Aluminium vs timber privacy screens
Updated: 4 days ago
Short answer
Timber is cheaper to buy and more work to keep. Aluminium costs more up front and then essentially stops costing anything. Over the life of a screen in Brisbane, aluminium usually wins — but not always, and it is worth saying where it doesn't.
Where timber is genuinely better
You want the smell, movement and imperfection of real wood, and you enjoy maintaining it.
You are matching existing hardwood joinery closely enough that a timber-look finish won't do.
The screen is short-lived by design — a rental, a temporary fix, a staging job.
Where aluminium wins in this climate
No swelling, splitting, warping or cupping. Timber battens in a Brisbane summer move. Aluminium battens are the same in February as in July, so a fine, even gap stays fine and even.
No recoating. Powder coat doesn't need what oil and stain need.
No termites, no rot.
Spans further at the same thickness, so fewer posts and a cleaner look.
Fine tolerances hold. Blade spacing designed for privacy at a given angle stays at that spacing.
Timber-look, without the timber
If the look is what matters, powder coat comes in timber-image finishes such as our Western Red Cedar. From a few metres it reads as timber; it behaves like aluminium.
The cost question
Up front, timber is usually cheaper. The honest comparison is total cost over the years you will own it, including recoating and eventual replacement of the worst boards.
See it in context in our Batten Screening and Privacy Fencing galleries, or see where a screen fits into a Patios, Decks and Balconies project.
