So we want to put exterior shutters on our home. 4 windows, 8 total shutters. Georgian style home - red brick, white trim, white columns, black front door, black roof, black light fixtures on front porch and garage. See this pic as an example (not my home):



Are vinyl ones a waste of time - do they fade, streak, stain, etc or is this the way to go? I don't want to have to sand and re-paint anything every few years. Composites are pricey, but this is jus a decor item, no function so I am struggling with justifying spending a lot. TIA

We have had new vinyl ones from HD for 9 years and they look great.

I made my own and stained them to match our front porch swing.

I likes wood working projects.

Which ever way to go, please get the proportions correct and have the shutter equal to 1/2 the width of the window. Especially on a Georgian style it will look more style correct.

Which ever way to go, please get the proportions correct and have the shutter equal to 1/2 the width of the window. Especially on a Georgian style it will look more style correct.

Superdave1993 said:

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Which ever way to go, please get the proportions correct and have the shutter equal to 1/2 the width of the window. Especially on a Georgian style it will look more style correct.

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Hopefully my proportions are ok since you double posted!

Superdave1993 said:

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Which ever way to go, please get the proportions correct and have the shutter equal to 1/2 the width of the window. Especially on a Georgian style it will look more style correct.

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Well I blue starred both of the posts. Thought I was the only one that this drove crazy.

Where is your location. I may have an option

What did you make them out of?

bam02 said:

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Superdave1993 said:

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Which ever way to go, please get the proportions correct and have the shutter equal to 1/2 the width of the window. Especially on a Georgian style it will look more style correct.

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Well I blue starred both of the posts. Thought I was the only one that this drove crazy.

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I blue starred both and yours as well as this is a pet peeve of mine also. If you're going to do something, do it right.

We have vinyl shutters. I don't know how long they have been up since they were there when we moved in (house was built in mid 70's). A few years ago, I wanted to replace them since they were faded. I talked to someone who said to just pull them down and spray them with Rustoleum paint for vinyl. I found a shade of paint pretty close to what they were, painted, and put in new clips. They look great, and it cost less than $20. Anyway, I don't know what the price difference is for vinyl vs other types, but the fading issue for vinyl is a pretty cheap fix.

I was concerned about fading, until I realized they are on the NE part of the house and stay mostly shaded from some trees. Might be a long time before I notice any fading hopefully

I've never understood the point of fake shutters.

AgLA06 said:

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I've never understood the point of fake shutters.

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It's just another form of "trim". You could say the same thing about most trim. They can make a huge difference on the aesthetics of a home.

bam02 said:

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AgLA06 said:

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I've never understood the point of fake shutters.

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It's just another form of "trim". You could say the same thing about most trim. They can make a huge difference on the aesthetics of a home.

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It's funny, I agree with both of these posts. It is silly to think about fake shutters, but they really do look nice.

bam02 said:

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AgLA06 said:

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I've never understood the point of fake shutters.

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It's just another form of "trim". You could say the same thing about most trim. They can make a huge difference on the aesthetics of a home.

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Right. You know what does the same thing, but can also serve a purpose?

My concern with vinyl anything is UV degradation and the vinyl getting brittle. No experience with shutters, but it sounds like that isn't much of an issue.

We bought some online I think from Larson shutters. 8 years later facing the west sun very little fading. They are darker so I do have to spray the dust and dirt off every once in awhile. And yes please make sure they are the correct size. I was even able to get free samples sent to me to check the colors.

...so here's my dilemma:



36" wide window (72" total, but for shutter proportion purposes 36 on each side), therefore shutter width should be 18"....problem is it runs into some trim under the house...

There are some shutters that drop up to 3", so the top would be curved



...trying to figure out if this is enough drop. Worse case scenario I might have to shave that corner white trim up there are some angle, right?

If that is your house, please don't do shutters. On windows that big they will look silly and out of proportion, especially if you are bumping up against the other trim.

Shutters were functional when they were actually used. The covered the whole window and stuck out a bit from the wall because of the protruding hinge. It gave them a good shadow line. This is why we are always asking which shutters look the best. It's because the fake ones we use now are so out of place that we struggle to make them look right.

dubi said:

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We have had new vinyl ones from HD for 9 years and they look great.

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Do they, though?

Builder93 said:

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dubi said:

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We have had new vinyl ones from HD for 9 years and they look great.

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Do they, though?

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You didn't see the 50 year old shutters that came down. They were white in color plus cracked and stained.

So you can keep your snarky comments to yourself.

Before


After

Same question again.

Another idea would be to install real shutters.

Saw this on This Old House - Aeratis

Marine Grade PVC shutters meant for outdoors. Since they sit away from the wall, as they will close, you don't have to worry about the siding.

~egon

make sure you hang them with the correct side up as well.

Dr. Doctor said:

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Another idea would be to install real shutters.

Saw this on This Old House - Aeratis

Marine Grade PVC shutters meant for outdoors. Since they sit away from the wall, as they will close, you don't have to worry about the siding.

~egon

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very interesting. I've been looking at operable wood shutters. These might tip me to composite.