Mistakes: Exterior Shutters Today vs Historic Shutters –
What is Wrong and What to do Right
Shutters are an important feature on a house. The goal of this website is to enable readers to make their house architecturally correct which would then be aesthetically pleasing. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of correct exterior window shutters.
Think of the windows as the eyes of the house and the window shutters as the eyebrows (although to the side) to understandthe impact. If the shutters are the wrong type or mounted incorrectly, they can ruin the appearance of the entire house.
Yes, the money you spent on restoring that new front door or painting with authentic Victorian colors will be wasted if your window shutters are incorrectly hung (mounted).
Most people look at exterior window shutters as a decorative feature with no further thought. The decorative shutters are installed and the mission is accomplished. How dreadfully wrong!
The following is what you need to look for and, once you see the difference, you will pick it out every time. There are a number of points you need to understand about exterior window shutters in order to make your house look great.
Louvered Shutters.
On historic louvered shutters (historically called Blinds), the louvers were either Fixed Louvers or Operable Louvers. Each type represents a different period in history and provides a slightly different look.
Fixed Louvered Shutters.
Fixed Louvered shutters are appropriate for buildings built prior to the Civil War. Operable louvered shutters grew popular quickly although fixed louvered shutters remained in builders catalogs into the early 1900’s.
- The louvers are constructed in a fixed open position in order to allow a certain amount of air and light to pass through.
- The louvers must be fixed at an angle in an approximately 60 degree open position. (a completely closed louver would be a flat apx. 10 degrees, perfectly horizontal would be 90 degrees.) So you want it roughly between perfectly flat and horizontal.
- When the shutter is open the louvers angle pointing downwards towards the house and upward facing out.
- When the shutter is closed, the louvers are angled pointing downwards away from the house to shed water away from the window and block the sun’s rays from entering the room.
There is an important aesthetic benefit with louvered window shutters. The louvers create shadow lines which provide texture and interest. Shadow lines are most important on a house for they create the character that bring buildings to life.
Purchasing a Fixed Louvered shutter with flat closed louvers (10 degrees) as sold in home improvement stores results in a flat artificial appearance due to the lack of shadows.
A historic operable louver shutter with louvers completely closed would never display the flatness fake plastic shutters have. Unfortunately this is the type of shutter you see on all houses today, no matter what the period architecture.
Some shutter companies manufacture quality wood window shutters with louver’s that resemble plastic shutters. Be careful! While the shutters may be well made with quality wood the design is wrong and you will be wasting your money.
Fixed Louvered Shutters:
Fixed louver shutters were used from mid 18th century through mid 19th century. Operable shutters became available 1830-40.
Have stationary slats in a fixed position apx. 60% open.
The slats are angled downward and inward towards the house.
The louvers provide a nice texture when seen on a house.
Fixed louver shutters were used from mid 18th century through mid 19th century.
Never have flat louvers with fixed shutters. Shutters were meant for ventilation so what sense would there be to have closed louvers that cannot be adjusted?
Fixed louver shutters. Note louvers angled in the correct direction.
Operable louvered shutters:
Have operable louvers that can be adjusted to be opened or closed by a tilt bar.
The slats are angled downward and inward towards the house.
Louvers provide a nice texture and tilt bar adds to the appearance.
Operable louver shutters were installed on buildings from 1830’s-40 through 1950’s.
Operable Louver Shutters
Vinyl Shutters:
Plastic shutters are fake and cheap looking.
There is minimal texture for louvers molded flat against each other in a permanently closed position making them look flat and bland.
A cheap looking shutter provides cheap curb appeal and not a good reflection on the homeowner.
Louvers are angled in the wrong direction.
Purchased by homeowners and builders that do not understand shutters and have not read this website.
Wood shutters in this style are fine for a 1950’s building.
Cheap looking vinyl shutters. Louvers pointing the wrong way.
Operable Louvered Shutters
Operable Louvered Shutters were first used around 1830-1840. Operable louvered shutters can be adjusted by a Tilt Rod to regulate air-flow and light. Shutters with operable louvers and a tilt rod create a shadow pattern providing the best depth, contrast, and character.
If your goal is decorative window shutters they must still appear as if they are operable. A “fake” plastic shutter from a home improvement store has louvers that are fixed in a tightly closed position than they normally would be if they were to actually operate. The amount of space opened would not need to be as great as 50 percent as Fixed Louvered shutters (as explained above), but should NOT be totally flat either in order to look real.
If your house was constructed after the Civil War, there should be a tilt rod on your window shutters. This is an important feature that is always overlooked and greatly affects its appearance. In this case a false Tilt Rod should be attached to fixed shutters to appear operable. Failure to achieve this look will greatly sacrifice the appearance of the house.
When historic shutters are in the closed position, the louvers should be angled pointing downward and away from the house to shed water away from the window it is covering.
When shutters are in an open position, the louvers will be angled pointing downwards toward the house. Water will be shed to the back of the shutter towards the house; but, no need to worry, there will be air space from the hinge offset for runoff and drying.
Louvered Shutter Direction
Louvers on open decorative shutters are angled toward house. Rain water drips behind shutter and down siding.
If shutters are closed the louvers direct the rain-water out and away from the window. While this may sound wrong, it is beneficial because it deters critters: bats, bees, etc. from nesting there because it exposes this hiding place to the elements.
This is the correct way install shutters decorative or functional. If you prefer the opposite – incorrect way, I promise I will not yell at you so don’t be frightened! The most important thing about the louvers is the shadow line you get from louvers that are NOT flat.
Shutter Size Errors
Another mistake which is almost always made, is improper shutter height and width. The width of each shutter must equal half the size of the INSIDE of the window casing. If both shutters were to close they must sit inside and fill the window casing, covering the entire window in both height and width. Although you may never close the shutters, this is just as important when decorative shutters are in an open position.
Two properly sized shutters must fit inside and fill the window casing when closed
The way to size shutters is to make sure they fill the window properly when closed. The shutters must rest on the blind-stop not the window sash. The blind stop is also where storm windows attach to. (New England homes may have a different design discussed later.)
When you look at a window, your mind interprets it as a shape. When there are two shutters (right and left), which are sized correctly, they represent two-halves of that shape (the window opening). Your mind recognizes this, and interprets this equal balance as appealing. Sadly, most people ignore this and are probably busy thinking about watching I Love Lucy re-runs, instead of taking the time to respond to their natural inner senses.
Shutters are too narrow to fill window when closed and too long – notice the bottom of shutters extend to the window sill.
Shutters are too wide and too long.
These shutters are the perfect size for two different types of windows. Don’t be distracted by the unattractive imitation-brick asphalt siding, which began production in 1931.
Shape Errors
Common sense will tell you that shutters must also match the shape of the window. Many times you will see a beautifully arched window with a rectangular shutter. Your mind is working overtime interpreting these two different shapes and why are they grouped together. Much can be learned by the child’s toy which requires the correctly shaped block to be inserted into the correspondingly shaped hole. As you see many homeowners never succeeded with this toy.
Rectangular Shutters on Arched Windows
WRONG
WRONG
In the two pictures above, not only are the shutters the wrong shape, they are also fake, too long for the window, and mounted incorrectly. Just because you pay someone with years of experience to install shutters, doesn’t mean that they will do it correctly. This injustice has already reached epidemic proportions.
Shutter Hanging (Mounting) Errors
Probably the most prevalent mistake made is improper shutter installation. This makes a beautiful house look cheap, ugly, and bland. Sadly almost all shutters are mounted this way and the public has evolved to accept this look. There are two parts to this error.
The first part of the mistake is that shutters mounted directly on the facade/siding of the house, appear banished off to the side of the window as if the window wants no part of the shutter. Visually, it MUST appear as if the shutters are mounted directly ON TOP OF the window casing, next to the window opening. Failure to do this looks ridiculous and drastically changes the appearance of the entire house. You are confusing your subconscious mind as it tries to interpret patterns and make associations. What is this rectangular shape doing all by itself out there?
Another common mistake is mounting the shutters flat against the house. Here you lose your shadow lines which result in a bland, uninteresting house. When shutters are mounted directly to the face of a house, there is no room for ventilation between the shutter and the house. This results in heat build up from the sun that can cause damage to siding and painted finishes behind the shutter. A correctly mounted shutter should APPEAR to be attached to a hinge, protruding from the house.
There are a few technicalities in properly mounting shutters depending on your window and the type of hinge used. However, the shutters should still have the same appearance as in the examples of GOOD Shutters on this page. When open, shutters should be located tight to the window covering all or part of the window casing and projecting outward at the window edge.
Architecturally, it is not necessary for a feature to actually be functional; however, it must always appear functional. Please understand, I think it is wonderful to have historic, functioning shutters, but the goal here is appearance. That said, you may not need or want your shutters to open and close, but they MUST appear as if they do. This is explained more in the next section on Exterior Shutter Hinges.
Exterior Shutter Hinges
Historic shutters were mounted on hinges. There are two parts to a shutter hinge. One part is attached to the house and the other part is attached to the shutter. The part of the shutter hinge that is attached to the house contains a Pintle – a pivot point for the shutter hinge to rest on. This part of the hinge can either be mounted to the house on the face of the window casing OR on the inside edge (jamb) of the window. Each of the two mounting types provides a different appearance.
There are many types and sizes of shutter hinges you can use. A lot depends on your window and how much space you have to mount the hinge. These details and customizations you should discuss with the shutter manufacturer. Here, on OldHouseGuy.com, you will learn what you need to know to get the proper look.
If you think your house originally had shutters, you can check to see where the original hinges were mounted by looking for “ghost marks”. Even after years of painting, you should still be able to see these marks. You may even see them in both places (edge and face) – this means your shutters and/or hinges were replaced. Most likely, old face-mounted strap hinges were replaced in the late 19th century with newer hinges mounted on the inside edge.
Shutter Hinge Throw – distance from window opening
One of the most important things to understand when ordering shutter hinges is a term called “THROW”. This is the space between the pivot point of the hinge and the inside edge of the shutter when the shutter is open.
This is very important because if there is a large THROW, or large swing, there will be more space between the shutter and the hinge pivot point. In other words, the shutter will be farther to the side, away from the window opening, exposing more of the window casing. This large THROW will make your wonderful historic shutters appear just like all the fake plastic shutters you see mounted off to the side of the window.
As I stated earlier, each window is different and there does need to be some THROW for your shutter to work. Do not get a hinge with a larger throw merely for the purpose of being able to see the wood casing. Sadly, this is becoming the standard of the best quality shutter manufacturers. And why? Because the consumer is accustomed to the wrong look and that is what they want to buy.
Below are examples of shutter throw and the type of shutter hinge used to get the right look.
Shutter-throw is tight to the window.
Here the shutter is tight to the window because a Jamb hinge (Butt hinge) is used. This look is correct for a house built 1854 to present. It is also correct for shutters using surface hinges after 1854. Surface hinges can also be attached tight to the window.
Shutters are set back from the window opening just a bit.
This shutter is off to the side because the hinge is mounted on the surface of the window casing. This look is correct for a house built before 1852. It is also correct for a shutter with surface hinges after 1852.
Use this method for very early homes only.
NEVER mount a shutter this way on any house. This is where homeowners, builders, and architects fail today.
Shutter Hinge Offset & Standoff
Exterior shutter hinge offset and stand off is the distance a shutter projects from facade and angle of shutter
I think it is wonderful to have operable shutters but there are technicalities specific to your windows that you should discuss with the shutter manufacturer. My objective on OldHouseGuy.com is to educate you on how your home can have the best appearance. Once this is understood, and if you prefer operable shutters instead of merely decorative, the next step of mechanics can be addressed with the manufacturer.
This information is important even if your shutters are strictly decorative. The next thing you need to understand is the term hinge OFFSET. OFFSET and STANDOFF are important terms in assuring your shutters will not only look good, but also open and close properly. These terms are sometimes used interchangeably.
The Offset and Standoff of the hinge pertains to the part of the hinge that is attached to the house. This part of the hinge has a point or Pintle – a pivot point where the shutter is connected.
The Offset we will discuss here is the distance the hinge extends your shutters AWAY from the window casing. An OFFSET of about 1/2 to 1.5 inches is usually recommended, although each window casing is different.
The Offset is important because the space provides necessary ventilation behind the shutter and creates additional shadow lines which make your house come alive with interest. Shutters you see today are flat against both the window casement and the facade, without shadows, making the house look bland.
The outer edge – opposite edge of the shutter, away from the Offset hinge, should rest closer to the facade of the house. The fully opened shutter can be secured with a Tie-Back attached to this outer edge (without this Tie-Back your shutters will flap in the breeze). The final result will be a shutter that is angled in appearance.
Shutter offset showing angle.
Shutter Hinges – Which Type to Choose
There are two basic types of hinges: Edge Mounted and Surface Mounted.
Edge Mounted Shutter Hinges (Jamb Hinge)
Edge Mounted Shutter Hinges are also referred to as Jamb Hinges or Butt Hinges (not to get confused with the derriere). These hinges are mounted to the Window Jamb – the inside edge of the window casing. Hinge mounting depends on your window construction since the window jamb needs sufficient space to attach the hinge. These hinges are mortised into the wood casing and the shutter. For an example of an edge-mounted hinge, just take a look at how a door hinge is mortised. The Acme Lull & Porter hinge was a very popular edge mounted hinge in the later half of the 19th century and after. They were self-locking, meaning when in an open-position, they locked in place, eliminating the need for Tie Backs. The Acme Lull & Porter hinge was Patented in 1854. Click here to see 1854 patent .
Surface mounted shutter hinge. Hinge throw is about 1 inch from window casing to allow space for pintle. Window casing is partially visible. 1830 – present.
Jamb mounted shutter hinge. Shutter covers window casing. Hinge is mortised into edge of casing. 1854 – present.
Surface Mounted Shutter Hinges
Surface Mounted Hinges are also referred to as Strap Hinges. These hinges are mounted to the FACE of the window casing. These hinges are not mortised into the wood. Strap Hinges are more visible due to the strap supporting the shutter. These shutters also provide a different appearance. Since the hinge is attached to the face of the casing, the pivot point can be no less than about an inch from the edge of the window opening. This results in a slightly greater Throw than Edge Mounted hinges since the point of origin is a bit farther away from the window edge. Surface mounted hinges were most popular on structures built before the Civil War.
Remember with whatever type of hinge you use, try to keep the shutter as tight to the window as possible unless your house dates back to very early 1800’s or earlier.
Surface Mounted Hinges for Recessed Windows (usually brick or stone houses)
There is a difference when mounting a shutter on a wood sided house compared to that of a house sided with Brick or Stone. The window is constructed the same but instead of being surrounded by a wide casing, the window is surrounded by a brick molding which is narrower than a casing.
On a WOOD sided house, the siding does not project beyond the face of the window casing. Surface Mounted or Edge Mounted hinges can be used and the offset needed is minimal.
On a BRICK or STONE sided house, the brick or stone projects beyond the face of the window casing. The window and casing are recessed. Here, a surface Mounted hinge MUST be used and, depending on how deep the casing is recessed, a greater OFFSET will be required. This will allow the shutter to clear the brick/stone siding when swung open (if operable) or fixed in an open position.
Surface hinge is attached to face of brick mold. Offset extends shutter to face of bricks.
Shutters for Eastern Style Window Casings (New England Homes)
Do you have Eastern Style Windows? Do you even know what they are? If your house is located in New England, read about Eastern Style Window Casings here first.
As you now know after reading the article, these window casings are absent of a Blind Stop. Therefore the shutters need to be mounted in a way so when closed, they rest on the face of the window casing instead of the blind stop. The window casings have a different design to hold the shutters. A frame around the edge of the casing.
An Eastern Style window casing will have an extra trim on the casing instead of a flat face.
Notice that the shutter size must be taller since the shutter fits into the trim on the face of the window casing when closed.
Shutters for Eastern Style windows rest on top of the window casing. Not very attractive but correct for New England.
Shutter Tie-Backs
A Tie-Back on a shutter is usually referred to as a Shutter Dog or Shutter Catch. A Shutter Dog holds the shutter in place from the front. Since it is visible, there are many decorative Dogs to choose from.
A Bullet Shutter Catch or Acorn Clip is a pin that holds the shutter in place from behind. This is not visible when the shutter is in an open position. The bullet shutter catch or acorn clip is what should be used on a Victorian home.
Shutter Dog styles
Acorn Clip – best option for a Victorian home.
“Dog” is an Old English word that means “a simple mechanical fastener”. The “S” style shutter dog was the popular style of the 1920-30’s. More info on types of shutters used throughout history in Part 5 of my shutter articles.
Shutter dogs get mounted at the base of the shutter about 3/4 out toward the end. Shutter dogs are weighted at one end to hold the shutter in place. Otherwise the shutter dog could turn to the side and the shutter will become loose and flap around. If your porch roof meets the sill, your roof was probably modified because the roofer didn’t know what to do. However in this case mount it at the bottom to the side.
Shutter dogs must be within arms reach for shutters would be opened and closed from inside not outside the house.
Yes – The shutter dog is in this location. Between the center and the end of the shutter.
This is WRONG, stupid, idiotic, and crazy!
Again, please do not mount the shutter dog to the side of the shutter. This is ridiculous! These dogs are weighted and if mounted to the size you will not only be advertising your stupidity but the shutter will not be held in place. Those that like this side-mount seem to gravitate towards a more tacky house in favor of doing “something different”.
Another Type of Shutter Latch
This latch was screwed into the back of the shutter and would clip on to the catch (shown in white) that was attached to the house.
This behind-the-shutter latch was very popular at one time but not easily found today.
While this type of a latch was very popular, it is difficult to find today. Of course your first option should always be to restore the hardware. If you do need replacement there is a manufacturer to purchase this from.
This shutter latch kit is available from Ricca’s Architectural Sales.
Click here to order this shutter latch kit at Ricca’s.
Other Shutter Hardware
There is a large selection of shutter hardware to choose from as you will see on the recommended shutter sites. There are locks, bolts, pulls, tie-backs, etc. These items will add additional visual interest to your shutters and house.
Strap hinges are only seen when the shutters are closed. If you are looking for hardware to be seen on your shutters when open, consider Zimmerman Fasteners if your house was built after 1860.
Check out info on Shutter Dogs here.
And more info on Shutter Hardware here.
There’s something I’ve always wondered about shutters that are correctly installed. When the louvers are slanted towards the house, does that not tend to channel rainwater towards the siding where there is not a lot of chance for it to dry out? I imagine it wasn’t so much of an issue when the shutters were functional as well as decorative, but even on the local eighteenth and nineteenth century homes where they’re correctly installed, I seldom see them closed.
You’re correct. However when a shutter is mounted on a hinge it is not resting on the siding. There is space behind the shutter for air circulation to dry the wood.
I thought that too but then read in the article where there is doacegor the water to run down before it gets to the house.
Yes my name is Ron,I the owner of ALL ASPECTS HANDYMAN SERVICES OF AUGUSTA IN, I do ground up restoration on vintage homes what you are telling the general public is something that Thay believe was right , when the shutter’s are in a open position pointed down towards the house this is the problem, water beats off the slates causing it to splash water in a fast rate like a constant pressure washer, this in time beats the coating from the house first , then you have exposed wood, of course rodent, birds , and bats won’t nest their will get pounded by the water, but what you are not up to date on is the hands on work that has to be done to repair this mistake, what you have been thought you learned from a book, because if you was hands on in the field worker you would not be telling the general public what you are telling them
Yes this would be a nightmare if the shutters were flat against the house. Not as bad if on hinges and as you stated it would keep bees and bats away from the water splatter. This is the historically correct way. If decorative, pointing the louvers in the wrong direction is not a big error and would probably go unnoticed by most. The appearance will be different for the angle of the louvers will appear flatter and have a different shadow line and therefore have less of a texture when viewed from the street.
I believe the original mortise shutter automatic hinge patent was for a Lull hinge issued in 1854 not an Acme Lull and Porter hinge which was patented in 1906. The 1854 patent hinge produced by Lull and Porter did not contain the ACME marking and is marked only Lull & Porter 1854. It is much more difficult to find as my historic Alexandria, VA, home was equipped with the 1854 Lull & Porter mortise automatic hinge. The shutters were disposed of and replacing the 1854 hinge is proving to be very difficult. If anyone can provide a source for the 1854 hinge I would be grateful.
I’m building a new home in the Southern Louisiana “Bayou Cottage” (aka, southern Acadian) style. I plan on having operable board and batten shutters on most windows. Quite a few windows (and shutters) will be on walls that have a brick veneer exterior, so they will look very similar to the brick exterior window/shutter picture you showed.
In this scenario…
1) When the shutters are open, do the window-side of the shutters extend further from the brick than the “dogged” side, i.e., the shutters are angled from the brick wall similar to the pictures of shutters against wood siding? It almost looks like the shutter in the picture is parallel to the brick wall with little space for ventilation.
2) It looks like when the shutter in the picture is closed, it will rest against the brick mold on the hinge side, and I assume at the top, and will almost rest against the window sill/frame (the brown part of the window) on the bottom. Is that correct?
Thanks,
Ira
The shutter really should not rest flat. The hardware used makes the difference.
we are replacing our cheap fake louvered shutter with batten board; question is: window is 80″ wide and 59″ tall there is a 2 1/2″ board in the center. How wide should my shutter be?
Measure from the inside of the left side of the window to the board in the center and that will be your window width. Imagine that the shutter is closed covering the window and that would be the size.
We are going to get four sets of board and batten shutters made for the front of our home. The woodworker has only made decorative shutters. Will the shutters be the same size as decorative? Is it just the hardware that makes them functional? Help! The windows measure 31 inches width (including the metal part of the window) and 82 inches in length.
They should be good enough unless you want them functional then you are best getting them through a shutter manufacture for the need a rabbited edge etc.
We have 59” tall and 45.5” wide windows. Will shutters that are 22.75” wide and 59” tall look funny? Also we have vinyl windows that open sideways instead of up. Do we need to add a wood frame around the exterior of the windows to mount the shutter hardware to?
Windows that open to the side are casement windows. Shutters are for double hung windows that open up and down. The only place you will see shutters for casement windows is in Europe where the windows open inwards. This way you are able to reach out and use the shutters. So for regular casement windows – no shutters – sorry!
We are planning to replace the cheap ugly vinyl shutters on the front of our brick home. My question is this, since the windows are different sizes, (four are singles and two are doubles), would this mean that the shutters will be different sizes as well?? Currently they are all the same size. Thanks for your help!!!
Yes Leanne, each shutter should be sized to the window they are on – height and width. The double windows would be too wide to cover so do a half folding shutter like in the picture on my webpage.
Where can I find a picture of the half folding shutters you mention?
there is a shutters page about Shutter Mounting Situations.
I have a block home in florida i want to do an inside mount but as shown in diagram it looks like the hinge is attached to the side of the window that wont work on block. Can i just attach to inside of opening into block.
Hi Charlene – there should be a brick mold trim around the window that will have a place to attach the pintel. If for some reason it is too narrow then it can be attached to the block on the inside.
For a brick house with recessed windows covered with storm windows, what hinge should be used and where should it be placed? Can it be mounted to the jamb or would that be inappropriate?
Love your site by the way.
With storm windows there usually isn’t room for hinges for they attach where the shutter hinges would be. The hinges can be mounted to the inside of the brick. Best to send a photo to the shutter manufacturer to advise you on attaching and what type of hinge to use.
My question is 2 parts. First, I am putting 18 x 60 shutters on a 60 x 70” windows. Is that correct? Secondly, I have 11/16” width and deep metal frames around windows and have to mount on wood siding. They are not going to be opened much even though operable. Is 1” offset okay. I definitely want the operable look.
Sounds like a very wide window that shouldn’t have shutters. Not sure what kind of metal frames you have around the windows either. What you need to do is to contact a shutter manufacturer and send them a photo of one window. You need to tell them the look you want based on what I recommend on my website. You already know what questions to ask. By seeing the window you have and knowing your measurements they will be able to recommend a hinge that will give you the look you want. Good luck! Ken
My wife and I are restoring the Ben Thorn Mansion, San Andreas, Cal. Brick, gothic revival, 1861. See it on google. Am restoring the original wood movable louvered shutters. Cast iron hinges have patent date of 1843. Am removing the layers of old paint using propane torch and heat gun, Wear a resperator, lead paint. Shutters have to be disassembled, reglued, repaired. Is there a special tool to nail in staples ? Special tools to make new louvers ? Had to have missing hardware cast at an iron foundry, then annealed, now I do the machine work. Hinges come in different lengths for setbacks as well as sizes for bifold shutters on our French doors. Shutters missing on top floor French doors. Am using a photo taken of a mans new truck in front of our house in 1937. Shutters show, will drawns from 1937 photo.
sorry – can’t help you with shutter construction. I would contact a manufacturer. I sure they would advise you.
I have deeply recessed windows on a brick home. I installed shutters into the brick mold using 6″ lag bolt pintles. Because of the deep recess I was only about to get about 2″ of the lag bolt into the brick mold while still maintaining acceptable offset and functionality. It looked great for about 9 months, but now some of the shutters are starting to sag a little bit; this probably wouldn’t happen if I was able to get more of lag bolt into the brick mold. The other issue is I used bullet catches instead of shutter dogs to secure the shutters to the house–just a personal preference. Now with the sagging, the bullets won’t stay fastened to the catches. The sagging doesn’t look terrible but without them secured to the house, I’m afraid our high winds in this area will damage them and eventually pull the lag bolt out of the brick mold, resulting in catastrophic failure. I’m trying to figure out how to implement a permanent fix without a major re-do. I’m embarrassed to say how much I spent on the initial job 9 months ago, but I’m a shutter snob and wanted to get it right. Any advice would be appreciated.
Hi Rodney – I would contact a shutter manufacturer. They should be able to advise you on any type of installation and what you can do to stop the shutters from sagging. Have photos ready to send to them for your discussion. Good luck and keep us posted.
Hi, we have a c. 1838 Greek Revival home here in Orono, Maine it has the two part pin hinges and a snap type spring metal band under the shutters that clips to a crude angled hook on the wall. do you know of anyone who makes this old hardware? I have 3/4 of the shutters restored and am missing bits Bob
Hi – take a good photo of what you want and contact http://www.bvforge.com/
I would like to put shutters on my two story white brick house. It has a large, triple window in the front as well as several other windows. Can I put shutters on all the windows except the big one in front?
Please email me a photo. I need to see the house.
Ken,
Your website is a great resource! Thanks for the hard work.
Also, check out this monstrosity: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/sites/default/files/styles/content_box/public/migrated/images/front-entries-01.jpg
I found it on this page: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/ideas/front-entries
Best,
Peter
Wow – that is awful. This Old House knows nothing about old houses except for rebuilding them and making them modern for an unbelievable cost.
Hello Ken,
We are blessed with having the original shutters for our 1860 Italianate farmhouse (they were in storage). We have had them striped of old paint and sanded as necessary to make them smooth for a new coat of linseed oil paint. The hardware has all been striped of paint and protected with linseed oil. Now the question: what color should the hardware be painted? I had thought black, but I’m being told the hinges should be painted the color of the window trim or the color of the shutters. What was traditional? Also, how about the tie backs, bottom hooks and catches on the window sill?
We hope to actually use them – close them in storms, so we wanted to add pulls and latches. Same question about color. Thank you for your wisdom on this matter!
Hi Sherry – I guess you can paint them to match the shutter color but I would probably paint the hardware black with Rustoleum paint. If you prefer you can paint the hinges the shutter color but the shutter dogs would be better in black.
I enjoyed reading your comments about shutters. What’s your advice for the color of gutters and downspouts?
Gutters must be the trim color and downspouts the color they rest against.
I recently had a “trademarked” professional painting companies “painters” apply paint to”existing painted” exterior wood shutters on “Exposed Face Side only” without taking the shutter down and applying paint to the back or sides. When I asked if this was standard procedure and noted only a few “ounces of paint” were used for “12” shutters approx 12″ wide and 5′ tall… the response was “we don’t take down the shutters to avoid breaking” and “the shutters have very little face surface”. My take is basically the shutter without being painted on the back side/and or side and only receiving (1) coat is open to damage from moisture or warping. Am I off base or should I be concerned and pursue the shutters should be “painted on all sides” ?
OMG – I can’t believe this. How lazy! Paint provides protection and shutters are very susceptible to rotting. Both your house and the shutters must be painted in that unseen area. What you are asking them to do is part of the job. You are not asking for a favor.
Hello! We are getting ready to replace fixed shutterdogs on our home to a more appropriate style and functional. My concern with functional is the shutters will rattle. Do you use an acorn clip with shutterdogs or what do you suggest?
It should be one or the other. If you have a rattle problem but still want the look of shutter dogs they use both.
We live in a 1927 colonial home located in the northeast. It currently has board and batten shutters that are hung improperly, mis-matched, mis-sized and rotting out. I am in the process of ordering new shutters to replace the old ones and am considering switching to functional louvered shutters which will be hung with the appropriate hardware. Would that be appropriate for this style of home?
Also we have one double width window and one triple width window. Both are double hung windows with 6 inch vertical casings that separate the individual windows. When measuring the width of the shutters for these windows, should we consider those casings?
I can provide
Hi – I have a selection of shutters in the article that were popular in the 1920 – some have cutouts. The casings do not get included in the shutter size. The shutter fits inside the window only.
Hello. Very helpful article. With wrought iron long strap hinges and cedar batten board shutters on a stone home from 1910, should the long, decorative strap be seen when the shutters are open (mounted on the front facing sides of the shutters) or behind the shutter so as only to be seen if the shutters were closed. Happy to share photo if my question is not clear.
Hi Sarah – it would be seen when the shutters are closed.
Do you need to cover all your windows with shutters if you only cover the front of the house?
The correct way is to shutter all sides of the house. That is like saying I will only paint the front so the neighbors can see it. Unfortunately most people try to save money and only do the front but that is wrong.
Hello! We are having our windows replaced with vinyl double hung windows in the next few weeks. Will we be able to attach the shutter hardware to the vinyl exterior casing?
You are ruining your house with plastic windows. Have you not read my windows page? What were you not able to understand? I am sorry but I can not assist you. If you have plastic windows then you should also have plastic shutters and siding. How sad and awful for your neighbors!
Exceptionally accommodating article. Your site is an extraordinary asset! Much obliged for the difficult work.
For the conventional colonial “S” shaped shutter dog, should the S be on the left or the right side of the window?
Of course the other side is a mirror of a S.
The larger and heavier part of the dog is at the bottom of course.
The house is a beautiful new construction 2 story colonial white Hardy board in Lexington MA
Shutters are dark green, dogs are black.
Thanks,
Both sides of the window if there are two shutters.
Follow on from previous comment,
There are of course shutters and dogs on both sides of the windows.
I assume that the “S” dogs should be mirror image of each other from the left to right sides of the window and be consistent over all the windows.
The specific question is “should the normal S be on the left or right side” to be colonial correct?
Of course the mirrored S should be on the other side of the window.
When did people start putting cutout designs on shutters? We live in a Philadelphia suburb in an historical town where you see a lot of the cutout designs on 1st floor shutters of old colonial homes. Thinking of doing a diamond design on our first floor raised panel shutters (shaker style panels). We have a 1910 colonial home that is currently being renovated. The top (2nd floor) windows will have working louvre shutters and the bottoms are going to be the raised panel shutters. Please let me know your thoughts on the cutout design. As I mentioned, it’s very common where we live and I love the look, but want to make sure we’re keeping things historically accurate.
Thanks!
From the catalogs I have seen it looks like the cut-outs started around 1920. 1910 is a bit early for them from what I have found.
I would like to add operable black louvered or raised panel shutters to the front and sides of my house built in 1980. The front is half stone, tan and gray, with two windows, and the remainder is tan vinyl siding. The window trim is a wood frame wrapped in beige aluminum coil. Is there a way to mount real shutters to the siding so that the window trim is not damaged? Or am I relegated to your vinyl shutter mounted to the siding on 1” block fix? Thank you.
The aluminum wrapping can be and would look best removed. The hinge can be attached to the wood casing. That is the best way. Never attach to the siding. I do have a way using blocks of wood explained on the shutters page but that is a last resort.
Hello, could use your advice. I can’t mount my shutters onto the casing, for it is a hollow aluminum wrap, with a one-inch lip. Would it really be unaesthetic to mount the pintle to the siding as long as the shutter abuts the lip of the casing?
No – that would look strange. I would not install shutters. If your house has aluminum on it then the best approach to curb appeal is to remove it and repair your casings. Then you will have curb appeal and then if you add shutters it is just icing on the cake.
We are repainting our shutters which are a very dark Charleston Green- almost black. Should the shutter dogs be painted the same color as the shutters or painted black?
Hardware sb black.
What a helpful website! I just bought an old house and instantly became a devoted fan of The Old House Guy–Thank you!
Best of luck with your new home!
Our current shutters are 59.5 inches long. The ones we are ordering are 59 inches. Will we see a faded strip (faded siding) around the shutters?
I think it will look like a shadow since it is so little.
A word on the Ricca Architectural shutter latch. I think this type is from some time after 1900. Could be very late 19th century. This design was used for a few windows on my family’s 1860 house when some shutters were replaced by the original family. On ours someone had taken a hammer and broken off the finger ring and straight hook protruding from the shutter so as to be able to nail the shutters to the house. On those shutters the two face plates you see in the Ricca photo remained, as well as the pivot part within the shutter rail. I both studied the same design on a couple of old houses and found four salvaged originals to replace ours (two I got from Bill Rigby). Before I was able to find four cast-iron originals I needed, I ordered three of the Ricca versions. Ricca got something wrong: they got the oval face plate component, with its two hooks, backwards. The finger pull and the hook on the opposite side should be reversed. The part shown in your photo that protrudes from the oval face plate (the one with scalloped edges) should actually go inside the wood of the shutter (its thickness). One could go to the trouble of punching out the pins that hold the two hooks and reversing them, except that then the resulting face plate side would be unpolished and the screw indentations would be on the wrong side. I called Ricca’s company and explained this, and the woman I spoke to insisted I was wrong and that they were made correctly. I subsequently found a cast-iron one on ebay, which showed I was right, and sent her a photo of it but heard nothing back. They obviously had an original to reproduce the design from, but they must have received it in pieces, without the hooks being pinned in the housing.
WOW – this is excellent information. Can you email me a photo via the contact us. I will post it. Thanks
I just moved into a 1916 Colonial Revival with original shutters. They all have this same type of backside latch, similar to Ricca’s— although mine seem less ornate and sturdy. They catch is a large U nail, secured in the siding. I’d be happy to send photos. Curious if this sounds typical.
I’m also curious about your thoughts around increasing the shutter offset distance so the shutter rests parallel to the facade of the house. It drives me crazy seeing the outermost edges of the shutters touching the house, yet the hinged edges sit almost 2 inches off. Visually, it gives the appearance the shutters are sagging when viewing from below, which you always are from the street.
The angle is one way to show that the shutters are real. You probably can adjust them but I wouldn’t recommend it. You would need to talk to a shutter manufacturer. There are many designs of latches over the years although I am not familiar with all of them.
Do the shutters need to be placed the full length of the window including transom or just the window height not including transom.
Excellent question. I would say it depends on the blind stop. See diagram on windows page. Look at the diagram. A shutter or storm window rests on the blind stop when closed. If the blind stop continues around the window and transom them they both were meant to get shuttered. If the window and transom each have trim separating the blind stops then only shutter the window. Does this make sense? Now if this isn’t confusing enough, if you live in New England then you need to read this about eastern style window casings.
Hi, my husband made shutters out of cypress. Our plan was to make them working shutters as we live in Louisiana and have lots of hurricanes. However, all of our windows are replacement and stick out past the vinyl siding. I ordered two different sizes of hinges from Lowe’s, and turns out we have to mix and match the sets to make it work. However, the hinges don’t appear to be sturdy enough for the weight of the shutters, and hang crooked no matter what we do or how many times we level it. Any Recs on hanging over replacement windows/good, sturdy hinges? 😩
If the replacements are sticking out the shutter has no place to rest and can come lose. Check with Heirloom Windows for new replacements.
Hi –
Would a Victorian home with wrap around porch and ginger bread detail on posts, etc.. typically have shutters on the windows under the porch? Or does the porch overhang serve to protect the windows from storms and provide light filtering? Just wondering if shutters are too much detail. Or is it just personal preference?
Thank you
First check for ghost marks for evidence of early shutters. However all the windows should have shutters even on a shaded porch. You need the balance the shutters will make.
Thank you for publishing your knowledge on shutters, I am currently a commercial/industrial painter, but when I worked residential for every 50 houses with shutters, maybe one had them installed correctly or sized right. I’m kind of a purist when it comes to period homes and find that incorrect window sizing placement, etc. is even more common, especially replacement windows in old homes. I know many times there are budget restraints but I don’t think that the average person realizes how integral windows and shutters etc. are in the whole architectural appearance of period homes/ buildings.
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Hello there! I must express my appreciation for your incredibly informative post on the crucial aspects to consider in order to avoid mistakes when installing shutters. Your insights are not only valuable but also presented in a way that makes it easy for readers to grasp the essentials. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and am eager to see more of your insightful posts in the future. Keep up the excellent work
Dear Ken,
Is it okay and possible to use a pintel with large offset and a strap hinge with throw so that shutters are slightly opening back towards the house for more visual interest and more space behind the shutter in the open position? I want them to open and close properly also. I can send pics so you can see what I have. We just took the vinyl siding off the house and I’m restoring the 6/6 double hung windows. Hoo boy 🙂
Kind regards,
Vanessa
Good to hear. What you ask is exactly what you want. When the shutters are attached to a pintle at the window and a shutter dog or other attachment on the house, the shutter will be angled. All those shadows make your windows come to life and pop.