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Materials for Building Window Shutters
Types of Window Shutters Used In Home
Construction
By Mark J. Donovan
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Window shutters come in two basic materials today,
wood and synthetics (a.k.a. vinyl). Shopping for building window
shutters can become overwhelming due to the wide variety of
construction methods, styles, colors, and materials used to
construct them. All of these factors influence the window shutter
costs, as well as their expected longevity. Summarized below is
review of the various types of building window shutters, including
wood and vinyl based types.
Poplar wood is a common material used for building wood shutters. |
It’s easy to mill, screw, and glue. Also, the wood is tight grain and
has low resin so it’s ideal for painting. Due to mineral streaks it is
not recommended to stain poplar wood window shutters. Poplar wood is
cheaper than other types of wood, however it is still a fairly heavy and
dense wood.
Oak wood is another material that window shutters are constructed from.
Oak shutters are very heavy due to the density of the wood. Oak wood is
also more difficult to mill, screw and glue. Pre-drilling is a must when
screwing oak wood window shutters together. Oak also has the tendency to
crack and warp over time. Consequently painting is not an option with
oak window shutters. They must be stained.
Maple is similar to oak in terms of pros and cons. Like Oak, Maple is a
hard wood that makes it difficult to mill, screw and glue. Maple
shutters are also very heavy.
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Cedar wood shutters are fairly common and are both water and insect
resistant. Cedar wood mills easily, however Cedar is soft and can be
easily damaged. In addition, screwing them together can be difficult as
the wood can split easily. Due to the fact that Cedar is a very stable
wood it is ideal for painting. Due to the various wood shades in Cedar,
staining can yield uneven colors.
If you prefer using wood shutters then Basswood shutters are your best
option. The Basswood tree can be found from Canada all the way down
through the eastern coast of the United States. Basswood yields the
highest quality and most durable wood shutters that can be constructed. |
Shutters produced using Basswood are known for being extremely straight
and have a even texture, making them ideal for painting. The fact that
Basswood is low in resin and tanning there is little concern of oils
bleeding through the paint. If you prefer to stain, because of Basswoods
even grain it also stains well. Basswood is also easy to mill and
accepts glue and screws well. It’s also a very dimensionally stable wood
that resists warping and twisting after drying out.
Pine wood shutters are probably your cheapest wood shutters. They are
made of various types of pine species and grades of wood. They also have
the tendency to warp and twist over time.
Vinyl window shutters, also known as poly or plastic window shutters,
are used commonly in new home construction. They are inexpensive and
come in a limited number of standard colors, e.g. white and black. They
are surprisingly heavy and are known to sag over time due to their sheer
weight. They also cannot be stained.
For more information on
Installing a New Window, see the
Installing a New Window Ebook from
HomeAdditionPlus.com. The Installing a New Window Ebook provides easy to
understand, step-by-step instructions, on how to remove an old window and
install a new one. Pictures are included for every key step in the process.
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