This Old House Needs Shutters

June 6, 2006 9:42 AM

What type of wood should we use for historically-appropriate exterior window shutters? Details inside, special interest for those in hurricane-prone coastal areas.

We live on the Texas Gulf Coast. Our house is 90+ years old and is located in a historic district. The original wood shutters were removed by a prior owner. We would like to get replacement shutters to provide greater protection for our windows during storms, and also to enhance the look and value of the house.

Because of historic district regulations, we are required to install traditional wood shutters similar to the ones originally used on the house. We cannot use metal hurricane shutters or anything that would look "modern."

We are looking at various sources for wood shutters, and we've found a varierty of materials: pine, redwood, cedar, mahogany. The prices vary, with pine being the cheapest. The prices also vary with the construction method (wood dowel vs. mortise & tendon). I understand that for our 23-odd windows, this is going to cost well over $4000, possibly $6000 or more. Plus hardware. Plus labor costs. We want to get our money's worth, but also not spend more than we need to.

Background: When Rita was coming last September, we spent well over $1000 in labor costs having someone board over our windows with the plywood we bought earlier in the summer. Then we paid again later on to have someone take the plywood down. Over time, the shutters will not only protect the house but pay for themselves.

So anyhow, the question is, what type of wood should we buy? We lean against pine. Our neighbors are buying cedar. One contractor told us that redwood was great; he said that cypress was the best, but we haven't located a source for that. Mahogany seems too expensive. What to do?

posted by Robert Angelo to home & garden (9 comments total)

cedar is naturally water and insect resistant. You'll still want to paint it, but it will last forever with proper care. Pine is cheap and won't last. I'd reccomend cedar.
posted by cosmicbandito at 9:53 AM on June 6, 2006

If it were me, I'd go with cypress. It will last forever and was probably what was originally on your house.
Kimball Designs can make them, it seems.
posted by Floydd at 10:28 AM on June 6, 2006

I would guess that the historic district authorities would be most concerned with the look, and not the materials, in which case you should be free to choose a durable synthetic if you want.

Here's some in a composite material (found by googling, i haven't tried them)

If you go wood, be prepared to repaint every 6 to 10 years, and shutters can be a pain to paint (unless you can remove them and spraypaint)
posted by Artful Codger at 11:03 AM on June 6, 2006

I like cedar. I live in San Antonio. We built a hawk mew out of it because it doesn't get all moldy. But I think Floydd is prolly right. where you live cypress might have been the original wood. I would go around the historic district and talk to people with shutters and find out what research they did, then pick the best one.
posted by FeistyFerret at 11:04 AM on June 6, 2006

oops sorry, above-linked shutters aren't storm-rated.
Here's some in fiberglass
posted by Artful Codger at 11:05 AM on June 6, 2006

I don't think the historic district can tell what kind of wood you got after it's painted, or tell you what kind of wood to get, so long as the shutters look period. Cedar's probably your best bet if you can't find cypress.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 12:08 PM on June 6, 2006

The city planning office (code compliance, preservation, etc) administers the historic regulations. They definitely are in favor of wood and opposed to synthetic materials (PDF pages 5-9 and 5-10). They don't care what type of wood, btw. We do, being concerned about durability and price and we want to make the best choice. Sounds like cedar and cypress are recommended, and our instinct against pine is a good one.

The fiberglass ones Artful Codger suggested might work, but we would have to attend a hearing and get special permission from a city commission. Wood replacement shutters can be "administratively approved" by the planning office staff.

We here in Galveston are nothing if not closely regulated and organized... :-) Last year we got a "red tag" for putting in a fiberglass back patio door without asking permission first. It ended well enough, everyone was friendly and polite and we didn't even have to pay a fine, was it was quite instructive.
posted by Robert Angelo at 1:46 PM on June 6, 2006

As a former staffperson for a Historic District Commission, bravo to you for following the regulations. I understand they can get pretty draconian in the Gulf Coast area, but I think you will be happier with wood in the long run, anyway. Cedar or Cypress are definitely the best bet. Make sure you budget for a repainting every 7-10 years.

You may want to ask the preservation staff at the Planning Dept about sources for cypress shutters, or other preservation organizations in the area.
posted by Rock Steady at 3:36 PM on June 6, 2006

I read your PDF link (pages 5-9 and 5-10), They are apparently referring to new functional metal or plastic shutters, like the roll-downs or fixed louvers pictured. i would bet that the tradidional-looking fiberglass shutters would be acceptable without a special hearing. Also, once they're up, who can tell whether they're painted wood or what?
posted by Artful Codger at 11:07 AM on June 7, 2006