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Removing the fake shutters that were not sized right for the windows was one of the best things we did for our exterior.
We chose to NOT replace them and the house looked so much better! Seriously.
However, we DID replace the siding, so I am of no help in that regard.
Best of luck with your project!
Same here. We had vinyl siding above brick and shutters on every window. Took ALL the vinyl siding and shutters off and replaced with Hardie plank siding. No shutters. The house looks much better.
1. Will you be voiding any warranty for the siding?
2. If you have an HOA, are you allowed to remove them from the side and back of house? If you're changing color, is that acceptable? Essentially, if you live in an HOA, get it in writing; submit the changes to the architectural committee for approval before doing anything.
(Please do not derail this thread with discussions and comments about "evil HOA's).
No HOA, and no warranty that I know of on the 25 yr old siding.
Agreed, but the house was built 25 years ago and came with them, so they don't have the newer wide window frames. I think I'll take one off in the back and see how it goes.
Agreed, but the house was built 25 years ago and came with them, so they don't have the newer wide window frames. I think I'll take one off in the back and see how it goes.
My daughter has a 100+ year old 4 square house. Siding and shutters were added at some point in the past. If she removes them it will leave a ghost of where they were, so she’s stuck unless she can replace the siding of paint it.
When we bought our brick house, it had cheap plastic shutters. Those came down so fast it would make your head spin. Fortunately, dh had the skills to make some board and batten shutters that are appropriately sized and actually close when a hurricane is coming.
One time, we had a native Georgian guy from the electric company out to locate the wires before we dug. He looked at our shutters incredulously, and said, “You mean you can just close these if there is a hurricane?” Duh. It’s not only about that though. The aesthetics of 2 narrow vinyl strips on either side of a window is just so out of balance that I don’t get why everybody doesn’t see it.
My daughter has a 100+ year old 4 square house. Siding and shutters were added at some point in the past. If she removes them it will leave a ghost of where they were, so she’s stuck unless she can replace the siding of paint it.
When we bought our brick house, it had cheap plastic shutters. Those came down so fast it would make your head spin. Fortunately, dh had the skills to make some board and batten shutters that are appropriately sized and actually close when a hurricane is coming.
One time, we had a native Georgian guy from the electric company out to locate the wires before we dug. He looked at our shutters incredulously, and said, “You mean you can just close these if there is a hurricane?” Duh. It’s not only about that though. The aesthetics of 2 narrow vinyl strips on either side of a window is just so out of balance that I don’t get why everybody doesn’t see it.
I like this guys style advice for old houses, many design principles seem to have been forgotten in modern houses.
The only place you will find strong opinions regarding vinyl shutters is on this forum or architectural shaming groups that exist in other places. Most people don't care and won't even notice. Bottom line is: Will your house look better with or without them? In my opinion - many homes look worst without them.
If you have non-existent (some windows just have a channel around them) trim detail around your windows - your house will look worst without them.
If your house is already vinyl sided - add appropriately sized shutters. You aren't going to fool anyone into thinking they are real or functional, and 9/10 people don't care.
In my opinion it looks worst to remove them and have very obvious plugged up holes or shadows of where the shutters used to be.
Adding functional shutters to a house that is vinyl sided - You can do anything you want, but why bother?
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