While we’ve done a lot of  DIY projects around our house, the cedar shutters were one of the easiest.  So easy, I think I could have made them myself.  Maybe not installed them myself, but I’m pretty sure I could have made them.

Here is a look at the exterior update nearing completion.  It looked so much better than what we started with, but still seemed too plain to me.  The overall theme for the update was white, black and cedar wood tones.  The house needed more warm wood tones.  That’s how the cedar shutter idea came about.  I searched the internet for shutter styles I liked.  Surprisingly, I liked the simple look which turned out to be the easiest to DIY ourselves instead of buying pre-built at three times the cost.

Here is what we did:

1.   Measure the length of your windows. That measurement determines the height of the shutters.  Using a miter saw, cut the 1″x6″ pieces of cedar to the length needed.  In our case, we needed three 6′ pieces per shutter.

2.   Lay out the cut pieces using a carpenter’s square to make sure everything is lined up evenly.  To get the space between the wood pieces, simply stick the end of the carpenter’s square between the pieces.

3.  Measure the width of the evenly spaced pieces.  Using that measurement, cut two pieces of the 1″x4″ cedar.

4.  Using outdoor wood screws,  secure the 1″x4″ pieces to the three 1″x6″ pieces.

5.  Seal shutters, front and back, to prevent the cedar from turning gray.  (This is where I came in.)  We opted for a semi-transparent stain for a deep, rich cedar color.  I recommend checking pricing at several different locations as the price varies on the product we used.

6.  The shutters can be secured to the house using shutter fasteners.  This is what we used.  Prices range from $4.99 to $10 for the exact same package of 12.  We found the cheapest price at Sutherlands.

6.  Drill holes in all four corners of the shutter.

7.  Holding the shutter in place next to the window using the pre-drilled holes as a guide, drill holes into the house.  In our case, we were drilling into brick so we used a masonry bit.

8.  Gently hammer the fasteners through the shutter into the hole drilled in the siding/brick.

That’s it!  Gorgeous cedar shutters that cost us $55 a pair (versus ready-made shutters that started at $150 a pair).  Cedar ain’t cheap, y’all.  DIY those suckers and save ‘yo money!

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