How to Build Cedar Shutters: DIY Board & Batten Guide

Board and batten is the most DIY-friendly wood shutters style there is — no louvers, no curves, just straight boards and crossbars. If you've got a saw, a drill, and an afternoon, here's how to build a pair of wood shutters from raw cedar.

What You'll Need

Cedar boards (1x4 or 1x6, kiln-dried), cedar 1x4 for the battens (the horizontal crossbars), exterior wood glue, exterior-grade screws, a circular or miter saw, a drill, wood clamps, sandpaper, and an exterior sealer or stain.

Step 1: Measure Your Window

Each shutter should be tall enough to match your window's height and roughly half the window's width, so a closed pair would visually cover the opening. Cedar boards typically run 3.5–5.5 inches wide, so a 14-inch-wide shutter usually takes 3 to 4 boards edge to edge.

Step 2: Cut Your Boards

Cut your vertical boards to the exact height needed. Lay them edge to edge on a flat surface (sawhorses work well) in the width and order you want — this is your shutter face before the battens go on.

Step 3: Attach the Battens

Battens are the horizontal boards that hold the vertical planks together and give board and batten its name. Standard placement is one batten a few inches from the top, one a few inches from the bottom, and one centered — three battens total for most shutter heights. Apply exterior wood glue to the back of each batten, position it across all the vertical boards, clamp, and drive screws through the batten into each board from the back. Countersink the screws so they don't show from the front.

Step 4: Sand and Finish

Sand all faces and edges smooth, easing any sharp corners. Apply an exterior-grade sealer, stain, or paint before mounting — finishing flat on sawhorses gives even coverage on edges and end grain that's much harder to reach once the shutter is on the wall. Cedar's natural tannins can bleed through light paint colors, so use a stain-blocking primer if you're painting rather than staining. Two coats, with light sanding between coats, gives the most durable finish.

Step 5: Mount the Shutters

Mounting method depends on what's behind your siding:

• Wood or fiber cement siding: drive exterior-grade screws through the shutter into the siding, ideally hitting a stud or sheathing.
• Brick: drill into the mortar joints rather than the brick face wherever possible, using a masonry bit and either plastic anchors or Tapcon screws.
• Vinyl siding: mount into the sheathing behind the vinyl rather than the vinyl itself, and leave a slight gap so the vinyl can still expand and contract with temperature.

For the full step-by-step on positioning, pre-drilling, and sealing screw holes, see our complete exterior shutter installation guide.

How Long Will DIY Wood Shutters Last?

Built from solid cedar with a good exterior finish, a DIY wood shutter should last as long as a manufactured one — 15 to 20+ years — provided the finish is maintained. The real variable isn't the wood, it's the joinery: battens screwed and glued (not just nailed) hold up far longer than a quick nail-only build, and a sealed back and edges prevent the moisture intrusion that causes most shutter failures.

Common DIY Mistakes

• Skipping the back seal — finishing only the front leaves the unfinished back and edges to absorb moisture and warp
• Nails instead of screws — nails work loose over years of temperature swings; screws with glue hold permanently
• Undersized shutters — the most common curb-appeal mistake, whether built or bought
• Skipping stain-blocking primer — cedar tannins will bleed through light paint within a season without it

When Buying Beats Building

A DIY board and batten shutter is a genuinely doable weekend project — but it is a full weekend, plus the cost of quality cedar boards, exterior fasteners, and finish. A ready-made pair of wood shutters from Dogberry's Traditional Board & Batten collection ships pre-finished in a range of colors, sized to your exact window height, with mounting hardware included — no cutting, no clamping battens square, no matching stain coats. If you want the DIY look without the DIY weekend, that's what it's built for.

Want the full picture before you build? Our complete guide to exterior wood shutters covers styles, benefits, and sizing.

Skip the build: shop solid cedar board & batten wood shutters, pre-finished and ready to mount, or browse the full Exterior Wood Shutters collection for other cedar styles.