Shutters – How to Buy Them
What Should you Consider When Buying Shutters?
Today, you can buy shutters made out of many different materials, but bear in mind, they aren’t all equal. Shutters also come in a range of shapes and sizes. You can get anything from traditional white shutters to super contemporary looks and clean lines. That makes it even more important to have an overview of what is available and the material that best suits your home and needs. Your first steps are deciding on the style and material for your shutters.
Shutters started out being made of wood and wooden shutters are still the benchmark for quality window coverings. Quality wood shutters are designed to last for the lifetime of your home. However, there are many valid imitations on the market that could be right for you. You may live in a wet climate and appreciate the fact that aluminum or vinyl shutters won’t suffer water damage.
Outdoor shutters are made from aluminum, fiberglass, vinyl and wood. Wooden and fiberglass shutters are as beautiful as they are traditional, but they are considerably more expensive than vinyl shutters.
Choosing the Style
Your next step is choosing the style of shutters. The different shutter styles include louvered, paneled, joined board and spaced board. The style that you pick is usually just based on how you like the way that they look.
The Comfortex Plantation 2 1/2″ Shutter Blind Faux Wood Blinds combine the elegant look of a plantation shutter with the ease and function of a blind. The 2 1/2″ “louver” slat ensures a clear view when open.
You can also get an arch window treatment designed to look like the sunburst arches commonly seen with plantation shutters. This adds a rich look to your room and comes in 3 white colors.
Paint Color or Finish?
You can choose a color that matches the exterior color of your home or contrasts. If you’re painting all the trim work in a different color than the house, choose that color for your shutters, as well.
Most shutters can be stained or painted. Almost all companies offer a number of paints with stain colors. Paint colors will generally include a variety of whites and lights. The stains will help enhance wood grains in a number of tints and tones, starting from light natural tones to an almost black pitch and protect the wood. Keep in mind, that both synthetic and wood composite shutters can’t be stained. They must be ordered in the color you want.
Consider the Price
Because shutters are made with different materials, shutters come in a wide range of prices, with many suppliers calculating the price on the square foot. Prices are calculated based on the exact window size, shutter, style, finish, and number of panels involved.
Making a Decision
Shutter units can use a number of different panel configurations within a window. The number of panels across the shutter is determined by the shutter style, traditional or plantation, and the width of the window. The traditional style panels are normally narrower than the plantation style and would use more panels across the window.
Each specific company offers guidelines for the number of panels to be used with a window. If the window is tall enough, you may want to consider a double tier, or two tier shutter unit that uses one set of shutters at the top and one set at the bottom.
Each set of shutters will then open independently on the other. You can also use a divider rail, which is is a horizontal bar that creates a top and bottom louver section within a single style of panel.
Measure and order
Carefully follow the measuring instructions, then determine the window type and installation provided by the company you have selected. The directions should be detailed, yet very easy for you to follow.
The company should also offer phone assistance should you have any questions.
Installing
If you plan to install the shutters yourself, you need to order the hardware that goes along with the shutters. You’ll probably need to get shutter locks, hooks, hinges and shutter clips. Check with the manufacterer for specifics. Most provide installation videos.