30 Sep Repairing Broken Louvers

While shutters are the most durable and sturdy type of window treatment, they still get broken from time to time. Rather than replacing the entire set over a couple of broken louvers (slats), having your shutters repaired could give you many years of continued use out of them, and save you a significant amount of money over having them replaced.

Common Problems

Wear and tear from use over the years (or blunt trauma from rough-housing kids) can cause damage to your shutters. The most common types of damage are broken louvers or hardware, like an eye screw that hangs the louver to the shutter coming loose. Either one of these can result in a slat missing from the shutters. Other problems include the slide rod that opens the shutters breaking loose, or water or sun damage to wooden shutters.

Easy Fixes

If the problem with your shutters is caused by a missing staple or eye hook, you may be able to fix the problem yourself by replacing the hardware and rehanging the louver. Broken louvers are more difficult, but can be fixed by a homeowner who is a decent handyman. Hollowing out a small hole through the broken portion, filling it with a dowel, and gluing it back together will make the louver look as good as new, and stronger than ever. If the slide rod is damaged, this can often be fixed by replacing hardware as well.

Calling in the Pros

For more complicated problems, you may want to have a professional shutter installer take a look at it. Many times, the shutters will be covered under a lifetime warranty and the repair will be free. Even if you end up having to pay for the repair, it will be a fraction of what it would cost to replace the entire set of shutters. For easy fixes, the repair can probably be made right in your home in a matter of minutes. If the shutters have sun or water damage, they may need to be taken back to the shop to have portions sanded and refinished. This will still be an inexpensive repair compared to replacing the shutters, and they’ll look as good as new once they’re returned.