Buying external shutters for your home may have been due to a certain look you were trying to achieve or may have been as a replacement for older shutters on vintage homes. While purchasing them, you may have run into an choice of having them professionally installed or installing yourself. If you have chosen to handle this as a do-it-yourself project, then there are a few things you should know, starting with the tools you'll need for hanging them. There will, of course, be a hammer, but you may be surprised to find a few items on the tool sheet that you didn't think of. This is especially true if you are hanging them to a brick exterior wall.
Masonry Screws
One of the first things you will need to buy are the right screws. Since you will be attaching the external shutters to brick, you will want masonry screws. These screws are specifically designed to affix to the eternal brick wall or masonry of your home's exterior. They tend to have a revolving pattern of large and small grooves that attach to the brick easily and are more durable than a traditional screw or wood screw. These screws will need to be long enough to go through your shutters and around an inch or more into the wall in order to prevent the shutter from slipping or coming loose during rough weather or over time. You may also find they are sold with mounting brackets that fit into the drilled hole and hold the screw itself, giving more durability.
Brick Strength Drill Bit
You may find that you'll need to either drill the screw holes deeper or wider than the original shutters if you are doing a replacement. If you are adding shutters for the first time, then you will need to drill regardless. This means you'll need to make sure you have a brick or cement strength drill bit. These bits are usually labeled for cement or masonry work and can be found at your local home improvement store. Make sure you have the make and model name of your electric or power drill in order to get the right bits. Bits that are not made for your drill may break or may cause damage to the wall, your drill or both.
Holdbacks
One thing you may not think of are the holdbacks for the shutters. This is especially true if you have never owned shutters and you are under the misconception that the shutters will simply open and stay into place. You may also think that the shutters have some sort of mechanism that will hold them open or closed. The truth is, you will need some form of holdback to keep them in place if you aren't screwing them in permanently as a decoration option over a functional shutter. Holdbacks may be sold with your external shutters or they may be sold separately depending on the manufacturer or store.
These are just three of the tools you will need. You should also make sure you have a measuring tape, level, and marking tool to mark spots for the screws, brackets, and holdbacks. For more tips or help with the installation process, contact a company like Shutterflex.
Share25 April 2016
Creating your dream house is a process that is terribly exciting and a little bit scary, and once you choose your house and do random maintenance, you can focus exclusively on its interior design. Want to create a calming oasis? Want to create a sleek and modern look? Want designs that work with your dogs or your kids? Regardless of how you see your dream house, I want to help you achieve it. Hi, my name is Jade. When my husband and I bought our first house, I realised I had an innate eye for design. Because of that, I decided to start a blog full of tips. Cheers!