Excuse the hot mess around it, our slider is new (replaced old french doors and the crappy stucco work is from previous owner but didn't fix since we'll paint the house later) but the backyard is a complete mess and on our list as we've done the front and completely remodeled the inside.

Husband did the rocks around it so hopefully grass or whatever we put there isn't growing up to it.

How do you access the unit when it needs to be cleaned or serviced? Also, did you consult the installation instructions regarding minimum clearance for air flow?

OP said freestanding, so maybe it would lift up? Perhaps not easily. But I agree, it must impede air flow, not a good thing.

While I think the cover looks really nice, I would really worry about air flow as well. We always trim back any surrounding shrubs to make sure our A/C unit has maximum air flow. It's important both for the performance of the unit and the life of the unit.

jackie, you and I must have posted at about the same time, I missed your comment. Having read it,

" I will check clearance but it's wide open on top...."

Air blows up out of the top of the condenser so that's not providing inbound flow for heat transfer, and

"....and only 3 slats in the back."

Yes, but the back is right up against the house. There's what, a few inches of clearance (or less) on the near side between the edge of the wooden structure and the wall? That's not going to allow much airflow to the back. Plus, if airflow from one side were enough intake for a condenser to suck in, they wouldn't be open on all sides.

It's a question of function, not patio design. I'd worry this structure will significantly compromise the functioning of the A/C system and shorten the service life of the condenser.

Manufacture's recommendations typically want around about 30 inches of clearance all the way around the unit and open over the top (no enclave type installations). Because of the climate I'm in I always try to maintain 3 feet of clearance at least around 3 sides of the unit if possible.

Have you ever heard the expression the AC is running hot? Heat is the enemy because you have a myriad of things wrecking havoc on your poor AC. You are putting demands on it when it's hot and if it can't run properly, this over heats everything else.

Running an AC 'hot' by over heating can cause acids to form with in the refrigerant, this can happen just due to improper maintenance just as much as doing what you show on this post. This doesn't mean it will be immediate things of this nature take time but compressor burn outs do happen.

Most of the time the AC would work fine with what you show here, but we both know summer heat waves are brutal. It may wind up being a costly idea.

If you are persuaded by these comments to remove it you have an excellent ready made compost bin.

Thompson's clear water seal lasts 1-2 years. You will have to keep sealing or staining if the goal is to make it look good.

Nice job but I would paint it the color of the house to blend in better.

"If you are persuaded by these comments to remove it you have an excellent ready made compost bin."

Excellent idea!

It is not the best idea. The air outlet should not be covered, due to safety issues

"The air outlet should not be covered, due to safety issues"

What kind of safety issues you are talking about.

Looks like it was made from reclaimed wood, e.g., pallets. Looks out of place, cheap.

I think the OP was proud of the work and so was cruising for pats on the back for what was done, not realizing it wasn't a good idea to begin with and should be removed.

I don't think we'll see her back.

(It looks like pallet wood to me too but the slats are narrower)

Maybe use the materials to fence out from door side of the water line out to about 30" clear to where the camera is in front of the unit. Leave the patio side open and maybe have a screening plant or two in long rectangular pots to pull across when people are over and you want to hide it. That hides it and allows it to work well and be serviced.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone, will see what options that will work to hide and provide better airflow.

Husband is a A/C pro, and these blinds make him very unhappy. Your unit needs to breathe. I will tell a quick story, my Dad did some spray painting in the backyard, a good 30ft away from the a/c unit. We later found the red spraypaint mist was sucked into the a/c unit. You have done it now, so see how it goes maybe your not in an area that uses the air too much. Watch your bill see if it goes up. Looks good tho I applaud the effort.

Jackie, I don't know if that comment was directed to me or not, I didn't suggest that you sprayed the wood, I was giving an example of how much air that unit pulls into it. That's all, I don't give snarky comments unless I am returning the favor, as some on here have no manners and nothing else to do in life. I said it looked nice and to watch the electric bill, that will be a good indicator of the unit working harder then it should. enjoy

Good deal Jackie, that makes me happy.

We took a similar approach years ago to help screen/distract your eyes from the air conditioner. To keep airflow as open as possible, we used a wire screening material with a fairly fine mesh of small squares that is about 80% 'transparent' to airflow. You can still see the air conditioner behind it but the green-painted frame, some copper pipes for ornament - to reference a nearby fence and gate constructed with copper pipes, the metal screen , and nearby plantings help distract from the presence of the air conditioner. By the time the peak season for ac use rolls around, some of the nearby plants are ready to be cut down due to sawfly damage. We did replace the air conditioner in 2016 - 17 years after the original one. The new ac was taller so we needed to modify the screen to make it taller too.

Below are two pictures - the first showing the modified screen being painted - you can see the structure of it and how transparent it is. The second shows it in place in June when all the plantings nearby are in vigorous growth. Perhaps you could incorporate some of the ideas we did to improve the airflow for yours....? We used brackets to support the side wings so there is nothing across the back. It is easy to lift the screen away for servicing of the unit. None of the service technicians have ever raised concerns about the screen.

This looks like a narrow side yard. I'm not sure from which side you're trying to block the view of the condenser, whether from the foreground direction or the back side. You could have also made solid wood "privacy screens", resembling little fence sections. Think of each of the two "sides" of what you have (not the front), made of solid wood like a fence (not the screening material in the middle), with each of the two end posts sunk into concrete maybe two feet out from the condenser on one or both sides. At whatever distance the unit's clearance spec states. That would provide complete screening.

GREAT JOB!!!

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