Choosing a rating style is one of the hardest decisions in the purchase of plastic exterior shutters. The first step to replacing your plastic shutters has a walk or drive around your neighborhood. The first thing to look for is how the exterior shutter tops they fit in relation to the the top of window.

If the area you live in typically has clapboard siding (wood or vinyl) and wood or metal trim (e. grams. a 1″ x 4″ or a 2″ x 4″) around the window, are the exterior window shutters flush Best Buy Shutters with the the top of trim or are they arranged with the the top of actual window? If your area has a lot of stucco exteriors and no trim, look to see if the exterior plastic shutters are mounted flush with the the top of window. In an area with a lot of stone houses, are the exterior shutters mounted even with the the top of opening or are they set up with the the top of actual window itself? A lot of old homes (now referred to as heritage homes) have a 2″ brick-mold that is fairly flush with the siding, how are the plastic exterior shutters mounted? Take note of how the exterior shutters are typically mounted depending on trim and window in your neighborhood.

So today we have covered most of the representative types of window trim, the next phase is looking towards the bottom of the exterior shutters. Confirm whether your others who live nearby have their exterior shutters installed right to the bottom of the opening or if the exterior plastic shutters are set up with the window. If there is a sill towards the bottom of the window, it is typically far better leave a 1/4″ to 1/2″ space between the bottom of the window shutter and the window sill. This hole is primarily to allow for the expansion and contraction of the plastic material.

While most details become evident in your reconnaissance of the neighborhood, there are some greater points to note. A well fitted pair of exterior shutters that look “just right” may well be customized for that house.

A quick aside about the value of paying for customized shutters versus. buying the relatively inexpensive standard sized shutters. When referring to plastic shutters, the term “custom shutters” means that the height will be a custom size and the widths are merely in specific sizes (e. grams. 5 3/4″, 8″, 9 1/4″, 11″, 12″, 14 1/4″, 16 1/2″, 18″, etc. ). Standard sized shutters are merely generally manufactured in 2 widths (about 12″ and 15″) and only come in height that are about every 3 or 4 in . from about 30″ to 80″. You must consider whether standard size shutters are going to work properly for you, as badly sized shutters not only look a little cheap they can actually affect the curb appeal (and resale value) of your home. Customized plastic exterior shutters may cost twice as much as standard shutters but the return is often worth the investment, as exterior plastic shutters are one of the most reasonably priced improvements you can make to your dwelling. Properly fitted exterior shutters can make a huge difference for a little extra cash.

To determine the proper width of your plastic exterior shutters there are many things to consider. It is generally accepted in the trade that the style of home influences your choice about the width of the shutter. For a two story home that is narrow to the street that has directory operating windows you would want to emphasize the height of the structure. You would do this by choosing a narrower width of shutters. On the other hand, a hacienda style home that runs parallel to the street would look better with wide plastic exterior shutters to emphasize the width entrance.

You may begin by splitting the width of the window by 2 — this is the maximum exterior shutter width you would want for any window. The minimum would be around 25% of the window’s width. When you also consider the style of home, you may then have a starting point to work from. In general it is most effective to find a single width that works for all of your windows, but you also need to consider the space between the windows.

That said there are many conditions to this rule. For example, if you have an 8 foot wide window on the front of your house with no (or very few) windows facing the same direction, you might wish to order wide exterior plastic shutters for the wide window, and then order narrower shutters for the other windows on the house. Another factor is if you have a light, down spout, or other blockage that is too towards the window for a wide shutter to fit. This is where ordering custom shutters can come in handy so you can get a width that works within the distance from the blockage. Custom exterior shutters can solve many conditions that “only seem to be on my house”.

An alternative way to tell how a particular width of plastic exterior shutters will appear without investing a lot of money is to find some corrugated cardboard boxes that are fairly large and cut them to the proper height and 50% of the width of the windows. Recording them briefly aside of your home on each side of your windows using duct recording, and then step cool off from the house to see how it looks. Most people will probably think they look too wide when this occurs. Take the cardboard cutouts down, and with a software application chef’s knife, cut them down to where you think they should be and step back again for another look. You should be able to tell if you went beyond the boundary almost immediately, and you’ll also notice that some windows still look a little wide, while others look a little narrow. Take note of this and then take the cardboard down to measure the width. Now you will have a pretty good idea about the width of exterior shutters you need to order.