Looking for a way to spruce up your house? Adding exterior window shutters is one way to add an instant traditional look. Knowing how to install exterior shutters to your home will save you the cost of hiring a contractor to do it.
There was a time when shutters were functional, providing a way to secure the windows from the elements and enemies. Some shutters had slats to let in light while keeping out the rain and sun. Shutters were mounted on hinges and were secured with latches requiring them to be custom-made.
The good news is that most shutters today are purely for decoration, eliminating the need for costly custom-fitting. Shutters are available from most home and hardware stores in a variety of standard sizes and finishes.
Here are three things you need to consider before installing shutters on your house:
Wood or Vinyl Shutters?
Pre-fabricated shutters come in wood or vinyl. Wood requires a little more care and will need to be painted every few years. Vinyl shutters are more durable and never need painting, so you need to select a color you'll be happy with for a long time.
What Kind of Siding?
What kind of siding does your house have? Whether your house has wood, brick, stucco or vinyl siding will affect how you attach the shutters to your house. Wood is easiest. Brick and stucco will need anchor bolts.
Clips or Direct Attachment?
You can attach shutters to your house one of two ways: either by direct attachment, driving screws through the face of the shutter into the siding on your house, or with clips that allow for easy removal and upkeep.
Any shutters that you buy will come with detailed instructions and all the accessories you'll need, except the tools. You'll most likely just need a power drill.
If you're mounting the shutters by direct attachment, you'll be drilling holes through the four corners of the shutter directly into your house. If your house is brick, be sure to position the holes so they go through the mortar, not the brick itself. You'll need anchor bolts for the mortar.
Direct-mount shutters usually come with caps to hide the screw heads once the shutter installation is complete.
If you're mounting with clips, the instructions that come with your shutters will include a template for easy and accurate installation of the mounts for your house and the clips for the shutters. Clips have the benefit of having no visible screws on the face of the shutter. They also enable easy removal for cleaning and painting.
Clips can be used for either wood or vinyl shutters. Direct-mounting with screws can only be done with wood shutters.
See your hardware or home supply store for more information. Chances are, if you can hang a picture, you can hang shutters.
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