If you've been looking for brick clips for shutters, you probably already know how scary it is to pull out a masonry bit and start drilling into the side of your house. It's one of those DIY tasks that feels high-stakes because, let's be honest, if you mess up a hole in wood, you can wood-putty it and move on. If you crack a brick or blow out a mortar joint, you're looking at a much more expensive repair. That's why these little metal clips are such a game-changer for homeowners who want to add some personality to their exterior without the permanent commitment of bolts and anchors.
Why Skip the Drill?
The main reason people gravitate toward using brick clips for shutters is the fear of permanence. Bricks are tough, but they're also brittle. When you drill into them, you're creating a path for water to get behind the brick face. Over time, especially in places where it freezes, that water expands and can cause the brick to "spall" or flake off. It's a mess.
Then there's the aesthetic side of things. Maybe you love those dark navy shutters today, but five years from now, you might decide you want a completely different look—or maybe no shutters at all. If you used traditional mounting hardware, you're left with ugly holes in your masonry. Brick clips just snap on and off, leaving the house exactly the way you found it. This makes them a dream for anyone living in a rental or a historical home where you're strictly forbidden from altering the exterior.
How Do These Things Actually Work?
If you've never seen them in person, you might be skeptical. How does a tiny piece of metal hold up a whole shutter? It's all about tension and the "lip" of your brick. These clips are usually made of spring steel. They have a little sawtooth edge or a hook that grabs onto the top and bottom edges of an individual brick.
Because the clip is under tension, it bites into the brick and stays put. Most versions are rated to hold quite a bit of weight—sometimes up to 25 pounds per clip—which is more than enough for your standard vinyl or lightweight wood shutters. You basically just hook the bottom, stretch it over the top, and let it snap into place. It's surprisingly sturdy once it's on there.
The One Big Catch: Your Mortar Joints
Before you go out and buy a whole box of brick clips for shutters, you have to look closely at your walls. These clips rely on what's called a "recessed" mortar joint. This means the mortar (the stuff between the bricks) needs to be set back a little bit from the face of the brick. This creates a tiny ledge for the clip to grab onto.
If your mortar is "flush"—meaning it's level with the surface of the brick—or if it's "over-grouted" where it spills over the edges, the clips won't have anything to hang onto. I've seen people try to chip away a little mortar to make them work, but at that point, you're back to damaging the house, which defeats the whole purpose. So, take a minute to go outside and run your finger along the brick. If there's a lip of at least 1/8th of an inch, you're usually good to go.
Measuring the Brick Height
Not all bricks are the same size, which is a mistake a lot of people make. You'll see "Standard" brick clips, but there are also "Queen," "King," and "Roman" sizes. You need to measure the height of your brick specifically. Most clips have a small range of adjustment, but if you buy a clip for a 2.5-inch brick and yours are 3 inches tall, you're going to be frustrated. Measure twice, buy once—it'll save you a trip back to the store.
Putting Them to Use
Installing brick clips for shutters is probably the fastest home improvement project you'll ever do. You'll want to start by cleaning the bricks where the clips will sit. Use a stiff brush to get rid of any loose sand or old spider webs. If the surface is gritty, the clip might slide around a bit, and we want it to stay put.
Once the clips are snapped onto the bricks at the heights you've chosen, you just need to attach the shutters to the clips. Most clips have a small hole or a hook mechanism. If you're using vinyl shutters, they're usually hollow in the back, which makes it easy to hook them right on. For solid wood shutters, you might need to screw a small eye-bolt or a mounting bracket into the back of the shutter itself, which then hooks onto the brick clip.
The beauty here is that you're only "damaging" the shutter, not the house. If you mess up the placement on the back of the shutter, nobody will ever see it.
Dealing With Wind and Weight
One thing to keep in mind is that while these clips are great for vertical weight (gravity), they can be a little nervous when it comes to high winds. If you live in an area that gets hit with heavy storms or hurricanes, you might want to use a few extra clips per shutter just to be safe.
Most people use two clips per shutter—one near the top and one near the bottom. If your shutters are extra tall or a bit heavy, adding a third clip in the middle is a cheap insurance policy. It distributes the load and gives the shutter more contact points against the wall, so it's less likely to rattle when the wind picks up.
A quick tip: If you find the shutters are vibrating or making a "clacking" sound against the brick in the breeze, you can stick some small adhesive rubber bumpers (the kind you use for cabinet doors) on the back corners of the shutters. This cushions the contact and keeps things quiet.
Are They Right for Every Shutter?
Let's be real—if you're hanging heavy, functional wrought-iron or solid oak shutters that you actually intend to close over the windows, brick clips for shutters might not be the best call. Those require heavy-duty hinges bolted deep into the structure.
But for decorative shutters? The ones that just sit there and look pretty? These clips are perfect. Most modern shutters are purely for show anyway. They give the house that classic look without the weight or the maintenance of functional hardware. For these "dummy" shutters, there's really no reason to drill into your masonry if you don't have to.
Final Thoughts on Maintenance
The best part about using a clip system is that maintenance becomes a breeze. Every couple of years, you might want to take the shutters down to wash the dirt and cobwebs out from behind them. With drilled-in shutters, that's a massive chore involving unscrewing rusty bolts. With brick clips for shutters, you just lift them off, hose down the wall, scrub the shutters on the grass, and snap them back on when they're dry.
It's one of those rare DIY solutions that actually works as well as it claims to. It saves your brick, saves your time, and honestly, saves your sanity. If you've been staring at a bare brick wall and wishing it had a little more color, go grab a tape measure and check your mortar joints. You might be just a few clips away from a totally different-looking house.