How to Design Exterior Window Shutters
If you live in a hurricane zone and need functional shutters that are made for window protection, you should have them professionally installed. In most of the country, though, shutters are a decorative device to draw attention to windows and to dress up the exterior of a home. Homemade, rustic, board-and-batten shutters are assembled easily from plain wood boards and then covered with polyurethane for protection from the elements. Galvanized screws and washers resist rusting. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Tape measure
- Four 1-inch-by-8-inch boards, slightly longer than window length
- Miter saw
- One 1-inch-by-4-inch board, 8 feet long
- Wood glue
- 100-grit sandpaper
- Sawhorses
- Clear polyurethane
- Brush
- Drill
- 1/4-inch drill bit
- 1/4-inch galvanized screws
- Finish galvanized washers to fit the screws
Instructions
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1
Measure the length of the window from the outside of the exterior frame. Add 2 inches to the number, and mark it on one of the 1-inch-by-8-inch boards.
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2
Cut the board on your miter saw straight across at the mark. Cut the other three 1-inch-by-8-inch boards to the same length.
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3
Lay two of the cut boards parallel to each other, with 1/2-inch between them. Measure the combined width of the boards. (It should be close to 15 inches.) Cut two 1-inch-by-4-inch boards to that measurement.
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4
Set one of the cut 1-inch-by-4-inch boards across the width of the 1-inch-by-8-inch boards, 1 foot from the top. Lift the 1-inch-by-4-inch board to put wood glue under it where it intersects with each 1-inch-by-8-inch board. Do the same with the other 1-inch-by-4-inch board, 1 foot from the bottom of the boards. Repeat the process with the remaining pieces to build the other shutter. Let the glue set overnight.
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5
Lightly hand-sand both the shutters on all sides. Set them on sawhorses and apply your first coat of polyurethane with a brush. Let it dry for two hours, lightly sand the surface to buff off the shine, then apply a second coat of polyurethane.
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6
Drill pilot holes with your 1/4-inch bit through the shutters, one hole at the center of each intersection between the 1-inch-by-4-inch boards and the 1-inch-by-8-inch boards. Slide washers onto each of your 1/4-inch screws.
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7
Hold up one of the shutters alongside one side of the window, just outside the frame. Use your drill to sink the 1/4-inch screws with washers through the pre-drilled holes into the siding. Repeat for the other side of the window.
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