Which way do shutters go?

Timberlane Shutters
by Timberlane Shutters
Which way should the louvers on fixed louvered shutters go?
There is an age old question about which way the louvers on fixed louvered shutters should point. (This also applies to operable louvers, but of course those can be changed per individual preference).
The short answer is they should be pointed down and to the back. Of course that works if we are all thinking about the shutters when they are open, and much like the back slash/forward slash confusion, that keeps us poised over the symbol on our keyboards for a fraction of a second, we process the information before hitting the key.
One person's back slash could be another person's forward. It all depends on the perspective.
When dealing with Open Shutters, the correct installation of a fixed louvered shutter should have the shutter louver facing down and towards the back when the shutter is open (when it is not covering the window). This allows any rain or other water to fall through the louvers and down behind the shutter, avoiding any pooling or building in the shutter itself or in front of the window area. The first image below shows the proper direction of fixed louvers when they are open on the house.
If the shutters are closed over the windows, they would then be pointing down and out, away from the window, so that water hitting the shutters would drain towards the front, and away from the area between the shutter and the window.
For more information about installing exterior shutters or hardware, go to www.Timberlane.com/installation
Open Shutters
Closed Shutters
Shutter direction
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  • Sharron Abrams Sharron Abrams on Aug 07, 2013
    I have wood shutters and I place them where the dust goes to the window sill. This is Arizona - windows don't get opened often - either to hot or to cold - air or heat just about all the time and you want the sun to stay outside. If you put the shutter front down the dust goes into the window sill and when you clean the shutters you get to clean everything at once and it gives you a little bit long before you have to clean them. You don't see the dust as much. I clean them about every 6 months instead of looking for the dust to clean them I would always be cleaning shutters.
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