Even the sturdiest roller and plantation shutters get old and worn out and become stuck or broken. Fortunately for our clients, Modern Group has product warranties and provides full servicing upon request.
You can rely on our window shutter repair services if your shutters are not working as they should. If it’s a simple issue, you can try fixing your shutters first.
Caveat: If your Modern shutters are under warranty, the better course of action is to call an expert. Who will assess the damage or problem and perform the necessary repairs and replacements. Remember: if your shutters are still under warranty it’s better to call a Modern expert for any repairs and replacement, doing it yourself may void warranties.
Forcing a repair you don’t know for sure will work might cause irreparable damage.
Keeping the above reminders in mind, check out our shutter-fixing tips to learn how to repair plantation shutters and roller shutters.
What should you do if a slat breaks, your shutters stick, or the louvres won’t stay open? Below are a few common issues associated with plantation shutters and our recommendations about how to fix them.
Plantation shutters look so pretty precisely because of their louvres or slats, which are all uniformly sized and placed at exact intervals. It can be distressing to see one or more slats broken. Fortunately, it can be an easy fix,depending on the specific issue.
Clean the area to be filled before proceeding with your repair, and you must scrape off extra putty or sealant (and buff) afterwards. Note that slats with filled-in cracks won’t look as good as they did originally. Better yet, replace the cracked slats.
If a slat has become dislodged but the louvre itself is not damaged, check if the dowels connecting the slats to the stiles are broken. The shutter dowels hold the plantation shutter slats in place, connecting them to the stiles on the sides and allowing them to rotate open or shut.
If it’s a case of a broken pin, install a replacement pin. You can buy spring-loaded replacement pins online.
Move the dislodged slat out of its old place. Check the holes on the slats and the stile. If you see bits of the broken dowel or pin in them, clean them out with a utility knife. If that doesn’t work, you can use a drill bit.
Just be careful not to drill all the way that you break the stile or the slat. You simply want an adequately deep hole for the replacement pin.
What if the slats themselves are broken? You can replace them. Order a replacement slat from the company that supplied or installed your plantation shutter. Use the shutter pin from the old slat, if the new one doesn’t come with them, and install the replacement slat.
What if your louvres won’t stay open? It can be a different fix, depending on what the underlying issue is.
Sometimes, louvres won’t stay open because the screws holding the shutters are loose. Detach one side of the shutter panel from your window to access the sides of the stiles. Hold the slats steady, then use a Phillips screwdriver to tighten the tension screws on both stiles.
Your shutter panel may not be closing because it is misaligned. Use a spirit level to check if the shutter frame is straight. If it’s not, remove the shutter panel from the window frame and adjust the placement of the frame screws so the shutter panel is perfectly straight. This may be all you need to do to repair your shutters.
Roller shutters may be more complicated to fix by yourself. It’s best to get professional help, preferably from the company that installed them for you.
Of course, you can still try fixing your shutters yourself. The following tips may help.
Are the roller shutters stuck in one place – i.e., not rolling up or down? The fix depends on the cause.
Open the housing box and check if the pull straps are off track. If they are, roll up the shutters using your hands while feeding the cable into the correct track. The process is similar to getting a derailed bicycle chain back onto its derailleur. Close the housing once you’re done.
Could dirt be stuck in the roller mechanism, blocking it from rolling up and down? Are your shutters making squeaky noises?
Open the header box, unroll the shutter and check the tracks and rails of the shutter for clogging. Remove any accumulated dirt or stuck debris. Clean the entire assembly.
Once the tracks, rails and shutters are clean, apply oil to the moving parts. Close the housing, and try the shutter again to see if the rolling has become smoother.
Perhaps your shutters have dents and cracks. There may be no way to repair your shutters in this case. Seek some professional help, especially for severe denting and cracking that’s obstructing the shutters’ proper operation and function.
If your manual roller shutters are stuck because the winder is broken, you must replace the winder mechanism. Roll the shutter all the way down. Remove the faulty winder from the wall, remove the roller shutter tape from the old winder and attach it to the new winder. Attach the new winder to the wall.
Are your roller shutters vibrating significantly when you roll them up or down? Open the housing box by unscrewing the rivets holding the header box cover in place. Next, unroll the shutters so they’re all the way down. Once you do, you will see the T-strap hangers. Replace any that are broken.
Do your shutters feel extra hot? Let them rest and allow them to cool down for one or two hours before operating them again. It’s best to seek professional help to see if there are faulty motor issues that are causing your shutters to overheat.
You may be able to repair out-of-place and stuck slats on plantation shutters. It can be an easy matter of replacing the shutter pins.
However, repairing roller shutters, especially motorised ones, can be more challenging. Unless you have electrical and mechanical know-how, it is best to seek out professional shutter repair services.
In particular, if your Modern shutters are under warranty, call us and let a Modern expert technician assess the problem and make any repairs or replacements. Doing it yourself can void any warranties.
Modern Group is a trusted manufacturer and supplier of high-quality plantation and roller shutters and external aluminium louvres in Australia. We offer free consultation and fulfil professional servicing requests.
We can replace and repair shutters as needed and offer extensive warranties on our products. Contact us today for your shutter servicing and free consultation requests.
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