Rattling exterior shutters

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Author Message   local denizen Citizen Username: Local_denizen Post Number: 36 Registered: 8-2004 Posted on Thursday, December 30, 2004 - 12:05 am:        I have what I can only assume are purely decorative exterior shutters. I say this because when closed each only covers half the window, and all my windows are butted in pairs or trios, so no window gets fully covered. The shutters are held open by what might best be described as eyelets and hooks on their rear sides. These latches seem original to the house. Unfortunately there is enough play that some rattle under windy conditions and I find it annoying at night. Would I ever want to try to close the shutters for any reason? I ask because someone recommended to stop the rattling I should just screw them to the house in the open position. Is that a dumb idea, or good enough? Anyone got any better ideas?   Bobkat Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 7127 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Thursday, December 30, 2004 - 5:30 am:        May I suggest ear plugs? Seriously, since the mounting system appears to be original to your house I would be hesitant to compromise it. Possibly wedges might do the trick without a lot of damage to the shutters.   Mergele Citizen Username: Mergele Post Number: 226 Registered: 7-2003 Posted on Thursday, December 30, 2004 - 9:41 am:        The original wood shutters on our old houses are an important historical detail, if you're at all into those things. The Old House people get almost as rabid about original shutters as they do about original windows. If the rattling is bugging you (and I sympathize - I have one outside my master bedroom that does the same thing), it's probably because either the hook or the eye holding it open is coming loose. If so, it should be a quick job to tighten it up.   jab Citizen Username: Jab Post Number: 352 Registered: 3-2003 Posted on Thursday, December 30, 2004 - 9:42 am:        We have original shutters and hinges, but it is not apparent how they were originally kept against the house. When we had the house painted it was discovered that many of the shutters were actually nailed to the house. After painting, the shutters were rehung on what hinges we had and on very similar new hinges. However, we decided not to add visible hardware to hold the shutters against the house because we did not want to have something visible that was not appropriate for the time period of the house. So, we added a hook and eye behind each shutter. They are right in the middle (heightwise) to reduce pressure from the wind. Maybe you could just add a second hook or tighten the first to solve your rattling problem.