Are DIY Shutters Hard to Do?
Getting home improvement projects done by yourself in Orlando is a lot easier than it used to be. With resources easily available to walk you through every step, a lot of once-difficult projects are now very doable.
There are exceptions, though – jobs that may be inconvenient, time-consuming, or just too hard to do on your own. One job that may be part of that category is installing DIY plantation shutters.
These are just a few of the issues that might arise when you try to install shutters as a DIY job.
DIY Window Measuring for Shutters
Though it may seem easy at a glance, getting the correct window measurements for plantation shutters can be somewhat tricky. As one of our team members says, “There’s about a thousand ways to measure windows wrong, but only one way to measure right54.” There’s a good amount of variation in windows that can affect how you should measure for shutters.
Have you decided whether your shutters will be on an inside mount or an outside mount? What’s the thickness of the shutter frame you’re thinking about and how deep into the window jamb does it need to sit? Which kind of frame is best for casement-in windows, crank windows or sliding windows?
All these factors can affect what size of shutters you’ll want and what frame you choose. That also changes how you need to measure your windows.
DIY Shutter Buying
The next pitfall for DIY shutters can arise in the buying process. Just like the variation in windows, there’s a lot of ways shutter vary, and if you’re doing it alone, it’s easy to buy the wrong thing. Here are a few easy to make mistakes if you’re a DIYer:
-
Getting the wrong material for shutters. For example, purchasing natural wood shutters to put in a room that might actually need a moisture-proof window treatment.
-
Picking a shutter build that impedes window movement, making it so you can’t fully open the window.
-
Choosing a shutter with a frame that doesn’t work well with your specialty window such as your French doors.
We’ve also seen some added confusion about certain shutter terms. Working with shutter experts helps avoid any confusion, so you get exactly what you want for your windows.
Installing Shutters Yourself
Where DIY shutters can become really hard is trying to install them, as you might have guessed.
First off, shutter installation is a precise procedure, and a tiny slip-up in measuring at the start or in installing a bracket can throw a wrench in the whole project. Shutters can also be a little heavy; depending on the material and the location of your window, lifting a shutter can be exhausting and sometimes dangerous.
Something some DIYers don’t know is that it’s pretty typical for shutters to not fit the window frame precisely. This is mainly because few window frames are a perfect square. Attaching the shutter flush to one edge of the window could result in the shutter looking crooked and creating gaps. Caulking a ¼ or ½inch gap is common with shutter installations, and if you’re doing it alone a caulking job could be more than you bargained for.
Finally, when you install DIY shutters, you don’t have anything to fall back on. If a professional does your shutters for you, they’ll typically guarantee the product and installation with a warranty. However if something goes awry when you try to install yourself, you’re on your own if there’s any damage to your windows or the shutters.
