Board and Batten Shutters

My Father and I made these shutters just before his health declined to the point where projects like this were no longer possible.  So to say that these shutters mean a lot to me is an understatement.

The shutters are made out of poplar boards that I purchased at Home Depot.  The boards are 1X6's and the battens are 1X4's.  Before assembling we used a router with a round over bit and rounded over just the sides of the boards.

We then laid them side by side to determine how wide we wanted to make the shutters.  Technically the shutter should be as wide as the window or half as wide if your have a shutter on each side of the window.  Since this is a bank of 3 windows together, the shutter should be as wide as the window BUT when we mocked up a shutter that wide, it just did not look good.  So we went with a shutter slightly less than the width of the window.

Once the width was determined, we biscuit joined and glued the boards together leaving the boards slightly long so that we could cut some off each end to give us our final length.  We used bar clamps to hold it together overnight while it dried.

The next day we cut the boards that would be the battens.  We attached them by using screws and screwing in through the back so that the screws would not be seen from the front.  Once the battens were attached we cut off the ends and used the router to round over the edge.

The shutters were primed and painted in a high gloss Ultra White paint.  It was at that point that the shutters were stored away until yesterday when we brought them out and dusted them off.

Today we rehung the last living room storm window and now was the time to hang those shutters.

To continue with the theme of iron strap hinges, that we already have on the exterior doors and the doors of the garden shed, we added strap hinges (eBay) to the shutters.  These hinges are for aesthetic purpose and are non functioning.  The placement of the hinges also covers the big wood screws that we used to attach the shutters to the window casing.

Counter sink for the large screw that was used to attach the shutter to the window casing.

Pilot drilled for the holes for the hinges. 

We are thrilled with the look and feel that it really reinforces the  Cape Cod style.

I was pleasantly surprised when I moved the shutters from the closet and found the small storm window for the window in the peak.  I honestly do not remember removing it or maybe we didn't remove it and it was in the barn.....who knows but I am happy to have found it.

The last two storm windows cannot be rehung until Thursday when the hangers will be back in stock at my Ace Hardware.  So tomorrow come hell or high water or yellow jackets.....I have to finish the grey paint on the dining room exterior wall.  That includes the peak, too.