Simple Wooden Shutters: How To
Posted on 10. Jul, 2008 by Laura-Jane - Whimfield in House, Projects
We made shutters out of CHEAP lumber in a couple of hours! You can too!
We bought a bunch of 1×4s (which look like standard 2×4s that have been sliced depth-wise). A 12 foot long piece was $2.69.
First, you cut your lumber! Very, very, very easy if you have a mitre saw, which is the greatest investment ever because it makes straight cuts instantly.
With the mitre saw it is ZIPZIPZIP and you have three 1×4s cut to the same length as the window pane.
Next, we cut two cross-supports out of the same wood, and screwed six screws (in total) through the supports and into each board (while making sure that the screws were long enough to attach them together, but not so long as to poke out the back).
And this, my friends, is a decorative shutter; the shutters are simple and to the point, just the way we like our home improvements!
So that the paint will have something to stick to, we primed them first.
Then came the paint!
Installation was as easy as banging four super long nails into the shingles (made easier by the fact that we already had scaffolding sitting right there, of course).
And there you have it!
Jobs like these are so much easier with the right tools.
Cameron simply cannot bring himself to buy a new tool if he can make do with some crazy 1970s tool that has been broken and screwed back together seventeen times, has a bent blade, and has scraps of wood wedged inside it to keep the whole thing together. I am not sure why he does this, and I guess it is kind of sweet really, but sometimes it drives me nuts.
For the first two months of our house renovation (during which we worked every day for at least eight hours per day, cutting hundreds of pieces of wood), any straight cut that was made in this house was either done by hand with a dull hand-saw or cut free-hand with a skill saw that,
a) was already ancient when Cameron inherited it from his parents ten years ago (yes, Paul, your old silver skill saw, it lives!); and
b) has NEVER HAD ITS BLADE REPLACED IN THE TEN YEARS I HAVE KNOWN THIS TOOL TO BE IN CAMERON’S POSSESSION, (may it rest in peace).
Thankfully, after two months of hand-sawing and skill-sawing, we came to a mutual decision that something had to be done. And so, we took the plunge and purchased a mitre saw for $150.
Thus, we were able to make these shutters with the proper tools!
And skip ahead a couple of months…and here are snow covered shutters! The final product.
Nicole
Jul 10th, 2008
Hey, that’s awesome! Nice work. And you’re exactly right about that mitre saw. I don’t know how I lived without one for so long and how I managed to almost install a complete floor without it. NEVER again.
Laura-Jane
Jul 10th, 2008
Hehe, I know. I was thinking about you when I wrote this actually, because I remember reading that you are a wise soul who has a splendid variety of tools. It’s the way to go really, because why struggle unnecessarily? Anything that makes the job quicker and easier is a good thing. Cam is definitely lightening up about it, in fact, we bought a jig saw yesterday, too.
Steven Fisher
Jul 10th, 2008
Amazing what a difference a single set of shutters makes to the outside of the house! Just like that, it goes from incredibly home-ly to… uh… home-y.
Andy Collier
Jul 10th, 2008
My problem is the opposite, I always want to buy more tools! By far the best investments we made tool wise are:
1.) Cement Mixer. This saved us sooooo many hours of time and muscle aches over mixing stucco by hand!
2.) Truck. Nothing is as usefule to building or renovating than having your own truck.
3.) Tool/Nail belt. There is absolutely no reason why anyone shouldn’t have one if the are building or renovating!
There are other tools we made, improvised and misused in the stucco and straw bale process that were invaluable, but they don’t really apply to most people!
Nicole
Jul 11th, 2008
Well, I can’t help but point out to other your grand efforts and I’m giving you an award! Check out the blog.
Laura-Jane
Jul 14th, 2008
Steven, it’s funny, I didn’t even realize that our house was homely until we put the white trim around the windows and added the shutters. Then, I looked at the unadorned windows that didn’t have the trim/shutters, and gasped at their homely-ness.
Andy, I’m the same as you when it comes to tools, and I’m with you on the tool-belt; I’ve been known to abuse my tool-belt privileges by filling mine with clothespins when hanging laundry or filling it with cookies for when I’m feeling peckish. And I bet you think I’m joking. Right right, yes, joking, yes. I have never filled my tool-belt with Jam-Jams, no, Sir, never. (Ahem.)
Nicole! Thank you for the link!!!!
Sal
Oct 11th, 2009
PEI – shutters. Have you asked the old people why they have shutters?
Originally is was not just for looks, but to close and protect the windows from the violent winds. I hope that you won’t need them for that…
I have a friend who lives in Charolettetown.
maxine
Dec 5th, 2011
Thank-you so much for sharing your adventures! I stumbled upon them while researching driving across canada.I recently drove to Alberta from Ontario and want to go back soon. You have offered so much more than driving tips but for me, life advice!I love your outlook on life and really enjoy your style of writing, you have a true talent. Thank-you!!
Maxine :)