Decorative Shutters For my house

[Brian Steinberger]

We just had new roof and siding put on our house and I would like to make shutters and paint them black. They would be decorative and not functional. I’m thinking just simple two panel shutters.

Two questions, I was just going to use poplar and paint it. Would that be ok? I also have access to pine but could purchase anything if that would be better. How often would I have to repaint them?

The shutters that were on the house are really light weight aluminum and we’d like more than the 4 that were on there. But I can’t find them anywhere and thought it would be neat to make them myself.

Thanks!

[ChrisA Edwards]

I replaced exterior painted wooden shutters with plastic, I believe, bought from Home Depot.

The original shutters lasted about 3 years and were already falling apart.

I painted the new vinyl shutters with a HVLP spray gun, with a latex right out of the can, no thinning.

When we moved, 7 years laster, they looked as good as the day I put them up.

Wood would not be my choice for these.

[Bill Dufour]

Climate? painted pine will last decades in the desert parts of California.
Bil lD

I do not think the wood below was ever painted, certainly not in the last 105 years. I do not see any shutters.
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=509

[Brian Steinberger]

I live in southern PA. We get 4 seasons. Nothing too extreme except humidity.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I should have stated, I was living in Gaithersburg, MD when I replaced my wooden ones with vinyl.

Lots of styles listed at Lowes.

And don't get me wrong, I'm just finishing up making 20 windows of internal Plantation shutters, out of Basswood.
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/i452/cedwards874/DiningRoomAfter.jpg

[Mel Fulks]

You could use the green colored poplar ,that's the heartwood. The whiter stuff....no good outside without treatment
with copper naphthenate.

[Brian Steinberger]

Chris I get what you’re saying. I just looked online at Home Depot. They do have some nice styles in vinyl. And they’re already black as well. For $50 a set I’m going to have to give that a hard look. Thanks.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I should add, while painting the new vinyl shutters I had them laid out on 2x4's, on a drop cloth, on my driveway. About halfway through painting, it started to split with rain so I rushed all of them inside my garage, still laying on the 2x4's.

The wife came home home work and announced, the car made a real strange sound as I came in the garage.

Yes she drove over the top of them and parked on them.

Believe it or not, it didn't break any of them, but I had to repaint a few of them to get rid of the Dunlop enhanced look.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Poplar isn't a good choice for exterior trim, unless you want to get a lot of experience replacing it frequently.

[Mel Fulks]

The dark green poplar is fine outdoors ,it is the heart wood. Expensive fir and other exterior woods are often sold with a sap wood edge....worthless outside. Some elect to use it. "Ah pade same price fo al of it ....gonna USE al ob it" So it rots. Many want to buy sap poplar for staining.
POPLAR: the wood that try's to make every body happy !

[Tom Bender]

15 years ago I decided to quit painting my house and installed good quality vinyl siding and aluminum soffits. Have forgotten the cost. Just smile when the neighbors paint.

[roger wiegand]

Even if they are just decorative make sure they are the right size to appear functional. Few things look weirder on a house than shutters that are too small (or the wrong shape) to actually cover the window.