Shutter Bugs!

No, I’m not talking about cameras, I’m talking about the other kind of shutters.  Backstep: about 4 years ago I bought some black shutters at Lowes to hang on the windows above our garage doors.  It’s a really blah open space that I always thought needed a little sprucing up.

Four years ago Ryan attempted to hang those shutters, but his old school drill didn’t have enough power to cut through our brick.   I recall about 5 broken masonry drill bits and a bunch of swear words.  Needless to say it was a project that we started and never quite finished.  This past Christmas, Ryan received a new Milwaukee drill set (mentioned here) which included a hammer drill.  This drill gives Ryan  A) the power and B) the hammer capability to cut through that doggone stubborn brick.

This weekend we moved a bunch of boxes in our shed and come across 4 of these beauties.

With the 19″ foot extension ladder and the Milwaukee hammer drill, we were set to go.  Ryan scaled his way to the second story window, measurements in hand.

The shutters are held into place by 6 screws each.  That meant Ry had to drill 24 holes into the exterior brick, ugh.  I won’t lie, it took like what seemed an eternity for all 24 holes to get drilled, but in all actuality was a few hours.

Masonry anchors were needed to go in each hole, but for some stupid reason the shutters  didn’t come with them.  Boo.  Maybe the shutters did and we lost them over the course of 4 years, but I highly doubt that.  How do you lose 24 anchors in separately packaged shutters?  I prepared for another run to Lowes, but was happily surprised to find out one of our friends was headed to that shopping center so he picked them up for us.  Another Lowes trip avoided.  Mucho Gracias.

It was nothing for Ryan to climb that ladder two stories up, but I had a very nervous stomach the entire time.  You never know what can happen.  At first I held that ginormous piece of steel, but after awhile I realized the ladder was going nowhere since our driveway is flat at the bottom.  I made sure not to walk under it though.  No bad luck needed for Michelle, she creates enough damage on her own!

After a few hours our little big shutter project was complete, sore arm for Ryan and all.  I can’t believe the difference it makes on that side of the house.  It adds a little dimension and breaks up the red brick.  Instant love.   Here are the “after” photos…I don’t think I’ve ever posted a picture of our house at this angle….(the window on the left is our dining room and the window on the right our living room).

In case you were wondering, the stone windowsill on the right just “magically” fell out of our window one night while we were fast asleep…it’s on our “To Do” list.  In the mean time, Ryan has a piece of plastic stapled into the sill.  He also laid a few bricks  in the hole to weigh down the plastic…which is why that right window looks all wonky and sill-less.

You also might be wondering what the white streaks on our red brick are.   The answer is simple.  Those streaks were actually there when we bought the house, they are from the white painted siding above.  After 60 years of life, this house has gained some character with the help of rain.  My theory is that the rain hit the white siding and caused rundown which stained the brick.  I tried to clean it when we first moved in without luck.  Ryan said I need to use muriatic acid.  We’ll see if I get around to that one.

And don’t think I was Lazy Susan while Ryan worked hard on those shutters this weekend.  I accomplished a few things as well and yes, you know I’m going to write a post about them 🙂

Happy Monday!