How to assemble the Easy Fit Shutter Kit
Easy reading
Read the simple instructions in Technical stuff below to find out how easy fitting DIY shutters really is!
• Interlocking shutter frames for quick and easy assembly.
• Pre-drilled frame with fixing points.
• Pre-fitted adjustable matching hinges with drop-in hinge-pins for easy fitting.
• Pre-fitted magnets to save you time
You can also download the instructions here.
Technical stuff
Easy Fit Shutter Kit - Assembling the kit
Unpacking the boxes
The shutter panels, frames and battens are packed separately. Fittings are packed at the end of one of the shutter boxes which are all labelled with the relevant room names.
Stand the shutter panels against a wall with the mouse hole at the top and control rods facing towards you.
Tip - Unpack each box in the rooms they are to be fitted and take care to locate the fittings before you discard of the boxes.
Removing the insert from the frame
Lift the insert from one end and carefully run your thumb down the length of the frame inside the grove or with the Standard DIY shutters, slide the insert out. Take care not to bend the insert.
Assemble the outer frame
Lay the frame face down on the floor taking note of the green ‘left, right, top, and bottom’ labels at the ends of the frame and insert the white interlocking keys into the mitres at the corners, you may need a hammer to knock them in.
Important: Handle the shutter panels and frame with care once assembled they are not designed to be twisted, lift them both together, not the frame on its own.
Tip - On large windows pin the corners of the frame together with small pin nails to help keep the mitre joints together. (Elite or wooden frames only)
Fitting the DIY shutters into the frame
Turn the frame over so the frame is facing upwards, connect any bi-folding shutter panels together using the hinge pins. The far left and right shutter will have straight sides and flat hinges, the centre panels will have interlocking joints and no hinges where the doors meet.
The mouse hole indicates the top of the panel, the control rod indicates the front. Carefully place them into the frame and slide the final pin downwards from the top into the hinge to lock the frame and shutter panels together.
Use the hinge pins with removable heads for the top hinges so you can remove your DIY shutters when fitted inside the recess.
Note: On large windows and some bays the frames are lifted onto the window frame without the shutters so they can be levelled first, this will be indicated on the relevant fitting instructions.
IMPORTANT: When hinges with removable heads are not supplied place the top hinge pin in the top hinge before the frame is lifted into the recess otherwise you will not be able to fit the pin due to the high position of the hinge.
Adjusting the shutters to height (if required)
Ensure there is an equal 2mm gap between the bottom of the shutter panels and frame by adjusting the hinge height. Loosen the hinge screws a little and slide the shutter doors up and down and re-tighten. Hinge packers can be slid in between the hinge and frame to allow further adjustment. Leave the final centre screw until all the panels have been fitted.
Fitting to the window
Once you have assembled the kit, you can ask Sam about adapting the easyfit shutter kit for the following windows:
• Wooden
• UPVC
• Crittall
• Sash
• Bays
• Shapes
• Patio doors
Sams tips
Packaging
The actual panels and frame are not labelled, so ensure both boxes containing the panels and the shutter frame are in the correct rooms before un-packing.
Space
Make sure you have enough room to lay the outer frame out on the floor for assembly.
Correct position
You can clamp the DIY shutters together with a small clamp if you have one to help keep them in the correct position during fitting, this is useful when fitting top opening.
Tight Pins
Loosen the hinge screws a little to allow the pin to drop into position.
Hinge packers
To help line up the panels within the frame, plastic hinge packers are supplied. You don’t need to take the screws right out, but just enough to slide the packers in behind the hinge. These are also useful to use as spacers when adjusting the shutter height within the frame.
Lining up top opening shutters
Use a hinge packer as a spacer in between the top and bottom set to help keep everything square. Drilling an extra fixing hole in the frame at the point where the top and bottom set split will help you line up the shutter panels, as you can push the frame in/out to get the right gap.
Louvre blades
Do not lift the shutter doors by the louvre blades, place your hands through the blades and hold the sides of the shutter.
Fitting tips
TOP TIP
To ensure fitting will be easy, check that the shutter doors fit squarely inside the frame before lifting into position. This will make sure the frame is square when fitted. It is worth taking the time to get this right. If you are having trouble lining-up the doors it will be due to the frame being out of square.
Extra fixing points
You can add extra fixing holes in the frame to allow you to move the shutter frame in or out to help line up the shutter doors, by angling the holes towards the window frame it allows you to fit to smaller window surfaces.
Louvre blades
To adjust the louvre blade tension, tighten or loosen the screws in the side of actual shutter doors.
Twisted window
If your window is twisted and the shutter doors do not stay back in the frame, pack out one corner of the frame with a 2-3mm piece of wood or move the hinge forward a little in the frame. This will take the twist out of the frame. Use flexible filler to fill any light lines that appear behind the frame.
Top opening
If you have difficulty getting the top and bottom sets to line up, then move a ‘Support Button’ from the underneath of the shutter doors and re-fix it in between the sets of shutter doors on the underneath of the top set, to support the weight and help keep the shutter doors closed securely. Panel feet are only fitted on Standard and Basswood DIY shutters.
