There are two styles to install exterior shutters on your home. Learning each style and how to install exterior shutters takes just a few minutes and is an easy project for many do-it-yourself enthusiasts. The two methods are to install exterior shutters on hinges and to install them directly to the house, sometimes called "direct set."

Before we begin, it's also a good idea to point out that depending on the surface you're installing on, siding or brick, there are a few differences in the details.

Ok, let's begin with direct set installation. Direct set installation of shutters is used for installing vinyl shutters and sometimes wood shutters. There are no hinges or other hardware to mount the exterior shutters. The only hardware needed are 2 - 3 inch long screws and drywall anchors for the brick and rock installation. For vinyl shutters there will normally be six holes and six accompanying plugs which will cover the screw heads.

Step one is to hold the vinyl shutter up to the window in the desired location and to trace through the holes with a pencil transferring the mark to the house itself. Next, you want to predrill a hole to receive the screws. If you are on siding, a 1/8" hole should do. Simply drill into the siding with this bit at each location. If you are installing shutters on brick, you will want to predrill with a 1/4" bit and slip a plastic drywall anchor into the brick. This will give the screw something to grab onto.

Once you've predrilled the holes, it's as simple as holding the exterior shutters back up to the window to install the shutters with 2 - 3 inch screws. It's a good idea to place a plug over the screws to conceal them. For wooden shutters, sometimes you have to make your own install holes. These holes can be predrilled with a countersink bit in each corner and near the middle of the outside railing. You can also make your own plugs with a plug cutting bit that matches the countersink bit. The nice thing about wood plugs is that they can be made to flush out with the shutter and are concealed much better than the standard vinyl plugs.

If instead you need to install functional shutters atop hinges then the process differs slightly. Exterior shutters are installed on two hinges which sit atop "pintels" screwed into the window frame. A shutter pintel is the male part of the hinge that connects the hinge to the house, offsets the shutter from the trim, and provides a pivot point for the hinges to rotate.

Pintels come in three sizes: siding, brick, and rock. Siding generally sticks out 1 1/8" from the home. Brick sticks out 2 1/4" from the home and rock sticks out 4 1/16 inches from the home. The wrong pintel will not allow the shutters to offset the right distance and may keep the shutters from laying flush on the house.

Two hinges is enough to suffice for standard 15" wide shutters. However, for extra wide or extra long shutters, it is common to put them on one or more extra hinges for additional support. This is especially true for PVC shutters which need to be installed to resist thermal expansion. Exterior shutter hinges should be attached first and located roughly six inches from the top and bottom of the shutter.

The location of the pintels will determine where the shutter sits. If installed too low or too high, the shutter will not mirror the windows and look like a custom fit. Take the distance from the bottom edge of the shutter to the bottom part of the pintel that meets the hinge. This distance will determine the placement of the pintel. It's a good idea to make a jig for this distance. You can cut a scrap piece of wood to this length to easily repeat this measurement without using a tape measure on site. We'll call this a pintel jig, or "pin jig" for short.

Place the pin jig on the window sill over the window trim and mark the top of the jig. Next, place the pintel over the trim so that the bottom of the pintel where the hinge rests is aligned with your mark. This is where the pintel needs to be screwed into the trim so that the shutter mirrors the window. Only install the bottom pintel at this time.

Afterwards, lift the shutter up and place it on the pintel. Have another pintel and a drill on hand so that you're ready for the next step. Do this by having the bottom hinge slip over the pintel. Now, you will install the second pintel by sliding it into place in the second hinge and on the window trim. Screw the second pintel in and you now know how to install exterior shutters on hinges. They will be able to open and close like functional shutters.

An S-Shaped piece of hardware called a shutter dog is used to keep the shutter closed in the wind. It can be installed in the bottom opposite corner directly to the home as well. Use lag anchors instead of dry wall anchors to hold them for brick or rock. For siding, simply predrill a 1/4" hole and tighten the shutter dog in place. The shutter dog can be rotated to allow the shutter to open and close.

Lastly, consider adding some window boxes beneath the window for an added effect. You can paint them to match the shutters or paint them to match the trim to highlight some plants and flowers in your window. This will help draw attention to your windows and shutters.