How To Install Outdoor Window Shutters

How to Install Shutters

Adding decorative shutters to your windows is a great way to upgrade your home's adjourn appeal—and is an piece of cake enough project for well-nigh homeowners to DIY themselves.

istockphoto.com

While giving the exterior of your habitation a new paint job or fresh siding may not exist in the upkeep, one affordable option is replacing those tired erstwhile shutters. Upgrading former shutters or calculation shutters to windows enhances a domicile's curb entreatment.

New shutters can accent the primary color of the home or add together depth when coordinated with outside trim. All-time of all, decorative exterior shutter installation is a project nigh DIYers can handle themselves with basic tools they already accept in their garage, eliminating the need for costly professional installation.

Ahead, find out how to remove shutters and how to install new ones.

Tools & Materials

• Hacksaw
• Record measure
• Level
• Pencil
• Cordless drill
• 1/iv-inch drill scrap

Earlier You Begin

While installing shutters is a job most DIYers tin handle, it requires an extra set up of easily, and then make sure you lot have a partner to assistance yous with the installation. If you lot're installing shutters on a second flooring, follow the proper safety precautions when using a ladder.

When shopping for shutters, look for pressure level-treated wood shutters for outside use, forth with high-quality hardware. To take operable shutters, the shutter dogs and hinges need to be sturdy.

istockphoto.com

STEP 1: Remove the quondam shutters (if you have any).

For many DIYers, the kickoff pace in how to hang shutters is to remove the old ones. Before you do anything else, yous'll desire to figure out how the shutters are attached. If the shutters are wood or metal, they are typically fastened to the dwelling house using metal screws. If the shutters are vinyl plastic, you lot will observe plugs or locks.

To remove metal screws, employ a cordless drill to dorsum out each screw. Plastic locks are harder to remove. To uninstall shutters with this type of fastener, utilise a hacksaw to carefully cutting the spike between the house and the shutter.

Step 2: Measure your windows.

Before ownership new shutters, mensurate the windows. Using a tape mensurate, measure the peak of the window. The shutter height unremarkably matches the size of the window opening non including the sill.

Even so, many homeowners like to have shutters that are a few inches taller than the window. If you're purchasing shutters between two windows, measure out the space between them to make sure the shutters for both windows will fit without overlapping.

istockphoto.com

Footstep 3: Position and level your shutters.

Before beginning the installation, position the shutter aslope the window. If y'all're installing composite or vinyl shutters, you'll need to go out a 1/4-inch gap between the shutter and the window to allow for expansion and contraction of the fabric every bit temperatures change throughout the year. No gap is needed if you're installing wood shutters.

Using a level, make certain the shutter is plumb and then marker the corners using a pencil.

RELATED: Shutter Style: 9 Designs Everyone Should Know

Stride 4: Mark and drill the mounting holes in the shutter, and make pilot holes in the siding.

Now that yous've marked the location of the shutters about the window, you'll need to prep it for mounting. Place the shutters face upwards on a flat surface over a piece of scrap plywood or on top of two sawhorses. Mark a location in the heart of both side track 2 inches from the top and 2 inches from the bottom.

If you're mounting longer shutters that exceed 40 inches, y'all'll need to use six fasteners–1 in each corner and ane at the midpoint of each track. Once y'all've marked the holes, use a drill with a 1/4-inch fleck to drill pilot holes through the shutters.

istockphoto.com

Footstep 5: Attach the shutter to the siding.

Brainstorm by marking and drilling pilot holes. When drilling into siding, it's vital to drill to the proper depth. Measure three¼ inches from the tip of the drill scrap and marking the measurement on the chip with a piece of tape or felt tip pen. Position the shutter next to the window, using the corner mark yous fabricated earlier. Drill through each hole in the siding and shutters to a depth of three¼ inches, using the mark you fabricated on the drill fleck as a depth guide.

Exterior shutter mounting options include plastic plug fasteners and metal screws. If mounting wood or metallic shutters, utilize a cordless commuter to fasten each screw. Make sure not to overtighten the screws to prevent damaging the siding.

If mounting the shutters to vinyl siding, use outside shutter fasteners, which lock the shutter to the house while assuasive them to expand and contract without damaging the shutter or the vinyl. Install the locking fasteners using a hammer.

Pro Tip: If your shutters don't come with hardware, yous'll demand to purchase the right screws for the job. To determine what length screws to buy, mensurate the thickness of the shutters and add that to the lap thickness–the place where the vinyl panels overlap–of the siding. Add i/two inch to that full to determine the proper screw length.

RELATED: How Much Do Hurricane Shutters Cost?

Final Thoughts

After reading this guide, you should now have a good idea how to measure for outside shutters and successfully install them. Freshened-upwardly curb entreatment at your identify is within reach! The key to a successful shutter installation is ensuring they fit squarely to each window, so make sure to accept proper measurements when marking the position of each shutter. As well, don't exist tempted to skip pilot holes as driving in fasteners without them can damage the shutters.

istockphoto.com

FAQs Well-nigh How to Install Shutters

If you're still trying to decide between shutters or unadorned windows, read on to acquire well-nigh how difficult it is to install shutters and how this update affects the value of a home.

Q: How hard is it to install shutters?

Putting upward shutters and shutter removal are easy jobs that most DIYers can handle. Just make sure to take an extra gear up of hands to assistance align the shutters and agree them in place during installation.

Q: How do you attach shutters to vinyl siding?

Attach vinyl shutters to siding using plastic exterior shutter fasteners, which are also chosen locks or plugs. Drill pilot holes, then fasten the shutters to the abode'due south exterior by driving the plugs in with a hammer.

Q: Do shutters add value to a dwelling house?

While decorative shutters may non have a pregnant impact on a home'south value, they can amend a dwelling'due south curb entreatment.

Cheque out Bob Vila's top tips for installing shutters in the video beneath:

Source: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-to-install-shutters/

Posted by: strobelforombity91.blogspot.com

Share this post