Raised panel exterior shutters

A local customer asked me if I could make new exterior shutters for his historic building in downtown Morganton. The existing shutters showed serious signs of decay and were beyond repair. The client wanted the new shutters to be exact matches to the existing ones, with three raised panels and a beautiful, dark blue paint job.

Existing shutters had been patched and painted multiple times but the underlying wood was beyond repair.

The paint can’t hide the damage beneath.

I started with sourcing a supply of air-dried cypress boards from a local lumberyard.

Boards are cut to size on a tablesaw.

Grooves are machined to hold the panels.

Cross rails received short tenons to connect to the vertical stiles.

Waterproof epoxy adhesive is used for glue-up.

Shutters are glued-up in steps - first one vertical stile and the four cross rails.

Stack of shutters set to dry overnight.

Raised panels are made on a shaper.

Ready for final assembly.

A thin strip of extremely hard “Ipe” wood is glued across the top to protect the end grain from weather exposure.

First primer coat is sanded.

Second primer coat is applied.

First of two finish coats is sprayed on.

I used a fixture to help me install the French cleats to the brick wall. With this system we avoided any visible fasteners from the front.

Sometimes even I need a ladder :)

The finished project.