Tip #16
Fences and Shutters (continued)
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Pg. 1-3, Pg 4-6

Attaching Boards to Battens

Two ways to attach battens to shutter boards - drive nails through and clinch them over or slide a beveled batten into a dovtail slot.

Attaching the Boards to the Battens - Cut your shutter boards to the proper length and width. If you plan to butt the boards up against each other, join the edges and glue them together with waterproof resorcinol glue. This will prevent moisture from collecting in the butt joint, causing the shutter to warp and/or the paint to peel.

There are two ways to attach the battens: The easiest is to select common nails that are 1/4" longer than the combined thicknesses of the board and batten, drive them through from the outward-facing side, and clinch them over where the shutter faces the house. This makes a good, strong shutter; however, wood swells and shrinks across the grain in the out-of-doors. First the paint and then the boards may split where they are attached to the battens. Also, nails rust and may stain the paint job. To avoid both these problems, bevel the edges of the battens, and drive them into dovetail slots in the boards. This arrangement needs no nails and the shutter will be able to expand and shrink with the weather.

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