Looking for advice for making wood replacement shutters

[John Jimenez]

I am wanting to replace the three sets of crappy, faded, warped, plastic shutters on my house. My plan was to copy the existing shutters in size and design but make them out of wood and paint them the same color. I was thinking of using 3/4” thick cedar planks for the rot resistance. I was going to slightly chamfer the edges of the boards and join them together with biscuits using titebond 3. For the cross boards I was going to glue them screw from the back. I’ve watched a few YouTube videos but anyone in the forum done this? Advice? Thanks!

 

[zapdafish]

rockler appears to have some nice design software and hardware to build your own plantation shutters. I havent tried it myself

Shutters | Rockler Woodworking & Hardware

Shutters and Shutter Hardware For All Your Woodworking Needs. Find a Large Selection of Shutters, Shutter Hardware, Louvers and More at Rockler.

www.rockler.com

 

[bob vaughan]

I got tired of those plastic shutters also and made some. I did this job in the late 1970s when I had very little equipment, but I did use cedar. Nice stuff to work with. I took these photos in 2008 to show someone what can be done with shutters without trying to deal with louvers. Functional louvered shutters would have been wasted time on this house.

 

[smallboat]

I’ve never done shutters aside from repairs and louvers. But for outdoor use I heartily endorse cypress. I find it less prone to splitting around fasteners and generally more robust structurally when it comes to joinery. Granted these are cosmetic shutters but you might find cypress to be easier to use.

 

[HITCH-]

Looks pretty straight forward.
Cedar can be difficult to glue.
I believe that titebond recommends a freshly planed surface and /or an acetone wipe down prior to gluing.

 

[Westpacx3]

I have a similar project coming up. Any thoughts on using Fir? I think my 1965 shutters are fir and were painted.

 

[Wilsoncb]

I think I have the same shutters on my house. I wiped them all down with Armor All about a year ago and now they look like crap again. I’ll be watching this post so I can steal your design. : )

 

[wndopdlr]

I made some similar on commission a few years back. Customer wanted rustic, so I used unfinished cedar and screwed to the cleats from the back side with decking screws. No glue involved as the cedar needs to be able to expand and contract with temperature and humidity changes. If I remember right, I spaced the boards about 1/4" apart after running them through the table saw for a nice clean edge.

Again, they were unfinished, so when I checked on them a couple years later they had weathered grey, but the customer loved them

 

[bob vaughan]

Whatever the wood, the best quality paint is the best protector. At least two coats and be generous on the back.

 

[Graywolf]

No glue, the cedar moves too much. Three coats of paint, one primer, one split coat (a 50/50 mix of primer and the paint), one finish coat. Front and back. You will get better mileage from the paint job. Good luck, and post what you make. We’d love to see.

 

[John Jimenez]

No glue, the cedar moves too much. Three coats of paint, one primer, one split coat (a 50/50 mix of primer and the paint), one finish coat. Front and back. You will get better mileage from the paint job. Good luck, and post what you make. We’d love to see.

I was only thinking of gluing the planks together on the edges basically making it a panel but I can see where the attachment of the cross members could then restrict wood movement. Makes more sense to leave 1/8” in between planks and secure them with the cross members to account for movement.

 

[bob vaughan]

No glue, the cedar moves too much.

Those 40 year old shutters pictured above were from Western red cedar but the stock was fairly dry. Some shrinkage is seen through the paint at some of the joints, but the other moulding has stayed as tight as the day it was put there. I think a lot will depend on both the grade of cedar and the dryness. Western red cedar has an extremely low shrinkage factor. There are lots of trees that qualify for the cedar family, but they are all not equal in stability.

 

[Graywolf]

Those 40 year old shutters pictured above were from Western red cedar but the stock was fairly dry. Some shrinkage is seen through the paint at some of the joints, but the other moulding has stayed as tight as the day it was put there. I think a lot will depend on both the grade of cedar and the dryness. Western red cedar has an extremely low shrinkage factor. There are lots of trees that qualify for the cedar family, but they are all not equal in stability.

That may be the case, most of what I’ve seen showing up lately and in the past says for go the glue. At this point all advice is 50/50 as to it’s over all success. I’ve worked with many types of cedar. It has been my experience that it will move depending on its type and its conditions. Just my two pennies. You mileage may vary.

 

[tvrgeek]

That design suggests the batons should hold it all together.
No PVA glue is really waterproof. TB-3 is better than white, but not by much. I would use epoxy if I really wanted to glue.
I found biscuits useless and sold my machine. No strength added and I did not get the wonderful alignment they are supposed to give. I will go spline or dowels.
Modern paint is AMAZING!

 

[Mike Wilkins]

About 10 years ago I replaced my crappy pine shutters using the shutter jig from Rockier-With the fixed louvers. Used Cypress and 2 coats of exterior paint, and they look just as good today as when first built. I think the wood choice was the key.

 

[chris_goris]

I did cedar for my last house , board and batten style. 3 vertical boards about 3" wide, chamfered all edges with 2 perpendicular battens (also chamfered) and screwed on from behind. The cedar had that rough face so they were rustic looking, it depends on what style you want.