Kirtz Shutters Blog

Although Kirtz Shutters are primarily interior, at a special request for a previous customer, we recently built Bahama style exterior wood shutters.

There are a wide variety of Bahama style shutters available today.   Solid construction methods and quality raw materials are important to get the longest life out of your shutters.

The Materials

To start with we used cypress wood.  Cypress is a great choice for exterior projects.  Cypress generates cypressine, which is its own preservative oil.  This makes it naturally resistant to insects, decay and other damaging elements.  All components were made of solid pieces, including the stiles.

The Construction

In a traditional shutter, louvers are held into place with pins.  These pins allow the louvers to pivot open and closed.  A Bahama style shutter has fixed louvers, and no tilt bar.   To hold the louvers in place we cut a tenon in the stile to receive the louver.  Then the louver is then slid into the stile 1/4″ deep on each side.  Next, the stile and rail are doweled and secured with exterior glue.  A screw is inserted in between the two dowels for extra stength and the hole is filled.

To finish, the shutters were coated with a marine grade exterior quality sealer so that they are further protected.

The Installation

Installed with traditional Bahama style hinges and adjustable arms, these exterior shutter provide both beauty and protection.

Bahama shutters provide more visibilty when open, by Kirtz Shutters

Bahama hardware allow these custom shutters to tilt out

bahama shutter block western sun, offer privacy on this deck

Close up of fixed louvers for bahama shutters