Exterior Shutter Installation — Decorative Vinyl or Composite
New shutters for a plain front, or the old ones are faded, cracked by hail or hanging crooked. We size them, set them straight and fasten them so they stay there.
Exterior shutter installation is a small job that looks bad when it is rushed: JMB Builders sizes decorative vinyl or composite shutters to the window height, sets each pair plumb and level with its mate, and fastens through the siding into the sheathing so they stay put in a Minnesota wind. We also take down and replace faded or hail-cracked shutters. Twin Cities metro, priced per window, quoted from your photos within one business day.
- Priced per window (one pair of shutters)
- Sized to the window before you order
- Fastened into sheathing, not just siding
- Quote from photos in 1 business day
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
Decorative shutters are the cheapest thing you can do to the front of a house that changes how it looks from the street. They are also the easiest to get wrong. A pair hung an inch off level, a shutter that is a foot shorter than the window it flanks, or one that was screwed tight through vinyl siding and buckled the panel behind it: all of those read from the curb. The shutter is a five-minute part; getting it right is the job.
Size comes first. A decorative shutter should be as tall as the window it sits next to, measured from the top of the trim to the bottom of the sill, and roughly half the window's width so it looks like it could close over the glass. On a wide picture window that rule breaks and a narrow shutter looks stuck on; we will tell you that before you order. Vinyl shutters come in stock heights, so the window height usually decides which size and whether the shutter should be trimmed or the next size up used.
Fastening depends on the wall. Through vinyl siding, the hole in the vinyl is oversized so the siding can still move, and the fastener goes into the sheathing behind it. On lap siding the shutter gets shimmed or blocked so it sits plumb over the steps in the laps. On stucco or brick it is a masonry anchor. Faded old shutters usually come down with their fasteners cut, and the old holes get sealed before the new pair goes up.
What you supply
- Photos: the front of the house from the street and a close-up of one window with a tape measure held along its height
- The shutters, from a home center or online, or ask us to supply them; send window heights first and we will say what size to order
- Style and color: louvered, raised panel or board-and-batten shutters, in a stock color or ordered in a custom one
- Which windows get shutters; usually the front and any side windows visible from the street
- Paint color if you choose primed composite or wood shutters; painting is quoted as a separate line
What JMB supplies
- A size check against your window measurements before anything is ordered
- Removal of old shutters and their fasteners, with the old holes sealed
- Shutter fasteners (plastic shutter pins) or color-matched exterior screws, depending on the wall and the shutter
- Oversized holes through vinyl siding so the panels can still move
- Shims or blocks behind shutters on lap siding so each one sits plumb
- Masonry anchors on stucco or brick
- Each pair set level with its mate and lined up with the window trim
- Photos of the finished front in your job folder
How it is priced: per window
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- Number of windows getting shutters in the same trip
- First-floor windows from a step ladder vs. second-story windows from an extension ladder
- Vinyl siding, lap siding, stucco or brick behind the shutter
- Taking down and disposing of old shutters and sealing the old holes
- Composite or wood shutters that are heavier and screw-mounted vs. vinyl on shutter pins
- Shutters supplied by JMB vs. bought by you
- Painting primed shutters before they go up
Send the height of one window from the top of the trim to the bottom of the sill and we will tell you the shutter size to buy. That saves a return trip to the store.
How long it takes
Front of a typical house, four to six windows: half a day. Add time for second-story windows, masonry anchors or removing old shutters.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized quote within one business day. We only come out to measure first when the job needs a tape measure — no pressure, no games.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Vinyl shutters on shutter pins
Stock vinyl louvered or raised-panel shutters in a stock color, set with plastic shutter fasteners through oversized holes into the sheathing. The most common install and the one that goes fastest.
Composite shutters, screw-mounted
Heavier composite or PVC shutters that come primed or in a factory color. They are screwed into sheathing or framing with color-matched exterior screws and can be painted to match the trim, quoted as a separate line.
Replace faded or hail-damaged shutters
Old shutters come down, the fasteners are cut or backed out, the holes are sealed, and new shutters of the same size go up in the same spots. On a hail claim the shutters are usually a line on the insurance scope.
Shutters on stucco or brick
Masonry anchors set in drilled holes carry the shutter, with the holes sealed around the anchor. On stucco we set the anchor into the block or sheathing behind the stucco, not just the stucco coat.
Exterior Shutter Installation — Decorative Vinyl or Composite: questions, answered
What size shutters should I buy for my windows?
Match the height of the window, measured from the top of the exterior trim to the bottom of the sill, and pick a width about half the width of the glass so the pair looks like it could close. Vinyl shutters come in stock heights, so pick the one closest to your measurement or a hair taller. On a wide picture window no shutter will look right, and it is better to leave that one bare than to hang narrow shutters beside it.
How do you attach shutters to vinyl siding?
The hole through the vinyl is drilled oversized so the siding can still slide with temperature, and the fastener goes into the sheathing behind it. Plastic shutter pins or exterior screws both work. A shutter screwed tight through vinyl with a snug hole pins the panel, and the siding buckles around it on the first hot day. The shutter should sit against the siding without pulling it in.
Can you replace old shutters that are faded or broken?
Yes. Old vinyl shutters fade on the sunny side and crack in hail, and the plastic pins get brittle. We take the old ones down, cut or back out the pins, seal the old holes with color-matched caulk, and hang new shutters of the same size in the same spots. If the new shutters are a different size the old holes get patched to match the siding first.
Do decorative shutters need to be the same on every window?
The same style and color, yes; the same size, only when the windows are the same size. Shutters are sized to each window, so the tall living room window gets taller shutters than the bedroom windows next to it. That is how real shutters would be, and it looks right. What looks wrong is one height of shutter on every window regardless of the glass.
Vinyl or composite exterior shutters?
Vinyl is cheaper, lighter and comes in stock colors, and it holds up fine on the shady sides of the house. It fades on the south and west walls and can crack in hail. Composite and PVC shutters cost more, hold paint, and look more like wood up close. Either one is fine for a decorative shutter; the fastening is what makes them stay on.
Do you paint the shutters before installing them?
Vinyl shutters come with the color built in and are not painted. Primed composite or wood shutters are painted before they go up, because painting them on the wall gets paint on the siding. That painting is quoted as a separate line, or paint them yourself and we hang them when they are dry.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners and for the builders and dealers we sub for. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough. You hear back within one business day. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed September 26, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All exterior trim pages
Where we work
Exterior trim near you
Based in Zimmerman, scheduling across the Twin Cities metro. Closest first: