On the interior of Montpelier an effort was made to reinstall every Madison-era architectural artifact found during the deconstruction process.   However, a different standard was used on the exterior since the artifacts would be exposed to the weather.  While some artifacts, such as a fragment of the ca. 1764 cornice found in the garret, were reinstalled on the exterior, other elements were not.  In the case of the shutters, it was decided not to reinstall the shutters due to their poor condition.  Because they were so damaged, fully restoring the shutters would have resulted in a tremendous loss of Madison-era fabric.  Additionally, reexposing the shutters to the weather would have also caused them to start deteriorating again, which would again result in a loss of Madison material.  This decision was not made lightly and while it would have been incredible to have the original shutters re-hung on the Mansion, it was ultimately decided that it was more important to preserve the shutters for future exhibitions and study.