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The idea is being able to do it WITHOUT opening the window. And in some cases, maybe they’re fixed windows or very old painted shut; or inoperable because of mechanical failure.
Seems like a solution in search of a problem. I'd either fix the window or leave the shutters open.
Our carriage house has large wooden shutters outside the upstairs window. I know there is a device that pushes shutters open and holds them open from inside a building. However since I do not know what that device is called - I cannot find one. Does anyone know what it is called? Extra points if you cna show how it is installed.
Also extra points if you are able to answer this question before Kledge builder does.
Thank you.
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Perhaps, you are you thinking of shutter “dogs’”- shutter holdbacks/tiebacks?
Below is a link for a great company which makes hardware for the shutters- check if you find what exactly you are looking for in shutters. https://www.timberlane.com/store/
I don’t know if there’s an actual name (like “widget”)- but there is a German name which basically means “shutter opener”- “ladenoffner”.
The original were hand operated from inside the house (didn’t have to open window). You would use a pole with a hook end that would go into an eye-bolt/shaft at the top of the window. The shaft was connected to a wormgear that in turn would attach to the hinge and push/pull the shutter. You would crank/turn the pole to open/close the shutter(s). There were other incarnations depending on the shutter configuration . The most common were called “wing”, but others were called “leaf”.
Today there are electric switched versions and of remote controls.
Thank you.
That is a what I am looking for. I do not have any search terms to google - at least none that produce anything that looks like what i am seeking. Leaning out to push the shutters open is both unpleasant (cold) and not very safe. It is a large window and goes almost tot he floor and it is on the second floor above the "garage" so around 15' up.
The window works (it is new), although I need to replace it. the five new windows we put in our house are garbage. I was going to use Marvin Ultimate double hung windows, but our contractor said he knew a guy who could make better quality custom windows cheaper. The windows we got ended up being none of those things and they are the worst feature of our house. But I digress. For now I am just trying to get and keep the shutters open when we are in there and close them easily when we leave. The whole carriage house looks much better with the shutters open but it is much warmer with them closed as the front of the carriage house faces the water and the wind coming across the water is always from that direction.
I just remembered that our house had a sunroom with casement windows that you opened from inside with a crank. We had to tear down the sunroom, but I saved the hardware from the windows because it was really cool (from the 1940s). I do not remember how it worked other than it had a chain. I wonder whether i might be able to use those on the shutters if I can find them and figure out how they worked. I never thought of that before. Maybe a solution.
Last edited by Coldjensens; 01-04-2021 at 08:23 AM..
That is a what I am looking for. I do not have any search terms to google - at least none that produce anything that looks like what i am seeking. Leaning out to push the shutters open is both unpleasant (cold) and not very safe. It is a large window and goes almost tot he floor and it is on the second floor above the "garage" so around 15' up.
The window works (it is new), although I need to replace it. the five new windows we put in our house are garbage. I was going to use Marvin Ultimate double hung windows, but our contractor said he knew a guy who could make better quality custom windows cheaper. The windows we got ended up being none of those things and they are the worst feature of our house. But I digress. For now I am just trying to get and keep the shutters open when we are in there and close them easily when we leave. The whole carriage house looks much better with the shutters open but it is much warmer with them closed as the front of the carriage house faces the water and the wind coming across the water is always from that direction.
I just remembered that our house had a sunroom with casement windows that you opened from inside with a crank. We had to tear down the sunroom, but I saved the hardware from the windows because it was really cool (from the 1940s). I do not remember how it worked other than it had a chain. I wonder whether i might be able to use those on the shutters if I can find them and figure out how they worked. I never thought of that before. Maybe a solution.
Casements weren’t designed to open 180*(at least not by the mechanism). But, it could be a stepping stone to some type of retro-fit.
The newer electric types that I mentioned previously are basically linear actuators- there is one drawback to having this type of setup- Emergency Egress! If this window is the only window that meets the criteria for emergency egress, then the setup has to be such that it can be disabled without the use of tools or excessive force- so, keep that in mind also.
The idea is being able to do it WITHOUT opening the window. And in some cases, maybe they’re fixed windows or very old painted shut; or inoperable because of mechanical failure.
I thought I understood him to say he wants to be able to close them from inside, without falling out. I presume you can just give them a push to open them.
Anyway, the thread inspired me to finally order some shutter dogs for mine. Maybe OP should pose the question to those companies who are all about shutters, all the time.
Last edited by gentlearts; 01-04-2021 at 09:43 AM..
I want to be able to open and close them from inside, and hold them open. To push them open you have to lean out of the window over a 15 foot drop, sometimes in howling wind. The window ledge is below my knee, so it would not be hard to unbalance and fall out of the window while leaning out to push them open. To close them is the same thing in reverse. These are large shutters, so you cannot reach the end of them when they are open, so just reaching out to fasten them to something that will hold them open is not practical. I have never found a good way to keep them open except to put a board between them and hope the wind does not knock it loose.
The thing I saw many years ago was a sort of lever that went through the wall. It folded up below the window sill when not in use. To open the shutters ,you pulled out the lever, pulsed it out through the wall and it pushed the shutters open. Then it locked in place to hold them open. To close the shutters, you unlocked the bar, pulled it in and folded it back under the window sill. There was one for each shutter. I do not remember exactly what it looked like or how it worked. I only remember it vaguely. No idea what it might be called
I will look at Kledge's electric thing if i can find one and see what it costs. Maybe a better solution would be to replace the shutters with a crossbuck door on a track. That would be expensive because the door would need to be custom built and the track would need to be top and bottom to hold up to the wind. However I think a crossbuck door might look better. I have never loved the look of those shutters.
How about a storm window, or a triple track that only needs to be adjusted twice a year from storm to screen?
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