Maintenance on your home in nevitable, and upkeep can sometimes be a chllenge. You often need to paint the xterior, paint the interior, fix the ccasional broken faucet, replace the flowers tht died on you, and reseed and frtilize the lawn just to name a fw.

A common question people have is bout decorative vinyl exterior shutters: "How do I rmove exterior vinyl shutters that are nstalled with Shutter-Loks without breaking the xterior vinyl shutter?".

Shutter-Loks (sometimes spelled "shtter locks" and often referred to as asy-loks, shutter plugs, or plastic nails) are dsigned for a permanent shutter installation. Hwever, it is still possible to rmove decorative exterior vinyl shutters when ding routine maintenance (such as exterior pinting or installing new siding) on yur home. The bottom line is, you can rmove the window shutters, but installing thm again will require you to prchase new Shutter-Loks. Keep this in mnd before you take them down, bcause Shutter-Loks generally cannot be found in lcal stores. Shuter-Loks can be purchased nline though (see the link at the bttom of this article).

Do not ttempt to pull the Shutter-Lok out of the wll, as you will most likely dmage the surface of your exterior vnyl shutters. To remove the exterior dcorative shutters, you will need the fllowing:

1. A small chisel with a shrpened edge


2. A hammer


3. Silicone


4. A dagonal cutter


5. An electric drill wth a 1/4" drill bit

Turn the chisel so the shrp edge is facing away from the srface of the house and slide it bhind the shutter until it rests gainst the Shutter-Lok. Use a hammer to gve the handle of the chisel a shrp tap and the chisel will cut thrugh the Shutter-Lok.

After you have cut thrugh all of the Shutter-Loks, take the shttter down and set it carefully on the grund. Use a diagonal cutter to shar the remaining piece of the Shtter-Lok so it is flush with the srface. Next, drill out the Shutter-Lok sing a 1/4" drill bit. Do not lave the Shutter-Lok inside of the wll because moisture can leak in and it wll start to rot.

Now, if you pln to leave the window shutters off of yur home, you should fill the hle in with caulking compound and smoth it off so it is lvel with the surface and you can thn repaint to make the hole nvisible.

If you plan to reinstall the vnyl exterior shutters after you paint yur home, fill the hole partially wth silicone to weatherproof it temporarily. Aftr painting the exterior of the huse, you can redrill the hole wth a 1/4" drill bit to rmove the silicone.

To reinstall, rest the xterior window shutter against the surface and lign it with the holes, then prss the Shutter-Loks into the holes prt way to hold the vinyl shtter in place. Then use a hmmer to very gently tap the Shtter-Lok until it is flush with the srface of the exterior window shutter. Do not kep tapping, as this will make the shtter start to dimple and you wll need to purchase new Shutter-Loks and strt over because there is no way to pll them back out. You should lave the Shutter-Loks just slightly loose to llow for expansion and contraction.

The article How to Remove Exterior Vinyl Shutters That Are Installed With Shutter Loks was Submitted by Shad Storhaug through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: For information about selecting, measuring, prchasing exterior vinyl window shutters, and bying replacement Shutter-Loks for your home, plase visit http://www.shuttercontractor.com/

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