Shudder: Shutters
I have not posted for months because I have been stalled out by obsessing over shutters. This type of brownstone ALWAYS has double sets of folding shutters hidden in the molding of the front windows.
Even though they will be virtually invisible when closed, I couldn't let go of the idea of installing them.
The first dilemma was making the shutters themselves. I tried using 1/12 shutter stock, 1/24 clapboard siding and premade 1/24 shutters.
![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CEOigw0-CW0/XJfSCCVgXeI/AAAAAAAAAK8/I3sZpvKYOBMpYs-OtFZyWzLGVOWbLoCcACLcBGAs/s400/Samples.jpg)
I ruled out the clapboard, as it didn't look enough like shutter stock.
I bought the shutter stock and shutter frame from
Northeastern Scale Lumber. Unfortunately, the shutter frame made the folded shutters too thick to fit in the window frames.
SHUTTER STOCK 3-1/2" X 24"
3/16" SHUTTER FRAME - 1026
So I ordered their 3/32 CHANNEL 11" - 10/PKG. Product Code: 332CHAP $5.20
This is VERY fragile and hard to cut without crushing. Once cut to size, it was very hard to fit the shutter stock into it. This type of shutter has a panel across the middle. If I glued on even the thinnest wood strip, it would keep the shutters from folding flat. I had some glossy paper "wood" flooring the right color, so I cut the strips from that. I used colored chalk to mask the white cut edges. I made 12 of these for the inner part of the shutters. Then I had to make 12 of the solid outer parts. I used a very thin, flat molding, cut to length, fitted into the 3/32 channel molding and added the paper cross piece. And for some idiotic reason, I made them too short for the window frame.
The next dilemma was how to hinge them together. Even the tiniest hinges (which are also blindingly expensive as I would need 96 of them) could not be nailed onto the 3/32 frame. Decided to use tyvek which is durable and flexible. I painted a tyvek envelope gold, cut it into tiny bits and glued them on. Unfortunately, I had painted both sides of the tyvek. The glue stuck to the paint instead of the tyvek and the hinges promptly fell off.
I painted more tyvek, one side only this time, and it worked well.
This whole project took ridiculously long and was incredibly frustrating. I've spared you many of the false starts and mistakes. So when it came time to make the shutters for the next floor, I decided to take the easy way out and ordered 1/24 premade shutters (Houseworks item #H5025). Of course it had been so long since I had made the first set that I made the same error and painted both sides of the tyvek for the hinges, with the same failing result. Sigh. If only I had blogged this sooner I would have seen my own notes and avoided repeating the same mistake.
Now the REALLY frustrating part: The holes had already been cut to hold the windows, but they were both too wide and too tall for the shutters. So I would have to line the inside of the window openings with stripwood to fill the gaps. I had planned ahead and made the front walls out of 3/4 plywood so that the openings would be deep enough for the folded shutters to fit inside. But I somehow managed to miscalculate how wide the strips should be. TWICE.
I ordered what I thought was the right size stripwood. I waited for it to arrive. I sanded, stained and sealed. Cut to length and realized that they were not wide enough. So I recalculated, reordered wider strips. Waited for them to arrive. I sanded, stained and sealed. Cut to length and realized that they were too wide and the windows no longer set into the openings.
TRIGGER WARNING: BLOOD & GORE AHEAD
OK. so I'm pretty competent with power tools and rather than begin this whole process over again, figured I could just run the little strips that were too wide through my table saw to cut them down. I was blithely running them through, carefully using the proper push tool, as I'm not foolish enough to put my hands anywhere near the blade when cutting tiny pieces. However, one of the strips got jammed in back. With the saw running, I reached around to flick it out with my finger. The piece unjammed, slammed into my hand and drove my left index finger into the vicously sharp teeth of the anti-kickback guard. Tore off the tip of my finger and all of my fingernail and fractured the tip of the bone.
I somehow had the presence of mind to turn off the saw, pick up the chunk of finger. Wrap my hand in a dish towel, collect my phone and wallet and run to the nearby urgent care. When I got there and the staff saw what I had done, THEY turned green, said it was beyond their skills and would call an ambulance. Still totally calm, I reminded them that I was in a lot of pain and could they please shoot my hand up with lidocaine while we waited for the ambulance. Duh.
When the ambulance arrived, the very nice EMT gave me the following advice: Next time you lose a body part, don't bother going to urgent care. Go straight to the ER. Lesson learned.
Many hours and many stitches later they sent me home. Couldn't reattach the tip but sewed a piece of tinfoil where my nail had been in hopes of keeping the nailbed open enough that some kind of nail may eventually grow back.
It's now many weeks later and it has healed as much as I expect it will. Doesn't look TOO bad. The (very distorted) nail is starting to regrow. I do have some nerve damage. The fingertip is numb and clumsy, but it could have been so much worse. Now if I could only get my brother to stop calling me Stumpy.
Sorry for that long digression. Back to the shutters.
While I was healing I re-recalculated the proper size for the wood strips (remember the wood strips?) ordered the correct size, waited for them to arrive, sanded, stained and sealed, cut them to length and Hallelujah they fit!
Now I'm waiting for the parts to arrive to make the tiny glass pulls. Once they are on, I just have to attach the shutters to the window frames with more tyvek hinges (only painted on one side) and install the interior molding around the windows. After all this, they better be spectacular.
Once they are installed, I'll post pictures.