Exterior Shutter Installation - Install Wood and Vinyl Shutters

There are two methods of exterior shutter installation for your home. Following our exterior shutter installation tips will enable you to install each way.  There are two popular methods for exterior shutter installation: to install wood shutters shutters on hinges and install vinyl shutters directly to the house.  Both can be quickly learned. Exterior shutter installation on hinges is for functional shutters that need to open or close or just have the look that they can.   You install vinyl shutters directly to the house, a method sometimes called "direct set."

Before we begin, it's also a good idea to point out that depending on the surface you're installing exterior shutters on, siding or brick, there are a few differences in the details.

Ok, let's begin with direct set installation. Direct set installation of exterior shutters is used to install vinyl shutters and sometimes to install 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 installing 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.

Once you've predrilled the holes, it's as simple as holding the exterior shutters back up to the window to install the exterior shutters with 2 - 3 inch screws. It's a good idea to place a plug over the screws to conceal them. To install wood 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 diameter. 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.  You usually install wood shutters and even PVC shutters with this method.  Exterior shutter installation on two hinges which sit atop "pintles" screwed into the window frame. A shutter pintle 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. Pintles 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 pintle will not allow the shutters to offset the right distance and may keep the shutters from laying flush on the house.

Usually two hinges are installed on a shutter, however, for longer shutters or PVC shutters 3 - 4 hinges are sometimes used to distribute the weight or to keep the shutter more thermally ridgid. Exterior shutter hinges should be attached first and located roughly six inches from the top and bottom of the shutter.

The location of the pintles 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 pintle that meets the hinge. This distance will determine the placement of the pintle. 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 pintle 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 pintle over the trim so that the bottom of the pintle where the hinge rests is aligned with your mark. This is where the pintle needs to be screwed into the trim so that the shutter mirrors the window. Only install the bottom pintle at this time. Afterwards, lift the shutter up and place it on the pintle.

Have another pintle and a drill on hand so that you're ready for the next step. Do this by having the bottom hinge slip over the pintle. Now, you will install the second pintle by sliding it into place in the second hinge and on the window trim. Screw the second pintle in and you now know how to install exterior shutters on hinges. Your shutters will be functional and open and close.

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 shutterdog can be rotated to allow the shutter to open and close.

Lastly, you can add a no rot window flower box under the window for an added effect.  This is a good way to draw attention to your newly added shutters and highlight your windows.