angle: 11.5°
Line still open: 0%

Estimate: Worked out, but at least one input was assumed rather than measured. These figures are read off the plan, so they are as good as where the table on the deck and the house upslope were put.

Measure on the plan

Tap empty plan space to place the active tool, drag R1/R2, Z1/Z2/ZD and A/B/C, or tab to any handle and use the arrow keys. The fields below each panel set the same points by number.

BuildingNot yours (dashed edge)CanopyCan see inWhat a window can see, cut short where something is in the wayProposed

To scale · to the measurements given: Drawn to scale from the measurements given. Not a survey. It is not a survey.

Ruler: tap twice to place R1 and R2, then drag either handle. Measuring does not move or save property geometry.

Field ruler

A distance read off the plan, not a change to the Property Record.

Plan distance: 68 ft
Bearing: N · 0°
R1: at the table on the deck
R2: 68 ft N of the table on the deck

Estimate: Worked out, but at least one input was assumed rather than measured. At least one end was placed by eye or by the model, so treat this as an estimate, not a tape.

Actual area to screen

The window, seating area, patio edge or other real zone the screen has to cover—not an assumed person-sized box.

Z1, one end of the edge

From the table on the deck (ft)

Direction: not set

Z2, the other end

From the table on the deck (ft)

Direction: not set

Zone depth, ZD (ft)

How far the area reaches back from the edge, square to it. Set both ends first.

UnansweredWidth stays unanswered until Z1 and Z2 are set. Two points set the edge; the depth follows at a metre, and can be changed.

Candidate screens

Move A, B and C along the sightline on the plan or with the sliders. Height and width recalculate from the same geometry, and the marked view is read before and after each one.

Candidate A
7 ft 8 in high
Position: 25% from the table on the deck toward the house upslope
Height
7 ft 8 in
Width
Set the target zone
From the spot
16 ft 11 in
From the observer
51 ft
Boundary
Inside recorded boundary
Marked view
Unanswered
Candidate B
11 ft 1 in high
Position: 50% from the table on the deck toward the house upslope
Height
11 ft 1 in
Width
Set the target zone
From the spot
34 ft
From the observer
34 ft
Boundary
Crosses / falls outside recorded boundary
Marked view
Unanswered
NoteSome of this screen falls outside the boundary currently drawn in the Property Record. That is a geometry flag, not an ownership determination.
Candidate C
14 ft 6 in high
Position: 75% from the table on the deck toward the house upslope
Height
14 ft 6 in
Width
Set the target zone
From the spot
51 ft
From the observer
16 ft 11 in
Boundary
Crosses / falls outside recorded boundary
Marked view
Unanswered
NoteSome of this screen falls outside the boundary currently drawn in the Property Record. That is a geometry flag, not an ownership determination.

Estimate: Worked out, but at least one input was assumed rather than measured. Sizes are worked out on the plan, from a zone drawn by hand. “Marked view” only measures view corridors you actually marked. Boundary status does not establish ownership, setbacks, easements, structural adequacy or permission to build.

The line, from the side

To scale · to the measurements givenEstimate

Eye to eye, at true scale. A screen near the seat can be short because the line is still low there; near the window it has to be tall.

The section, in a table

From the table on the deck, the line to the house upslope is cut by the house.

Everything along the sightline, from the protected spot to the observer.
What	From the table on the deck	Height	The line
The table on the deck (eye)	0 in	3 ft 11 in	Starts here
The house	15 ft 1 in	19 ft	Cuts it
Screen A	16 ft 11 in	7 ft 8 in	Just closes it
Screen B	34 ft	11 ft 1 in	Just closes it
Screen C	51 ft	14 ft 6 in	Just closes it
The house upslope (eye)	68 ft	17 ft 9 in	Ends here

Test it before anybody builds it

Candidate B is a hypothesis about where the line runs. A sheet on a pole for two evenings finds out whether it is right, for the price of a sheet.

The test: Hang a sheet or hold up a board about 11 ft 1 in high at B, 34 ft from the table on the deck, for two evenings at the hour that bothers you.
If it worked: Sitting at the table on the deck, you cannot see the house upslope over it or round its ends.
If it didn’t: If you can still see the house upslope over the top, it sits higher than the plan says; if you see it round an end, the zone is wider than drawn. Either way, nothing should be built to these numbers yet.
Next evidence: Photograph the view from the table on the deck with the sheet up, from the same spot both evenings, and measure how high the house upslope actually is.

Buy nothing yetHold a sheet where the plan puts the screen before ordering a single panel.

Keep this candidate to test

Keeps the selected candidate and its target zone with this place. Reassessing reruns the geometry later, instead of treating today’s dimensions as settled. Keeping it builds nothing.

Call it something

Candidates kept

Kept on this device with the place. Loading restores the zone and candidate; reassessing uses the current plan and month.

No candidate has been kept for this place yet.

Reference positions

Fixed quarter, halfway and three-quarter answers, kept as a check on the movable candidates.

Barrier height needed at three fixed positions on the line.
Where	From the table on the deck	Height needed
Near the protected spot	16 ft 11 in	7 ft 8 in
Halfway	34 ft	11 ft 1 in
Near the observer	51 ft	14 ft 6 in

What this answers—and what it does not

Height and width are geometric sightline dimensions for the target zone and observer on the plan. They are not structural design, a property-line survey or permission to build. Wind loading, footings, codes, easements and ownership remain separate questions.

Edit the plan

Every observer from the table on the deck