One of the benefits of wooden shutters is their ease of
installation, as wood can be easily sanded to adjust for any variance in your window opening. It is also very easy to repair broken plantation shutters, even more so than vinyl shutters.
While our wooden shutters are 100% solid hardwood and warrantied against shipping damages or any cracks or warping (covered in our 36-month warranty), we know life happens and dents and scratches can occur over time and you need expert advice on how to fix your plantation shutters.
How to repair broken plantation shutters
If you're looking to fix broken shutters, here are some tips on easy repairs.
Wood can be repaired using wood putty to fill any minor dents, or by gently sanding to buff out any small dings or scratches. Touch-up paint is provided with every order in the matching paint color to your shutters, in case any such repairs are necessary.
Let’s say an excited game of tag or catch, or an excited pup trying to get to the window causes a slat to become dislodged – our shutters are designed to easily pop a spring-loaded pin back into place to reattach the slat.
Should the tension on the slats become loose, there is a hole on each side of your shutter panel containing a screw that allows you to tighten the slat tension.
If the slat itself should become damaged, the slats can be individually remade, and easily reinserted.
If you have a central tilt rod on your shutters, there is a staple that connects the slats to the tilt rod, and a dab of glue on the end of a new staple will allow you to quickly reconnect a replacement slat.
For shutters with a hidden tilt rod, there will be a small nail or screw connecting a thin metal rod to the slats on the rear-facing side of the panel.
Replacing slats and adjusting tension is shown in our quick maintenance videos, found toward the bottom of our Video Guides page.
How to fix plantation shutters
To avoid any damage upon installing, it is important to make sure you have accurate measurements, by following our measuring guides, especially to avoid a tight fit on inside mount shutters.
You will never want to force or wedge the shutter frame inside the recessed window opening. The good news if your measurements are a bit tight, is that the wooden shutters can easily be sanded to a smooth finish to avoid having to force the frame into the window opening.
Poplar wood shutters have a smoother surface and will be easier to work with than polyvinyl or elm wood shutters. This is because polyvinyl is a hard material that has a rough finish if sanded, and the elm has a deep textured wood grain with more natural variation in the grain.
When assembling your shutter frames, our installation guides have some helpful tips to avoid damaging the shutter frame. Be sure to assemble your frame on a soft surface like carpet and lay cardboard underneath the shutter to prevent damage or scratches to the paint.
When tapping in the bowtie fixing to connect the frame sides, it is also a good idea to place a small piece of cardboard over the shutter and/or use a gentle tap to insert the bowtie. Again, this is something that you do not want to force – the bowties are actually simply a guide to help keep the frame sides aligned until they are securely mounted to your window.
We strive to streamline the DIY process to make measuring and installing as easy as possible. We take this same approach when it comes to providing a quality product, durable and resistant to damages.
For those “life happens” scenarios, the good news is that it is also easy to fix plantation shutters, and wooden shutters replacement parts can be made without having to remake the full shutter unit. This saves you time and money on wooden shutters repairs.
This post was brought to you by Yasmeen, one of The Shutter Store USA's experienced shutter consultants.
Get in touch today for advice on how to fix the wooden plantation shutters on your windows! Our friendly team of shutter experts are a call, chat or email away! Upload a picture of your windows with your order or send it in to our support team for help designing your perfect shutters. We are here to help!