Adding exterior shutters to your property can relatively quick way to add style and color to the outside of your house. Shutters can be found on Historical and modern houses alike, and both benefit from the timeless style of shutters. Since quality shutters last long and are a unique addition to houses this kind of home improvement should be thought of and evaluated before proceeding to install exterior shutters. .

Lucky for us, exterior shutters are available in many shapes and materials, with a huge market of manufacturers and designers. One very common shutter choice is the vinyl shutters that are easily available at most of the home improvement stores, common because they are simply the least expensive shutters. The only problem with the vinyl shutters is that they often look like plastic and they cannot be stained.

When you think of a classic shutter you probably have the classic wood shutter in mind, but bare in mind that there are a great many types of wood. Considered the highest quality for shutters is the cedar because of its outstanding durability and resistance to decay, this is why its probably the best wood for exterior use. Cedar gives long service with little maintenance in applications such as mud sills, window sashes, sheathing under stucco or brick veneer construction, greenhouse benches, fencing, poles, trellises, and exterior shutters. Cedar is also used extensively for exterior siding because it is dimensionally stable and holds paint well, in addition to being a deterrent to bugs.

The reason the cedar wood makes such a perfect choice for the shutter is that the tannin in cedar produced a kind of oil that helps prevent moisture penetration and bugs hate it. this is the prime reason why cedar wood makes a good wood for exterior shutters.

While the cedar wood has a kind of natural protection, it is always recommended that you provide extra protection for shutter and while paint can be brushed, it is recommended that it be sprayed. Most house painters will spray shutters with their airless spray systems for latex paint. Probably the best base for shutter protection is a coat of an oil-based primer tinted as close to your desired final color as possible. The action that protects that wood and the shutter is that the oil penetrates the wood, thus combining with it and providing protection. The top two coats of the wood protection should be a premium-grade exterior latex paint. The great advantage to this is that a topcoat of exterior latex paint will not chalk or fade like an oil-based paint. If shutter caps will be used, paint them as well since the top edge of shutters is the most vulnerable to moisture penetration.

Installing shutters can be a simple task, no more than affixing panels to the house or attaching doors to the main frame. For better home security it is also possible to get and install operable shutters, which can be closed over windows for protection against storms, these are extremely popular as hurricane shutters and storm shutters, and quite a number of hardware options are available. If you are looking for hurricane or storm shutter you should look for heavy and strong material, built from solid hardware with a finish resistant to decay, and make sure that you perfect your finish, remember that these shutters are meant to protect the property in case of a storms.