# Making External Shutters From: (a) Doug Fir or (B) Cedar or___?



## BigMig (Mar 31, 2011)

Hey team, I want to make several pairs of shutters to replace rotting shutters on outside of my house. The rotting shutters have been on the house for at least 20 yrs, and I think they were fir. The new ones will be painted (dark green likely). I expect to make them in a frame and raised panel design.

So I'm looking for opinions on the material to use: either douglas fir or (some variety of) cedar. Each shutter is about 54" tall, and about 20" wide.

What are the pros and cons of these (or other) materials?


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

I would think about a wood that holds up well out doors like,cedar,cypress,Ipe or redwood. All of these are great for out door use. Ipe is very strong and holds up to weather but it is very heavy and tough on blades. All the rest are good outdoor woods and are softer. It's important to use a primer that will adhere well with these woods if your going to paint them, I've found a Alkaline primer or shellac based primer works best.


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## RogerM (Oct 31, 2011)

I would think that cypress would be an excellent wood for making shutters. It weathers well and is easy to work with.


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## BigMig (Mar 31, 2011)

Thanks Roger and Jim. If I used cypress, would there be any issues with painting? Same question with Cedar? Lastly, should I expect a significant price difference among the two?


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Mike 
I can't get cypress in my area and don't really need to because western red cedar is abundant. I have found that because of the tanic acid in the cedar it's important to have a good primer like the ones I listed above.


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## RogerM (Oct 31, 2011)

Cypress takes paint well but I would definitely put on a coat of good primer first. The last cypress I purchased down here in South Carolina was $2.00 a board foot. That was about 5 years ago. Note also that there are several grades of cypress with different prices. You might try these sources for some cypress lumber. Most of these sources are understandably in the lower southern states.

http://www.tidewaterlumberinc.com/
http://cypressinfo.org/index


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