Don’t shudder at the thought of installing indoor shutters. It’s neither as easy as it looks nor as hard as your friends have made it out to be. But there are a few tricks that will help you do it right.
You should look for affordable and high-quality shutters in the first place. At Window Shutters and Blinds in Wokingham, you will find the best shutter designs at really affordable prices. That way you can start with the installation process quickly.
First, it pays to understand the difficulties in tackling such a job. The biggest problem you might encounter is imperfect jambs in your home. Other problems involve imperfect measurements. Even the best carpenters sometimes produce slight imperfections. If you’re just one-sixteenth of an inch off in measuring where to place a shutter, where to place a hinge or where to cut a shutter to fit, the problem it causes will be magnified many times over during installation. You’ll find yourself redrilling holes to correct and just generally making a mess of it. There’s no such thing as “close enough” when installing shutters.
If all this hasn’t scared you enough to call a retail shutter outlet, and if you’re a determined do-it-yourselfer, the method shown here to install indoor shutters can make the job easier. To bypass imperfect measurements, you’ll be installing the shutters into a frame and then installing the whole kit and kaboodle into the jamb.
You’ll be able to adjust for imperfect window jambs because you can construct a perfect frame upon which the shutters are dependent directly.
You’ll also be able to adjust for shutter sizes that don’t correspond to your windows. With the tremendous variety of window sizes these days, that’s a big plus.
The first step you need to take in buying the shutters is to determine what style you’ll want — specifically, how many individual shutter sections you want. Decide whether you want shutters tall enough so that just one covers from top to bottom of your opening, or whether you’ll want two levels, one atop the other. The easiest to install, by far, is the one-height shutter. Installing one row of these across your opening is enough. Two rows get to be a nightmare even for the most experienced shutter installer.
Next, decide how wide each shutter should be. Do you want a look in which they’re tall and thin or tall and wide?
To determine the number of shutters you’ll have to buy, measure the height and width of the opening. The height should be matched against the height of the shutters in the store. Remember to divide by 2 if you’re intent on doing two levels.
Using the width measurement, divide by the number of shutter panels you want. There are two other figures you should keep in mind. One involves the width of the frame into which you’ll install the shutter panels. I’ve recommended 1-inch wood in the graphic, but there’s no reason you can’t use 2-inch. You’ll have to balance the advantage of the trimmer-looking 1-inch against the slightly clunkier-looking 2-inch. The advantage of the 2-inch is that it’s a bit stronger.
One other figure to keep in mind involves extra space to allow for mistakes in cutting. The extra space should be found on the borders of each shutter panel. You’ll want to buy shutters a bit larger than what you’ll need and trim them.
Some advice about trimming from one who’s made the mistake already: If you trim the shutters too much — say, 2 inches of trimming on height and width — you might weaken the joints. Hinges especially are important for homeowners who might want to open the shutters completely at times. You can make your measurements and installation perfectly, but if the hinges don’t work well or deteriorate, you’ll eventually have to leave the shutters in place constantly or redo them.
Make sure the hinges you use are thick and solid. Wraparound hinges will help reduce sag greatly.
Now you’re ready to go shopping.