How to Hang a Window Shutter

If you're wondering how to hang a window shutter, you are most likely looking to hang a set of two. It's easiest to do both at the same time instead of hanging one and then the other. Since it can be difficult to measure and hold heavy shutters at the same time, get someone to help you with this project. Your most important task is insuring that your shutters hang straight so that they open and close easily.

Things You'll Need

• Shutters with hinges
• .25-inch wooden shims
• Power drill with screwdriver bit
• Level
• Pencil

Instructions

1. Place both shutters in the window casing exactly how you want them to sit when they are closed. Insert .25-inch shims on all sides so they don't scrape the window frame. Make sure the shutters are straight and even so they will swing out properly.

2. Assemble your hinges by placing the rod on the strap through the cylinder on the pintle. It will simply slip through. The strap is the side of the hinge that holds the shutter, while the pintle attaches to the wall.

3. Place the pintle of the first hinge on the wall to the immediate left of the top of the left-hand shutter a quarter inch out from the edge of the window casing. Line the top of the pintle up exactly with the top of the shutter, not the top of the window. Use a level to ensure a straight line. Mark the pintle's screw holes on the wall with your pencil.

4. Open the hinge so that the strap is flush against the shutter. Mark its screw holes on the shutter. Pull the hinge down and drill pilot holes in the wall at your pencil marks. Then screw the pintle in place.

5. Repeat Step 2 for the top right hinge. Line up your left and right bottom hinges with your top hinges by placing your level lengthwise on the left and right side of the pintles, respectively. Use the level as a guide to draw vertical pencil lines, stopping in line with the bottom of the window's casing. Use them as a guide to install the bottom two pintles in the same manner as the top ones.

6. Pull the shutters out of the casing and lay them flat on a workbench. Remove the straps from the pintles. Drill a pilot hole at each pencil mark you made in Step 4, making sure that you don't drill all the way through the shutters. Screw the straps onto the shutters.

7. Hang your shutters by slipping the rods back through the cylinders to reconnect the pintles to the straps. Check and see that the shutters swing easily and meet in the middle of the window. If not, they aren't straight. Take them down and redo your measurements.

Tips & Warnings

• Hang your shutters fancy side in so you can show off any decorations when they're open.

References

• This Old House