Handy Tips 3. (of 3)

Putting your new shutters up on the wall.

Having gone through all the trials and tribulations to get to this point, the moment is at hand where you (and everyone else for that matter) can see the fruits of your labour. It is time to install your shutters!

Simply Shutters products are made from Duraprene, a polypropylene composition that gives the shutters a weather resistant finish that will keep them looking good for years. Polypropylene is what some garden furniture, plastic buckets and car bumpers is made from. As a consequence they are quite flexible in your hands but become very rigid and stable when positioned on a solid surface.

The wall does not need to be completely flat as the shutters will find their own level. As a consequence fixing shutters to walls that are: rough stone, stucco finished, pebble dashed, roughcast, ship lapped or use siding presents no problem at all.

You will need to insert the Shutter Spikes into the pre-drilled holes in the shutter first as this is much easier done on the ground than up a ladder. If you are using screws then insert the wall anchors (Rawlplugs (TM)) into the holes in the wall and tighten the screws. If using Shutter Spikes then locate the tips into the holes into the wall and gently (remember that you are not driving in a railway spike) tap the spike in.

Do not over tighten the spike or screw as the shutters will expand on a warm day. If the fixings are too tight you will end up with dimples or saucer shaped dents around the heads that will look horrible. As the shutter cools the dimples will go away but will come back again when expansion next occurs. You should look to leave about a 1mm expansion gap between the face of the shutter and the underneath of the plug head or screw head to avoid this happening.

Clean the shutters with warm soapy water and a brush (it’s easier than with a cloth) and never, ever use solvents, bleach or cleaning fluids on them.

So, to summarise the points discussed so far are:

1.    Make small marks on the wall to enable you to accurately re-align the shutters.

2.    Align the shutters with the window and do not use a spirit level.

3.    Mark out the fixing positions on the shutter.

4.    Drill the holes in the shutter.

5.     Position the ladder to support the shutter or use a nail to support one corner of the shutter

6.    Mark out the positions for the holes in the wall.

7.    Use the correct drill bit for the material you are drilling into.

8.    Check for correct size of the finished hole.

9.    Either enlarge or pack out the hole if required.

10.    Install the shutters remembering to leave a small 1mm expansion gap.

I hope that you find this information useful. If you will care to leave any comments about any particular problems you came across and any new tips that you can suggest so that I can pass them on to others I should be most grateful.

Handy Tips 2. (of 3)

Installing decorative exterior shutters.

Drilling the shutter installation holes.

Brickwork and Masonry Walls.

Try not to drill into pointing unless you have a wall constructed from engineering bricks. I’ll deal with this matter later on.

Pointing can be extremely variable in consistency and the finished hole can end up being much bigger than the drill bit, particularly if the composition is soft and sandy. Unless you have no option, we always recommend drilling into solid brickwork.

Some bricks are very soft whilst others such as engineering bricks are very hard indeed. Test the brickwork by drilling a hole directly behind where the shutter is to be located and see if the wall anchor (Rawlplug (TM)) or Shutter Spike fits snugly into the hole.

If the brick or material you are drilling into really is tough work then you might want to consider drilling into the pointing as an alternative. Test the pointing for consistency and select the appropriately sized drill bit (you might need a slightly larger drill bit for hard, ungiving material and a smaller drill for softer compositions.

If using a Spike, it should bite as it is gently tapped into the hole. If the hole is too big the spike will not grip and pull out easily. If it is too small the spike will bend as you tap it in. Use a slightly bigger or smaller drill bit depending on the situation. The same rules apply to wall anchors. The wall anchors should fit snugly and not pull out of the wall when you screw into them.

If you are like most people and have a small selection of drill bits at your disposal don’t worry! If the hole needs enlarging a fraction just wriggle the drill bit in the hole when drilling to enlarge the hole. If the hole is too big, then take a small shaving of wood and place it next to the spike and then tap both shaving and spike into the hole. The shaving will take up the slack and provide a secure fixing to enable the spike to grip. I have found that you can also use this technique with wall anchors such as rawlplugs(TM)

Timber Walls.

One potential problem that you will need to consider when drilling into a timber frame or timber wall is moisture/ water ingress. Water ingress can be serious and extremely damaging so all precautions should be taken to prevent water entering the timber.

If using a screw fixing, a small dab of clear silicon on the tip of the screw will form a water tight seal around the hole. Don’t apply too much silicon as this will make a dreadful mess. Apply just enough so that as the screw thread enters the wall it squeezes the silicon up along the shank.

Shutter Spikes are self sealing because the thread on the shank is barbed and backward facing rather than spiralled. As a consequence no water will run down into the hole. That said, the hole still needs to be the right size and particular care must be taken to use the right sized drill bit. In an emergency, where the drilled hole is too big, use a small amount of waterproof silicon sealer as described above.

Tiles and Slate.

If I had a penny for every time I had to answer the question of whether our decorative shutters can be hung on tiles I think I would be very wealthy by now. In short, the answer is yes but with obvious reservations.

Tiles can be fixed to a wall in many ways and it is not advisable to secure shutters to tiles that are purely hung and not fixed to a wall. The reason is obvious; when the wind blows there is a risk that the shutter will take the tile off the wall.

Most tiles are secured onto wooden battens, some however are not. Either way you must drill through the tiles and secure a fixing into the wall or batten behind the tile. Fixing into battens can be awkward as you will not know where the battens are positioned and this is a situation that you must overcome by carefully locating the battens and if need be, adding further battens so as to be able to get a secure fixing. Not an easy job but one I consider more tricky than difficult. Where there is a wall behind the tile, you will need some particularly long screws but otherwise the task is far more straightforward.

To drill a hole into a tile do not use a masonry drill bit; this will only crack the tile. You must also remember to turn the hammer action on the drill to off. Only use a drill bit designed to cut holes in porcelain or ceramic tiles. These specialist drill bits can get very hot when in use and the cutting edge can easily wear off. As the bits are not cheap to replace I would recommend that you go very slowly indeed and use a water spray every few turns to cool the drill bit down. It is slow work but you will get there in the end. Once through the tile, drill into the batten or wall (use a wall anchor if required), position your shutter and screw home.

Now go to Handy Tips 3 for the next stage.

Handy Tips 1. (of 3)

Positioning the shutter and marking out.

These notes are intended as an accompaniment to the installation instructions supplied.

Simply Shutters supply installation fixings as standard with all UPVC decorative shutters. There is the choice of a coloured keyed mild steel screws or a plastic plug that takes the place of the screw called a Shutter Spike.

The first thing to consider is where to locate the shutter. Some people prefer the inner edge of the shutter to be up close to the edge of the window reveal whilst others prefer for there to be a gap/ space of whatever dimension they choose. This is purely subjective and depends on what you think looks best.

Having decided where to position the shutter, use a wax crayon (or something easily visible) and make to some very small ‘L’ shaped marks at the outer corners of the shutter. This is to help you reposition the shutter later on should it slip whilst marking out the hole locations on to the wall. The shutters are not heavy but it can be awkward to hold the shutter in position with one hand whilst marking with the other. Remember, if you drill the holes in the wrong location then the shutter will look askew when installed so this is a really important task to get right.

The next stage is to check for any obvious reasons why a hole cannot be positioned where you might want it? There can be a variety of different obstacles such as existing holes, particularly large wall irregularities, cables and so on. There is a great deal of flexibility when it comes to the position of fixing holes in the shutter, so if there are obstacles, make a small mark on the side edge of the shutter away from the obstacle and position the holes accordingly.

Align the shutters to the window reveal edge. If your window is not square than your shutters must match and align to it or it will look very odd indeed!

Having decided where on the shutter you will drill your holes, make a mark at the desired locations in the 4 corners (ideally about 3 or 4 inches in from the top and bottom edges) and avoid the support brace on the back of the shutter. Now make a small hole in each of these marks with a nail or bradawl to minimise the risk of the drill bit slipping. Use an HSS drill bit (not one for masonry or timber) to drill a clean hole into the shutter the same size as the hole you will drill in the wall.

You will need the correct drill bit for the fixing chosen and you will need to refer to the installation instructions for this. If you are using screws make sure that the holes that you have drilled are smaller than the heads of the screws. An obvious statement I know, but an easy thing to forget or get wrong!

What is an HSS drill bit do I hear you ask? There a various different types of drill bit head but the three most common are:

HSS (High Speed Steel) drill bit: Commonly used for drilling into both wood and metal. This is what most of us think of when we imagine a drill bit head.

Wood drill bit: Can only be used on wood. This drill bit flat shoulders with a pointed triangular drill tip and is designed to cut into the wood and rapidly transport the swarfe away.

Masonry drill bit: Can only be used for drilling into brick and masonry. It has a large snub nosed head that will not easily wear down and is designed for hard surfaces. Not suitable for drilling into any other material.

Reposition the shutter to the window reveal and line it up with the ‘L’ shaped marks that you made earlier. Now mark the wall through the holes in the shutter. You can use a fine felt tip pen/ nail or even a correcting fluid brush to do this. If the shutter slips then realign it with the corner marks.

Working at the top of a ladder can be awkward so, if you do not mind a bit of trial and error and ‘fiddling about’ you can position the ladder at just the right height to rest the shutter on. Now one hand does not need to take the weight of the shutter and is used to just to keep it to the wall and help keep you steady!

An alternative method is to bang a 3” nail into the wall through one of the top holes in the shutter. This nail will take the weight of the shutter and free up your hand to correctly align the shutter and mark it. It doubles up as a drilling location.

Mark your drilling points with BIG ‘X’s so you do not accidentally drill in the wrong place.

What do you do if you have drilled in the wrong place?

This is where our Shutter Spike can save the day. Tap one of these all the way into the hole and cut off the head. This will keep the hole from collapsing and making a huge cavity when you have to drill right next to it. Alternatively, anything tubular that will fit all the way into the hole will do the same job.

Don’t forget to see the 2nd part of this for the next stage of installation.