Replacing wooden shutters

[AEB]

Some of the shutters at our holiday home (66 - nearest town Ceret) are in terminal decline.  As well as decades of wear and tear, birds have made holes in the shutters or are widening holes that were already in them for nesting and sheltering from the cold.

I am looking recommendations of artisans/companies that will make wooden shutters to order at a reasonable cost.  I will also need help removing the old shutters and fitting the new ones .  Some of the windows are three/four storeys high and I cannot see myself being safe on a ladder that high up with a heavy shutter in my arms!

Many thanks

AEB

 

[robbie]

can they not be removed from inside the property??

[Dick Smith]

I don't think I'd fancy leaning out of a fourth-floor window and trying to wrestle with a heavy and unwieldy shutter! Not to mention what I would do with it when I got it off (ours are larger than the interior window opening. Putting new ones back would be a job as well.

I think this is a case where it is best to hire an artisan with a ladder (or tower) and up-to-date insurance.

[AEB]

If only I could......there are two tiny shutters that I can lift off their hinges from inside.  With the other shutters they are much bigger and heavier and there is a distance of 12 - 18 inches between the window and the outside shutter because the walls are so thick, so lifting them without falling out of the window is the issue.

AEB

[robbie]

[quote]I don't think I'd fancy leaning out of a fourth-floor window and trying

to wrestle with a heavy and unwieldy shutter![/quote]

Ours are are not massive and also fitted inside the framework so would be removable from inside the property, hence the question to check if it is possible in this instance. I would not suggest for one minute to lean out of the window unsafely and risk falling over.......

[Chancer]

[quote user="Aeb"]

If only I could...... there is a distance of 12 - 18 inches between the window and the outside shutter because the walls are so thick, so lifting them without falling out of the window is the issue.

AEB

[/quote]

 

In my case and I expect yours that 18" is a concrete or stone window-cill which I use to stand on when replacing shutters or window frames, for me it is much much safer than trying to do these jobs from a ladder although I can understand if you are frightened and feel insecure at that height.

I replaced all my windows in the UK in the past, for the upper story each time I needed 2 ladders and the help of  a neighbour to lift and fix the frame and also to lift and fit the fixed and opening casements.

Contrasted with here where I can do it all from inside including fitting the openers(how I love lift off hinges!), only needing to stand on the window cill for foaming and silicone finishing.

[LisaJ]

Our local Leroy Merlin now does ready made shutters and shutter kits in pine and hardwoods.

regards

Lisa

[Ford Anglia]

[quote user="Dick Smith"]I don't think I'd fancy leaning out of a fourth-floor window and trying to wrestle with a heavy and unwieldy shutter! Not to mention what I would do with it when I got it off (ours are larger than the interior window opening. Putting new ones back would be a job as well.

I think this is a case where it is best to hire an artisan with a ladder (or tower) and up-to-date insurance.

[/quote]

Good grief, Dick, are you a man or a mouse?[:P]

Seriously, though, I do agree very strongly with Dick on this one: I DID lift one of my shutters off from inside last summer. Getting it off was a PITA, and dangerous due to the low cill. Getting it back on took over a dozen goes. I just COULD NOT hold it still at arm's length long enough to get it over both pins.

When it did finally engage, I had torn muscles in one shoulder and was in pain for three weeks[:(]

FA

[Danny]

The simplest answer is surely to get a few quotes from local recommened menuisiers...they are used to making and fitting them

Danny

[Chancer]

[quote user="Ford Anglia"][quote user="Dick Smith"].
[/quote]


Seriously, though, I do agree very strongly with Dick on this one: I DID lift one of my shutters off from inside last summer. Getting it off was a PITA, and dangerous due to the low cill. Getting it back on took over a dozen goes. I just COULD NOT hold it still at arm's length long enough to get it over both pins.

When it did finally engage, I had torn muscles in one shoulder and was in pain for three weeks[:(]

FA
[/quote]

 

Its more a question of thinking it through carefully before attempting the heavy part, something that I always have to do working on my own.

In this case it is best to remove all but one of the fasteners on the lower hinge strap, namely the one at the other end from the hinge eye, angle the strap upwards and nip up the nut to hold it in place. Then lift the shutter in place on the top hinge only, the weight will now be supported so you can safely align the shutter with one hand while rotating the bottom hinge strap down over the hinge pin, then fit the remaining fasteners.

The next tip I use for shutters or window casements that are regularly taken off and put back on, it is also very handy for the lift off sides on trailers that use the same type of hinges, leave one hinge pin at the original length and cut down the others by about one third of their engaged length, you now only have to align one pin to take the weight whilst engaging the others.

For the life of me I dont know why trailer manufacturers dont do this, I have modified several after seeing owners struggle, its funny how they are always more angry with themselves for not seeing the obvious than gratefull[:)]