Q. Our house was built at the turn of the century and our shutters? Just about the same time. I love them because they are old and they go perfectly with the house but the slats are all falling out. What am I supposed to do? Can these be repaired or do I need to replace them all? If I can get them repaired, any idea how much that would be?
A. We posed the question to one of our favorite handymen: Rick Lages of Rick L. Fix It. His response: “Old houses are the best. As long as those old shutters are in good condition, meaning that the wood is not rotten or falling apart, then they can be saved. Here is how you can do it yourself: Take them down making sure to keep all the pieces together. Using a piece of 150-grit sandpaper, sand the ends of the slats gently just to remove any old adhesive. Clean out the holes for the slats as well as you can. Using good quality exterior-grade wood glue, apply glue to the ends of the slats and to the insides of the holes. Slide everything together and clamp it snug. Make sure that the shutter is square by using either a carpenter’s square or by measuring from corner to corner with a tape measure, the measurements should be the same. Then you are ready to sand, prime and paint your repaired shutters. Trying to put a cost on repairing them without seeing them is difficult. Call a few carpenters or contractors and have them give you a bid on what it would cost, but do your homework and make sure the people you call are good at what they do and are reliable. If the shutters are rotten, there are many replacement options out there including wood.”
Have a question about your own home? Email it to cmarshall@stlmag.com.
