You will probably come up with a myriad of questions once you decide on installing exterior window shutters. Typical questions would be about style - what is the best style for your specific landscape, community, and architecture? Should you choose wooden shutters and if you do, what type wood is best? Should you measure for your shutters and how do you do this? How can you prolong the life of your shutters once installed? Where is the best place to buy your shutters?
Here are a few excellent tips to help you answer your shutter questions and choose the best exterior shutters for your home:
1) SHUTTER STYLES
Exterior shutters come in a variety of styles. It is important to know which style will be best for your climate and location; and what type and style will best suit your architecture.
If your home is a home with many windows or a mansion and you also live in a stormy winter region you may want to choose the Louvered Shutter. This shutter is good for protecting your home from wind, snow, and hail. It is most often used for the Northeast Colonial home, but however is also used in second level Southern homes. This shutter is usually made of pine or vinyl.
If your home is fashioned in the older Colonial look of the 1800s, the Board and Batten shutter is an excellent choice, giving both shade and protection from heat and humidity.
Victorian, Gothic, Queen Anne, and Tudor style architecture call for Raised Panel Shutters - a shutter that grew out of old European Royalty. The raised panel shutter offers more security than the louvered shutter, providing both protection and privacy. They are often installed on the first floor, with louvered shutters on the second floor.
The combination of two louvered panels and two raised panels are traditionally used on the Brownstone, townhouse, or row home.
If you live in a tropical, coastal, or desert region, the Caribbean styled Bahama or Bermuda shutter is your best bet. This shutter offers cool breezes, diffused light, privacy, comfort, and sun protection for your indoor furniture and furnishings. It is made of wood, fiberglass, or aluminum.
Bahama shutters work best on tall, slender buildings. Bahama shutters swing up and away from the building and are suspended with top exterior hinges. They can be quickly closed for thunderstorms and hurricanes and can protect against strong wind gusts and heavy rain.
Another shutter good for high storm areas is the Rolling Hurricane Shutter, also called the Accordian Hurricane Shutter. It is specifically styled for high storm areas. These shutters are excellent for windows, doors, storefronts, lanais, and high-rise buildings.
Rolling or Accordion shutters offer storm protection, security, privacy, insulation, noise filtration, and light reduction. They can withstand hurricane force winds and flying debris; reduce air conditioning and heating costs; are very environmentally friendly; and lower noise by 70%.
2) THE BENEFITS OF WOOD SHUTTERS
If you are planning to customize your shutters and want shutters in any design you wish then choose wood shutters. Shutters made of wood are easier to customize. You can easily match your shutters to your architecture. They also exceed vinyl and aluminum in durability and aesthetic appeal; and are the best protection against extreme weather. Wood shutters can be carved into different shapes, sizes; and painted or stained to your most desirable color that will match your overall building scheme.
3) BASIC WOOD SELECTION
If you decide on wood shutters it is important to know about the different types of wood.
The best and most durable wood for shutters is Western Red Cedar. Western Red Cedar is a solid, strong, and durable wood that is highly resistant to environmental elements. It can withstand hurricane winds, heavy rainfall, and scorching heat.
Wood shutters are also made of Pine, Cypress, Redwood, Basswood, Maple, and Mahogany.
If you are looking for an aesthetically appealing wood, nothing beats Cypress. It planes and machines well and resists warping. It can be screwed, glued, and nailed well. It sands easily and readily accepts a finish.
The most common wood used in shutters is Pine - an architectural grade pine without loose knots, however Pine won't hold up to environmental damage, and will have to be replaced periodically.
An excellent alternative to Cedar and Cypress is the California Redwood. It is very attractive and used also in fences, picnic and backyard furniture, and decks. It not only withstands the environmental elements well but can blend in with your decor if you use a lot of Redwood.
California Redwood is a miracle wood with qualities not found in other woods. California Redwood naturally resists shrinking and warping, stays straight and flat, and looks better than other woods ten to twenty years after construction. It contains little or no pitch and resins, is resistant to decay and insects, and can absorb and retain all types of finishes. It is lightweight, easy to saw, shape, and drill.
4) YOUR SHUTTER HARDWARE
When choosing exterior shutters, keep in mind, that there is also shutter hardware to consider such as tie-backs or shutter dogs and hinges. These come in all sorts of varieties such as English Rat Tail tie-backs (Colonial), Beacon Hill tie-backs (Boston), and other historical tie-backs such as Ben Franklin, Charleston, Philadelphia, and Belmont.
Shutter dogs or tie-backs come in many different styles such as stars, grapes, Rococo; and can be either new or antique styled to blend in with your decor or community. They can be both functional and decorative; and made of hand forged steel, cast iron, wrought iron, stainless steel, cast bronze, aluminum alloy, and exterior grade plastic.
5) MEASURING FOR YOUR SHUTTERS
You will need to measure your windows or frames to determine shutter size. It is best to check with the place where you buy your shutters for their specific measuring method. You will need to measure for shutter size and square footage. However, here are basic shutter measuring instructions:
For shutter size, measure the width and height of your outside opening. Add 8 inches to the opening width and 12 inches to the opening height.
To get square footage, multiply width by height and divide by 144.
To get the width size of your shutter, divide the width of the window opening in half. The height is usually the height of the opening.
For double windows divide the opening by 4. For triple windows divide the opening by 6.
6) THE LIFE OF YOUR SHUTTERS
Once you have purchased or built your new shutters you will want to keep them in excellent shape. To prolong their life make sure to prime and paint, stain, or use shutter caps. With Redwood, if you want a weathered look you can let it weather. The life of Redwood will remain intact.
7) WHERE TO PURCHASE YOUR SHUTTERS
Shutters can be easily purchased online from local companies and wholesale or retail companies. Online companies offer customer support, easy ordering, and great savings. There are a variety of companies depending on your specialty. Look for the company that specializes in your specific shutter need.
Go to your local home improvement company first to see what they have. Check out a few home improvement magazines to get a good idea of what you are looking for. Then go online and track down your best choices whether it is wood, hardware, or style. Look for free shipping and code approval by your state; or international code approvals. Code approvals are important if living in a high storm and wind area or a hurricane area.
Now that you've answered all those shutter questions about style, type of wood, measurements, and where to buy them, you are on your way to purchasing and installing the very best shutter you can find for your home.