Vinyl exterior shutters - Can they be functional?

Q: Can exterior vinyl shutters be hinged and made functional so that they can close over windows?

A: Exterior vinyl shutters are not meant to be functional shutters for the fact that they have hollow backs rather than made of a solid material as that of wooden shutters.

Vinyl shutters are very durable once affixed to the home with at least 6 screws or other mounting hardware and will withstand most any climate or weather conditions. One large perk when purchasing vinyl exterior shutters is that they are incredibly low maintenance and only require an occasional washing to keep them looking clean and new.

Another advantage of vinyl shutters is if ordering colored shutters you won't need to worry about painting them as the material is uniform in color all the way through. However, do be sure to read the manufacturers specs if you wish to eventually paint colored shutters because the material may not hold paint very well.

In the instances of wanting to change shutter colors every so often be sure to order "paintable" vinyl shutters. The material in colored shutters versus paintable shutters is slightly different so that the paintable shutters will hold paint and withstand exterior weather elements until they need to be re-painted after time.