Exterior Shutters
Nice exterior shutters or outdoor shutters give your home a chance to leave a good impression to the people looking at your house. There's never a second chance for the first impression! There are many things that you will want to consider when you are looking to improve your exterior home design. Remember that this does not only encompass the physical building, but it will include the landscaping for the building as well. Look at all of the different possibilities that you can make and create with the exterior of your structure. Many of the different possibilities can be tied in with the inside theme of the home. Look at all of your options starting with the color and the layout and then you can continue from there. Thinking about the options, one can soon see that adding quality exterior window shutters is by far the easiest method of all for improving the look and feel of your house.
Exterior Vinyl Shutters
exterior vinyl shutters range complement virtually any architectural style. The diversity of design makes it easy to find your home's perfect match. Tempting arrays of color can be used to bring out the best in your home. The decorative fastening systems are color coordinated. These shutters can be non-functional, meaning they remain open and are permanently affixed to the walls of the property, or you can opt for a functional, usable range.
Benefits:
1. Superb Color Retention
2. Low-Maintenance Durability
3. Free of cracks and resisting rot due to water
4. Design Diversity - Board and batten shutters are a popular exterior vinyl shutter design
choice.
5. Installation process is a fairly simple
Benefits:
1. Superb Color Retention
2. Low-Maintenance Durability
3. Free of cracks and resisting rot due to water
4. Design Diversity - Board and batten shutters are a popular exterior vinyl shutter design
choice.
5. Installation process is a fairly simple
Example of advertisement for exterior shutters
" EXTERIOR SHUTTERS
Here at the Shutters and Blinds Shop we design and build custom handcrafted exterior shutters.
Our shutters are built from traditional solid western cedar.
A Wood Shop shutter is a historically authentic, handcrafted work of art that is elegant and beautiful.
The Wood Shop shutters will retain their fresh, youthful appearance for many years to come. It is simply a function of the way they are made. Every shutter is handcrafted and meticulously assembled to your specific dimensions. The result is a shutter that has the feel of craftsmanship, and quality of fine woodworking from days of long ago.
These shutters are something that not only add beauty to your home, but also add value.
Here at the Wood Shop we offer several designs. Take a look; you may just find one that is right for you and your home.
Let us customize your home, with our custom shutters!
The Wood Shop also offers shutter restoration. Let us give life to your old tattered shutters.
Feel free to give us a call for current pricing.
Prices subject to change. "
Get Free Quote For Quality Shutters
Here at the Shutters and Blinds Shop we design and build custom handcrafted exterior shutters.
Our shutters are built from traditional solid western cedar.
A Wood Shop shutter is a historically authentic, handcrafted work of art that is elegant and beautiful.
The Wood Shop shutters will retain their fresh, youthful appearance for many years to come. It is simply a function of the way they are made. Every shutter is handcrafted and meticulously assembled to your specific dimensions. The result is a shutter that has the feel of craftsmanship, and quality of fine woodworking from days of long ago.
These shutters are something that not only add beauty to your home, but also add value.
Here at the Wood Shop we offer several designs. Take a look; you may just find one that is right for you and your home.
Let us customize your home, with our custom shutters!
The Wood Shop also offers shutter restoration. Let us give life to your old tattered shutters.
Feel free to give us a call for current pricing.
Prices subject to change. "
Get Free Quote For Quality Shutters
Installing Exterior Shutters
There are two styles to install exterior shutters on your home. Learning each style and how to install exterior shutters takes just a few minutes and is an easy project for many do-it-yourself enthusiasts. The two methods are to install exterior shutters on hinges and to install them directly to the house, sometimes called "direct set."
Before we begin, it's also a good idea to point out that depending on the surface you're installing on, siding or brick, there are a few differences in the details.
Ok, let's begin with direct set installation. Direct set installation of shutters is used for installing vinyl shutters and sometimes wood shutters. There are no hinges or other hardware to mount the exterior shutters. The only hardware needed are 2 - 3 inch long screws and drywall anchors for the brick and rock installation. For vinyl shutters there will normally be six holes and six accompanying plugs which will cover the screw heads.
Step one is to hold the vinyl shutter up to the window in the desired location and to trace through the holes with a pencil transferring the mark to the house itself. Next, you want to predrill a hole to receive the screws. If you are on siding, a 1/8" hole should do. Simply drill into the siding with this bit at each location. If you are installing shutters on brick, you will want to predrill with a 1/4" bit and slip a plastic drywall anchor into the brick. This will give the screw something to grab onto.
Once you've predrilled the holes, it's as simple as holding the exterior shutters back up to the window to install the shutters with 2 - 3 inch screws. It's a good idea to place a plug over the screws to conceal them. For wooden shutters, sometimes you have to make your own install holes. These holes can be predrilled with a countersink bit in each corner and near the middle of the outside railing. You can also make your own plugs with a plug cutting bit that matches the countersink bit. The nice thing about wood plugs is that they can be made to flush out with the shutter and are concealed much better than the standard vinyl plugs.
If instead you need to install functional shutters atop hinges then the process differs slightly. Exterior shutters are installed on two hinges which sit atop "pintels" screwed into the window frame. A shutter pintel is the male part of the hinge that connects the hinge to the house, offsets the shutter from the trim, and provides a pivot point for the hinges to rotate.
Pintels come in three sizes: siding, brick, and rock. Siding generally sticks out 1 1/8" from the home. Brick sticks out 2 1/4" from the home and rock sticks out 4 1/16 inches from the home. The wrong pintel will not allow the shutters to offset the right distance and may keep the shutters from laying flush on the house.
Two hinges is enough to suffice for standard 15" wide shutters. However, for extra wide or extra long shutters, it is common to put them on one or more extra hinges for additional support. This is especially true for PVC shutters which need to be installed to resist thermal expansion. Exterior shutter hinges should be attached first and located roughly six inches from the top and bottom of the shutter.
The location of the pintels will determine where the shutter sits. If installed too low or too high, the shutter will not mirror the windows and look like a custom fit. Take the distance from the bottom edge of the shutter to the bottom part of the pintel that meets the hinge. This distance will determine the placement of the pintel. It's a good idea to make a jig for this distance. You can cut a scrap piece of wood to this length to easily repeat this measurement without using a tape measure on site. We'll call this a pintel jig, or "pin jig" for short.
Place the pin jig on the window sill over the window trim and mark the top of the jig. Next, place the pintel over the trim so that the bottom of the pintel where the hinge rests is aligned with your mark. This is where the pintel needs to be screwed into the trim so that the shutter mirrors the window. Only install the bottom pintel at this time.
Afterwards, lift the shutter up and place it on the pintel. Have another pintel and a drill on hand so that you're ready for the next step. Do this by having the bottom hinge slip over the pintel. Now, you will install the second pintel by sliding it into place in the second hinge and on the window trim. Screw the second pintel in and you now know how to install exterior shutters on hinges. They will be able to open and close like functional shutters.
An S-Shaped piece of hardware called a shutter dog is used to keep the shutter closed in the wind. It can be installed in the bottom opposite corner directly to the home as well. Use lag anchors instead of dry wall anchors to hold them for brick or rock. For siding, simply predrill a 1/4" hole and tighten the shutter dog in place. The shutter dog can be rotated to allow the shutter to open and close.
Lastly, consider adding some window boxes beneath the window for an added effect. You can paint them to match the shutters or paint them to match the trim to highlight some plants and flowers in your window. This will help draw attention to your windows and shutters.
Article by Matthew Buquoi
Before we begin, it's also a good idea to point out that depending on the surface you're installing on, siding or brick, there are a few differences in the details.
Ok, let's begin with direct set installation. Direct set installation of shutters is used for installing vinyl shutters and sometimes wood shutters. There are no hinges or other hardware to mount the exterior shutters. The only hardware needed are 2 - 3 inch long screws and drywall anchors for the brick and rock installation. For vinyl shutters there will normally be six holes and six accompanying plugs which will cover the screw heads.
Step one is to hold the vinyl shutter up to the window in the desired location and to trace through the holes with a pencil transferring the mark to the house itself. Next, you want to predrill a hole to receive the screws. If you are on siding, a 1/8" hole should do. Simply drill into the siding with this bit at each location. If you are installing shutters on brick, you will want to predrill with a 1/4" bit and slip a plastic drywall anchor into the brick. This will give the screw something to grab onto.
Once you've predrilled the holes, it's as simple as holding the exterior shutters back up to the window to install the shutters with 2 - 3 inch screws. It's a good idea to place a plug over the screws to conceal them. For wooden shutters, sometimes you have to make your own install holes. These holes can be predrilled with a countersink bit in each corner and near the middle of the outside railing. You can also make your own plugs with a plug cutting bit that matches the countersink bit. The nice thing about wood plugs is that they can be made to flush out with the shutter and are concealed much better than the standard vinyl plugs.
If instead you need to install functional shutters atop hinges then the process differs slightly. Exterior shutters are installed on two hinges which sit atop "pintels" screwed into the window frame. A shutter pintel is the male part of the hinge that connects the hinge to the house, offsets the shutter from the trim, and provides a pivot point for the hinges to rotate.
Pintels come in three sizes: siding, brick, and rock. Siding generally sticks out 1 1/8" from the home. Brick sticks out 2 1/4" from the home and rock sticks out 4 1/16 inches from the home. The wrong pintel will not allow the shutters to offset the right distance and may keep the shutters from laying flush on the house.
Two hinges is enough to suffice for standard 15" wide shutters. However, for extra wide or extra long shutters, it is common to put them on one or more extra hinges for additional support. This is especially true for PVC shutters which need to be installed to resist thermal expansion. Exterior shutter hinges should be attached first and located roughly six inches from the top and bottom of the shutter.
The location of the pintels will determine where the shutter sits. If installed too low or too high, the shutter will not mirror the windows and look like a custom fit. Take the distance from the bottom edge of the shutter to the bottom part of the pintel that meets the hinge. This distance will determine the placement of the pintel. It's a good idea to make a jig for this distance. You can cut a scrap piece of wood to this length to easily repeat this measurement without using a tape measure on site. We'll call this a pintel jig, or "pin jig" for short.
Place the pin jig on the window sill over the window trim and mark the top of the jig. Next, place the pintel over the trim so that the bottom of the pintel where the hinge rests is aligned with your mark. This is where the pintel needs to be screwed into the trim so that the shutter mirrors the window. Only install the bottom pintel at this time.
Afterwards, lift the shutter up and place it on the pintel. Have another pintel and a drill on hand so that you're ready for the next step. Do this by having the bottom hinge slip over the pintel. Now, you will install the second pintel by sliding it into place in the second hinge and on the window trim. Screw the second pintel in and you now know how to install exterior shutters on hinges. They will be able to open and close like functional shutters.
An S-Shaped piece of hardware called a shutter dog is used to keep the shutter closed in the wind. It can be installed in the bottom opposite corner directly to the home as well. Use lag anchors instead of dry wall anchors to hold them for brick or rock. For siding, simply predrill a 1/4" hole and tighten the shutter dog in place. The shutter dog can be rotated to allow the shutter to open and close.
Lastly, consider adding some window boxes beneath the window for an added effect. You can paint them to match the shutters or paint them to match the trim to highlight some plants and flowers in your window. This will help draw attention to your windows and shutters.
Article by Matthew Buquoi
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