Are DIY Shutters Difficult?
Doing home improvement projects on your own in Austin has never been easier. With resources easily available to savvy homeowners, many once-difficult projects are now very doable by yourself.
There are exceptions, though – projects that may be inconvenient, time-consuming, or just too hard to DIY. One job that might be part of that category is installing DIY plantation shutters.
Here are just a couple of the issues that might pop up when you try to put in shutters as a DIY job.
DIY Window Measuring for Shutters
Though it may look easy on the surface, getting the correct window measurements for plantation shutters can be very tricky. As one of our team members says, “There are a thousand wrong ways to measure windows, but only one way to do it right.” There’s a good amount of variation in windows that will impact how you need to measure.
Do you know if your shutters need to be on an inside mount or an outside mount? How thick is the frame of the shutters you’re thinking about and how deep into the window opening does it need to sit? Which kind of frame is best for tilt-in windows, swinging windows or sliding windows?
Each of these can have an impact which type of shutters and frame are best for you. That also changes how you measure your windows.
Buying DIY Shutters
The next difficulty for DIY shutters can pop up during the buying process. As with the variation in windows, there’s a lot of ways shutter vary, and if you’re on your own, it’s easy to purchase the wrong product. Here are a few easy to make mistakes if you’re a DIYer:
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Getting the wrong material for shutters. For instance, buying real wood shutters to put in a room that might actually need a waterproof window treatment.
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Picking a shutter option that doesn’t let you open or close your window all the way.
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Ordering the wrong type of shutter frame, especially for unique windows like in French doors.
In addition, there can be some added confusion with shutter terminology. Talking to a shutter company can help clear up any confusion, so you get exactly what you want for your windows.
Installing DIY Shutters
The most difficult part of DIY shutters, like with any home improvement job, is in actually installing them.
There are a few reasons it’s hard – first, shutter installation needs to be precise, and one small slip-up in measuring at the start or in hanging a bracket can ruin the whole thing. Shutters can also be physically hard to maneuver on your own; depending on the material and the location of your window, lifting a shutter can be very cumbersome and sometimes dangerous.
Something some DIYers don’t know is that it’s fairly common for shutters to not exactly fit your window frame. This is mainly due to the fact that most window frames aren’t a perfect square. Installing the shutter flush to one side of the window opening could force the entire shutter to not be square and make gaps. Caulking a quarter or half-inch gap is common with shutter installations, and if you’re on your own a caulking job could be a little too much.
Last, when you do a DIY shutter project, you don’t have a safety net. If a shutter company installs your shutters for you, they’ll typically guarantee the job with a warranty. However if something goes wrong when you DIY, you’re not going to be covered for damage to your shutter or to your window.
