Are DIY Shutters Hard to Do?
Getting home improvement projects done by yourself in New York has never been easier. Since you have a lot of resources easily available to savvy homeowners, many projects that used to be hard are now very doable on your own.
There are outliers, though – projects that may be unwieldy, tedious, or just too difficult to do on your own. One project that may fall into that category is installing DIY plantation shutters.
Below are just a few of the issues that may arise when you try to put in shutters as a DIY project.
Measuring Your Windows
Although it might look easy at a glance, getting the right window measurements for plantation shutters can get very tricky. As one of our shutter experts says, “There are a thousand ways you can measure windows wrong, but only one right way54.” There’s a lot of ways windows can vary that will impact how you need to measure.
For example, will your shutters be on an inside mount or an outside mount? How thick is the frame of the shutters you’re looking at and how far into the window jamb will it need to sit? What style of frame is needed for tilt-in windows, crank windows or glass doors?
The answers to each of these questions can have an impact which type of shutters and frame are appropriate. By extension, that changes how you measure your windows.
Buying DIY Shutters
The next pitfall for DIY shutters springs up in the buying process. As with 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:
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Purchasing shutters that are the wrong material. For instance, ordering natural wood shutters for a space in your home that should have a waterproof window treatment.
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Picking a shutter option that impedes window movement, making it so you can’t fully open the window.
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Getting the wrong type of shutter frame, specifically for specialty windows like in sliding glass doors.
We’ve also seen some added confusion with shutter terminology. Working with shutter experts can help clear up any confusion, so you get exactly what you think you’re getting when you buy your shutters.
DIY Shutter Installation
Where DIY shutters can become most difficult is trying to install them, as you likely guessed.
First off, shutter installation needs to be precise, and one tiny error in measuring at the start or in screwing in a bracket can throw a wrench in the whole project. Shutters can also be a little heavy; depending on the material and where your window is, lifting a shutter can be strenuous and in certain scenarios dangerous.
The majority of shutter DIYers are unaware that it’s pretty common for shutters to not fill out the whole window frame exactly. This is mainly due to the fact that most window frames aren’t perfectly square. Installing the shutter flush to one side of the window opening could result in the shutter looking crooked and creating gaps. Needing to caulk a quarter or half-inch gap is common with shutter installations, and if you’re solo a caulking job could be outside your expertise.
Last, when you install DIY shutters, you don’t have anything to fall back on. If a shutter company installs your shutters for you, they’ll almost always guarantee the product and installation with a warranty. However if something goes awry when you DIY, you’re on your own if there’s any damage to your shutter or to your window.
