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Archive for August, 2009

How to Update Room Finishes with a Plantation Shutter

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

Although we have many clients moving into new homes, we’ve been seeing more and more clients who are choosing to stay put and update an existing home.  

A challenging update those who remodel face is how to bring in new finish colors that complement the existing mill-work, not compete with it. 

 We help clients accomplish this  with a few different suggestions.

  1. The quickest and easiest way?  Cover it up!  This can be easily done with a custom shutter and its framework mounted on top of the existing casing.   We offer several different frames profiles and clients can choose the one that they like best.
  2. If you are looking to lighten a room with dark mill-work, choose a painted shutter.   We have 18 stock variations of white, or we can custom color match to your favorite swatch.  I suggest staying away from a brilliant, bright white if you have stained wood casings.  Choose a warmer white, with  creamy undertones or even a light tan.  Then it will complement, not fight, your existing colors.
  3. Do you like your mill-work, but want to freshen it up?  Add a new, complementary stain color!  Many of our clients have replaced their flooring as a way to add a new color.  A natural way to continue this flow is by adding custom finished plantation shutters to their windows.  These two grounding elements in a room, windows and floors, and the addition of key accent pieces in a similar finish, will transform a room.

Without a doubt, new custom shutters add style and pizazz.  Whether your goal is to compliment the homes existing mill-work with a custom matched finish on your shutters, or transform it into something fresh and new, Kirtz Shutters can help.   

plantation shutters and eyebrow arch were stained to match wood flooring and other accent piecees in the home

plantation shutters and eyebrow arch were stained to match wood flooring and other accent piecees in the home

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Posted in Plantation Shutter Design, Plantation Shutter Styles, design | No Comments »

Kirtz Shutter Craftsmanship; what a quality finish adds to your custom shutter

Thursday, August 20th, 2009
Without a quality finish on  a custom shutter, the value created by using a high quality wood, and rigorous construction standards would be minimized.   Let’s take a look at how Kirtz Shutters achieves a  quality finish on our custom shutters. 

Linear Priming (painted shutters only)

Components of our painted maple shutter are primed in lineal form.  By priming in lineal form we can ensure an even coating of primer, up to two mill thickness on each part of the shutter.  A high quality prime helps the shutter take finish coats well.

Wood Grading (painted and stained shutters)

Not all components make the final cut for a Kirtz Shutter.  All of our components are inspected before they reach the production line and undesirable sections of wood with flaws are marked as not suitable for a Kirtz Shutter.

Prep Work~ Where the Magic Happens

Even the best quality wood has some imperfections.   To get a smooth finish involves a high level of attention to detail during prep work.   Imperfections are fixed during 2 different stages of manufacturing.  

The Production Line — Filler is applied to the any noticeable flaws in the wood and sanded out smooth.  

Brown and Sand — Shutters enter this area after they are built, and before they enter the finish room.  High intensity spotlights shine down upon the shutters, highlighting any slight flaw that might show up in the final product.  These minor flaws are fixed with putty and sanding, and then the finish sanding begins. 

Finish sanding is done by hand, with very fine sandpaper.  Every inch of the Kirtz Shutter is finish sanded, including the top of the tilt rod, an area that few manufactures take the time to address.  After final inspection, they are ready for finish.

shutters are inspected for flaws under hign intensity lights

shutters are inspected for flaws under hign intensity lights

 

any small flaws are fixed before finish is applied

any small flaws are fixed before finish is applied

During finish Kirtz Shutters are hung from a track system on cars that allow the shutter to rotate completely.  This makes sure, whether painted or stained, each shutter receives an even amount of paint/stain on all parts of the shutters resulting in a smooth, even finish from any angle.

plantation shutters in the paint finish room

plantation shutters in the paint finish room

Painted Shutters receive  two coats of  lacquer paint finish on top of the primer.  In between coats, shutters are quality inspected.  All our paint has UV inhibitors in it to help keep your custom shutters looking great, even in the most intense sun.

Stained Shutters are sprayed with your stain color, typically a custom mix done just for you.  Each shutter receives two coats of stain.  In between coats, the shutters are taken down off the track, hand wiped and lightly sanded    This step is the differential between standard finish and a truly furniture quality finish.    Without it the shutter color would appear a bit opaque, what some people call “muddy” .  To finish up, we put two coats of clear finish on the shutters to protect the wood and bring up the beauty of the grain.   We use a 20 sheen, which gives a nice luster to the wood and provides the finish with depth.  

After finishing is complete, Kirtz Shutters sit overnight to let the finish have time to cure.  Depending on the time of the year, painted finishes are given extra curing time in a cool room.

While each area of our factory plays a key role in making the Kirtz Shutter a bench quality product,  the finish department plays a critical role in making the work of all the other departments really shine.

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Posted in Plantation Shutter Construction, Why Kirtz? | 2 Comments »

Kirtz Shutter Craftmanship; assembling a quality custom shutter

Monday, August 17th, 2009
The assembly department is responsible for turning lengths of components into a plantation shutter.

First, all parts are cut to length according to the exact specifications for your custom shutter.  After parts are cut, they are placed onto a cart with job sheets that details each opening in the order.

At Kirtz we take a few extra steps during assembly before the panel comes together to make sure that your shutter is built to the highest of quality standards.

Each tilt rod is given personal attention.  We shape the top of the tilt rod in a machine we designed to give the rounded top that is unique to a Kirtz Shutter.  Then, the top of each rod is sanded smooth so it has the same quality finished look as other parts of our shutters.

tilt-rod-shaping

After shaping it is sanded smooth

After shaping it is sanded smooth

Before the shutter is put together, each louver end is burnished with a sander.  Again, this extra step allows the ends of the louvers to accept the painted finish better, and eliminates the rough ends you would typically find with louvers that are cut, but not sanded.

Burnishing louver ends

Burnishing louver ends

Next, the louvers and tilt rod are fed through a machine that attaches them together with staples and puts pins in the end of each louver, and your shutter panel is ready to be put together.

Joinery of a Kirtz Shutter

At Kirtz we use dowels to join the stiles and rails of each shutter together.   Wood glue is put into each hole that will be receiving a dowel.  Then we use dowels that are slightly larger than the hole they are inserted into.   This requires the use of a hydraulic clamp to put the stiles and rails together.  After the shutter has been clamped together, small pin nails are applied to the backside of the shutter through the dowels, giving it an extra dose of reinforcement.

This method has been used by Kirtz for many years, and we confidently stand behind the joinery of a Kirtz Shutter for a lifetime.

The shutter comes together on the clamp table and is pin nailed for extra strength

The shutter comes together on the clamp table and is pin nailed for extra strength

Framing

Just like a door hangs in a frame, many times your  hardwood shutter will be in a frame.  We have several framing options at Kirtz to accommodate a variety of decors and types of windows.    After your shutters have been assembled, the frames that surround them are built.

At Kirtz we customize many of our frames so that they fit around window cranks and lever locks.  By doing these notches in the factory when possible, the notch receives a finish coat of paint instead of touch up in the field.

For more information on notches, see my post about plantation shutters in casement windows.

This completes your shutter assembly, next stop finish department!

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Posted in Plantation Shutter Construction, Plantation Shutter Design, Why Kirtz? | 2 Comments »

Kirtz Shutter Craftmanship; Making the parts makes the difference for your custom shutters

Thursday, August 13th, 2009
Most shutter manufacturers buy their shutter components from large milling companies that deliver ready to assemble pieces to the manufacturers.    These components can be from the US, Mexico, and even China.   At Kirtz Shutters, we have rigorous quality control standards, and we use a variety of hardwoods, so components are made in-house in our milling department.

Hardwood shutters by Kirtz start at our factory as raw lumber.  We typically buy direct from the best lumber mills across the country, with a great deal of our lumber coming from the Northern US. 

A load of lumber for Kirtz Shutter, before sorting

A load of lumber for Kirtz Shutter, before sorting

 Lumber goes through the following process to become parts for your plantation shutters.

All lumber is tested upon arrival for proper dryness.  Using lumber that has been wet, or is not properly kiln dried could result in warping.  Obviously, this would be bad news for a shutter, so each load is tested immediately upon arrival to be sure that it meets the criteria for furniture quality use.

After unloading, lumber is sorted and it is determined what component part each board will be used to make.   Next, the lumber is fed through our Weinig molder and shaped into the different parts needed to make your shutter order.  As lumber is shaped into parts, each part is quality checked to see that it does not vary from our standard, which are +/- 5000 of an inch, a more exacting measure than industry standard, which is +/- 10,000 of an inch.

lumber being milled into components for plantation shutters

lumber being milled into components for plantation shutters

Verifying the milled parts meet quality standards for Kirtz Shutters

Verifying the milled parts meet quality standards for Kirtz Shutters

Since we use so many different types of woods in our shutters, the milling department must constantly calibrate the machine to handle the varying density of each wood.  Although this is a time consuming process it is the only we can maintain the rigid quality standards of a Kirtz Shutter.

After the louvers are molded they are run through a specially designed sander.  The belt of the sander is contoured so that it follows the shape of our elliptical louvers.  As the louver passes through the oscillating belt provides a random orbital sanding, the industries highest standard.  The louvers are now ready for the assembly line. 

Sander designed for elliptical shaped louvers for custom shutters

Sander designed for elliptical shaped louvers for custom shutters

The milling department is also responsible for laminating our stiles, which glues together two opposing pieces, resulting in a longer, straighter stile than industry standards.  
Once shutter parts finish the above processes, production is notified and your shutters are ready for the assembly department!

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Posted in Plantation Shutter Construction, Why Kirtz? | 4 Comments »