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Rain on a Tin Roof

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You are here: Home >> Outdoors >> How to Hang Shutters on Brick: Detailed Guide for Installing Vinyl Shutters

November 2, 2017 By Jenna 13 Comments

How to Hang Shutters on Brick: Detailed Guide for Installing Vinyl Shutters

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If you’re looking for a DIY home improvement project that will add value and curb appeal to your home, then consider installing vinyl shutters on your home! You might just be surprised at how much they add to your home. Below, you’ll find a step-by-step guide for how to hang shutters on brick.

This post / project has been six months in the making. Six months.

It should not take an average person six months to get shutters installed on their home.

But apparently, we’re not average. We ran into a few hiccups.

Last week, I revealed our new front yard landscape makeover. We went from this:

How to Hang Shutters on Brick

To this:

Shutters on Brick House

Mid-America Shutters provided me with shutters for our home. However, opinions and installation struggles are 100% mine. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

One of the big changes there besides the landscaping was the replacement of our old windows and shutters.

Yes, we still have to get the hideous green painted over, but it takes time, y’all. And money. 😉

Now windows, that’s not a DIY job – not for us anyway. The shutters though, I was pretty confident we could tackle. We had discussed painting the old louvered ones, but I really wanted a paneled shutter and seriously, who wants to paint all those louvers anyway? Not me.

We went with standard raised panel shutters from Mid-America.

How to Hang Shutters

I knew the classic style wouldn’t date easily and it would also go well with our brick house exterior.

For the color, we opted for Midnight Blue. I wanted something with a little color that would also go well with the brick, the beige-grey window trim and the white windows. Midnight Blue fit that bill perfectly. We’re also planning to paint our garage doors this color to bring it around to that side of the house too.

Eventually, all the green trim will be replaced with that beige-grey window trim color as well, so it will all go nicely together. Mid-America also offers lots of different length options in their shutters, which was great for us since we have both tall and short windows. The finish is supposed to stand up really well over time too, which was a must for us since our home gets so much direct sunlight.

So let’s talk about the vinyl shutter installation. This was where we ran into some issues – not the fault of the shutters at all, but, how should I put this, installer error. 😉

How to Install Shutters on Brick

Tools and Supplies Needed:

  • Shutters – you can see the full selection that Mid-America offers here. These are the ones we used.
  • Hammer Drill and 1/4″ Masonry Drill Bit – unless you have soft brick and mortar or just some serious brute force, then you’re gonna need this tool.
  • Regular Drill (Corded or Battery Powered) and 1/4″ Regular Drill Bit
  • Marker or Pen
  • Level
  • Shutter-Lok Fasteners – these come with every Mid-America shutter.
  • Hammer

*It’s also important to note that this job is best done with two people.

Steps

Step 1

Remove your old shutters. Que the first hiccup for us.

When we went to remove our old shutters, we discovered that nearly all of the screw heads on the old shutters were stripped. So, we had to pry the old shutters off, then twist the screws out one by one with pliers. Oh what fun! Hopefully, yours won’t be that way though.

Step 2

Remove a set of shutters from the box and hold one shutter up on one side of the window you are putting it on.

How to Install Shutters on Brick

Place it were you want it – if you get paneled ones like we did, one panel is slightly longer than the other and it should be on the bottom.

Place a level on top of the shutter, level it up, then mark a spot on both sides at the top and bottom of the shutter where you want the shutter fasteners to go. We just eyeballed this. The shutter fasteners are the same color as the shutters so they blend in really well and you can’t tell if you’re off by a little bit or not. If you can place the fasteners where they will go into mortar rather than brick, thus, you will drill into the mortar, rather than brick, it will make your job easier.

Step 3

Installing Shutters on Brick

Take the shutter and using your regular drill, drill a 1/4″ hole using the 1/4″ regular drill bit in each of your marked spots.

Step 4

Put your shutter back in place and make sure it’s level once more. Now, you need two people for this part. You’re going to drill pilot holes into the brick/mortar for your shutter fasteners.

While one person is holding the shutter in place, the other should use the hammer drill to go through the holes you just made with the regular drill and make small holes to mark where the holes should go in the brick / mortar.

Hanging Shutters

Que our second hiccup. The hammer drill is a must for drilling into brick and mortar. We did not know this. We tried to use our regular corded drill at first and it flat out didn’t work. There were tears, there were words. It was stressful. After some research, we decided a hammer drill might work better – total game changer.

Step 5

Remove the shutter and use the hammer drill to finish drilling out the holes you just marked in the brick.

Installing Vinyl Shutters

Step 6

After you’ve drilled all the holes in the brick with the hammer drill, place a shutter fastener into each of the holes in the shutter.

How to Install Vinyl Shutters

Line up the fasteners with the holes in the brick, then gently tap the fasteners in with a hammer to attach the shutter to your home’s exterior.

That’s it! The installation is actually really simple, you just have to have the right tools, which was our problem.

Those fasteners are serious business too – the shutters don’t budge at all once they are held in with the Shutter-Lok Fasteners.

How to Install Shutters

Another thing to note is that we used four fasteners on the lower, shorter windows, one in each corner, but six on the higher, longer windows, one in each corner and one on each side of the middle of the shutter.

Don’t the shutters look great, though? I love, love, love the midnight blue – it was exactly the color that the house needed!

Step by Step Guide for Installing Vinyl Shutters on Brick

Now, just to nix that green and paint the trim around the door!

Looking for more home improvement projects to boost curb appeal? 

Here’s a DIY Cedar Planter Box that is great for both flowers and displaying your house numbers.

If you have lattice anywhere on your home, here’s an easy lattice refresh technique!

Don’t miss this mailbox makeover I did in less than an hour.

And here are 13 ideas for sprucing up your front door and entry.

Want to come back here later? Just pin the image below! 

How to Hang Vinyl Shutters on Brick Exteriors

Hanging Shutters on Brick Houses

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Filed Under: Outdoors Tagged With: shutters

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Comments

  1. Patty says

    November 2, 2017 at 11:34 am

    Big, big improvement, we have louver shutters that are going to need panting and I just dread it, and to do it right you have to take them down, then reinstal. After seeing your new shutters maybe I can talk hubby into new panelled shutters. Your shutters look wonderful.

    Reply
    • Jenna says

      November 7, 2017 at 12:42 pm

      We were going to paint our old louvered ones, but honestly I got tired and overwhelmed just thinking about how long it would take. If you can swing new ones, go for it – totally worth it in my opinion!

      Reply
  2. Pam S says

    November 2, 2017 at 3:25 pm

    Those really are pretty. But I must admit, I’m more enthralled over your new windows! They look awesome!! Sure you don’t want to leave the green trim til after Christmas?!? LOL

    Reply
    • Jenna says

      November 7, 2017 at 12:41 pm

      hahahahaha!!! Oh, I’m sure the green trim will be around through Christmas – I don’t have time to paint it anytime soon! Thanks, Pam!

      Reply
  3. DIY Home Sweet Home says

    November 10, 2017 at 7:17 am

    Great tutorial. Thanks for linking up to More the Merrier Monday. Can’t wait to see what you’ll be linking up next week.

    Reply
    • Jenna says

      November 14, 2017 at 11:23 am

      Thanks!

      Reply
  4. Belk says

    January 15, 2019 at 6:13 pm

    Loved the pictures you have provided with each step! This was very helpful and not too complicated. Thanks for keeping it simple. Great work – John

    Reply
  5. Rob says

    February 19, 2019 at 4:13 pm

    Looks good, and appreciate the tutorial!
    One suggestion: next time line the fasteners up with a mortar layer, instead of brick, that makes the job much easier!
    A drill but for masonry and a regular drill will get it done.

    Reply
  6. Ken says

    March 24, 2019 at 10:13 am

    Question:. Why did you have to drill new holes for the shutters? We’re you not able to reuse the holes from the old shutters? Since the shutters use plastic fasteners, I’d think you’d be able to reuse.

    Reply
    • Jenna says

      March 24, 2019 at 6:12 pm

      Unfortunately, we weren’t able to use the old holes. They weren’t in the right location for the new shutters.

      Reply
  7. Jean | Delightful Repast says

    June 4, 2019 at 9:48 am

    Jenna, love this post. Pinned it to my How-To/DIY board. Good to know you need a hammer drill for this job–*before* the “tears and words!” #SundaysBest

    Reply
  8. Hector Perez says

    July 17, 2021 at 2:29 pm

    Thanks for the instructions and tips; on the way to the store to get a hammer drill now. We grabbed shutters from the exact same place you did due to them offering sizes that were a hassle to find elsewhere. Your project looks great and hope our’s comes out as nice!

    Reply
  9. Priscilla Clay says

    June 17, 2022 at 4:12 am

    I don’t understand what it is needs painting
    What kind of paint?
    Do the sell matching paint?

    Reply

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