How to refurbish the space behind Georgian window shutter leaves?

[sydbardo]

Hi
What is the most efficient way to refurbish space behind Georgian window shutter leaves? MDF board or application of line plaster and then application of white paint?
I currently have very coarse and patchy render coating full of fairly large gaps in between timber and wall.
Thanks

 

[a twig]

Definitely not MDF, I’m sure others will be along with more constructive suggestions soon, but I can say definitely not MDF

 

[Toby Newell]

The . Answer. Is. Never. MDF.

 

[sydbardo]

Hi
What is the most efficient way to refurbish space behind Georgian window shutter leaves? MDF board or application of line plaster and then application of white paint?
I currently have very coarse and patchy render coating full of fairly large gaps in between timber and wall.
Thanks

 

[Stevers]

A picture - thank you! There's something missing though, where are the shutters or even any sign of hinges?

We've got hinged shutters on the two big front windows of this 1879 stone house and they open out into a boxed splay. A previous owner made a very neat job of rendering the splays with a cement mortar of some description, and I just papered over the lovely smooth render as the previous owner had done. The joinery is all pine of some description, and I scumble grained it all to look a bit like oak (from a safe distance).

Your reveals have never have been decorated and the back of the boxes left unpainted which makes me wonder if there was once some proper fixed panelling in that reveal. I have improvised a number of faux panelled 'Shaker Style' doors in MDF for built-in cupboards, and I suppose something of that ilk painted all round in non-breathable oil paint would fill the obvious gap, but there would still need to be room for the shutters to fold into the space and I'm not convinced that would work.

 

[ThornhillMike]

Looks like someone's essentially ripped out your shutter boxes; big shame. I'm thankful ours remained intact (shutters removed for stripping). I'd be inclined to fit a nice wooden panel, but accept the void behind may need filling somehow first...

 

[overlander matt]

We had a room with two windows that had had the shutters removed. Luckily one pair of shutters had been left in a barn and the shutter boxing left in place in one window. The other strangely had had the boxing removed. We managed to copy (almost) everything and reinstate the shutters. In our case we swapped the side paneling from elsewhere in the house and replaced it with plain timber screwed to bearers on the brickwork.

Good luck with it!

Matt

 

[sydbardo]

Looks like someone's essentially ripped out your shutter boxes; big shame. I'm thankful ours remained intact (shutters removed for stripping). I'd be inclined to fit a nice wooden panel, but accept the void behind may need filling somehow first...

View attachment 11227

Hi
There is no sign of the shutter boxes but some of my windows have fairly smooth original surface, some have cement like addition. I am not sure why, perhaps repairs to window frames were carried or the boxes were never properly finished. The building was built in 1815, in the period when in just 10 years population of Edinburgh grew by over 30%. I suspect they had to build fast and perhaps took shortcuts.

 

[Cubist]

I suspect they had to build fast and perhaps took shortcuts.

Professional builders? Short cuts? Nah, couldn't be, very unlikely, far too scrupulous!