Shutter Installation Video
Call us for a free in-home estimate at 877-333-9424. Read More
What Are The Best Bathroom And Kitchen Shutters?
This is very simple. The best shutters for bathrooms and kitchens that are not only durable and long-lasting but have a beautiful appearance are foamed synthetic shutters such as Duracore Shutters™. They are water-resistant, easy-to-clean, and will withstand the moisture conditions of a kitchen or bathroom, while looking like a top-quality wood shutter.
Read MoreHow To Find The Best Deal On Shutters
As a homeowner, you can definitely find high quality shutters at a reasonable price. Your best bet is to gather a little product knowledge so that you know which shutter you will be happiest with-that way you will get the best deal available for your shutters. The fact is that there are many different kinds of shutters available to you, but some are definitely better than others. Because shutters tend to be more expensive than other window coverings, you will want to make the right choice-an informed choice-before meeting with a salesperson.
By taking a few minutes to make a truly informed choice, you can save money and enjoy the finest shutters on the market. A fine shutter should last virtually as long as a home does, requiring only minimal maintenance and cleaning, and provide all of the beauty and ease of use that you’re looking for. It should hold its value and come with a transferable warranty. Make sure that the warranty for your shutters is either lifetime for synthetic or at least 25 years for wood, and that the shutter warranty includes service and covers construction, installation, moving parts, and the painted or stained finish. Taking these things into consideration should enable you to find a great shutter deal.
Shutters are either made of wood or synthetic material. Wood shutters tend to be more expensive and there are many different kinds of wood available-basswood, incense cedar, alder, poplar, engineered wood, and so on. For most homes, basswood is the preferred wood. It is a stable, light hardwood that holds a beautiful finish well. And because basswood shutters are less expensive than most other wood shutters, it is not only the preferred wood but also a great value. Depending upon the vendor, a homeowner should be able to find great basswood shutters on sale for a dollar price ranging from the mid-$20’s to the mid-$60’s per square foot, more if they are stained rather than painted.
Synthetic shutters basically come in three grades: hollow plastic, composite, and foamed synthetic. Although hollow plastic shutters (called plastic, vinyl, etc.) may be found at really low prices-even $18 per square foot-they look plasticky and will soon usually wear and tear, discoloration, and broken parts within a few years. We advise homeowners to avoid such products. Composite grade shutters usually combine a kind of wood strip or particle board such as MDF with a painted or plastic-coated finish. They often have a fine appearance at first but are also vulnerable to wear and tear and weathering. For the same or slightly higher price point than medium-grade composite shutters, you can purchase foamed synthetic shutters, which are the premium synthetic shutter available today. The best foamed synthetic shutters are reinforced with an inner aluminum frame for greater stability. They are not only beautiful but are the most durable shutters out there. And they are very energy efficient and often certified green building materials. You can get a great deal on foamed synthetic shutters, with a square foot price ranging from the mid-$20’s to the mid-$60’s. At The Shutter Source, we offer a superb foamed synthetic shutter, Duracore Shutters™, which we feel is the finest shutter on the market today.
You can read more about the different kinds of shutters available on A Consumer’s Guide to Shutter Construction and Material, featured on our website, or call us at 1-877-333-9424!
Read More
How Do I Clean Shutters?
One of the best things about your shutters is that they are so easy to clean!
Wood shutters should be dusted with a microfiber dusting cloth, preferably and most easily from the reverse side. For major cleaning, a slightly damp cloth and handwashing liquid is safe. Make sure that the shutter is left completely dry when you’re finished with its cleaning! If you prefer to use furniture polish, make sure that it is clearly marked “non-yellowing.” All polishes may affect the ability to refinish a shutter in the future, so be careful, and avoid solvents or abrasive cleaners.
Some synthetic shutters, including foamed synthetics such as Duracore Shutters™, are waterproof and may be safely cleaned with a slightly damp cloth, maybe with a little dish soap if necessary. Since shutters like Duracore Shutters™ are dust-resistant, most of the time they will only require dusting with a soft material.
Never take shutters into your backyard for a spray down, especially wood shutters!
If a professional housecleaner cleans your home, make sure they’re briefed on these handy tips for cleaning shutters.
Remember that shutters are very easy to clean so long as you follow these helpful tips!
Read MoreHow Long Have You Been In The Shutter Business?
Irv, How long have you been in the shutter business?
I’ve been working in the shutter industry right from the start. The modern shutter industry was in its infancy when I was a teenager. I needed a summer job and started working in the production department at Paul Heinley Shutters, building shutters, and have had my finger on the pulse of the industry ever since.
There really was no shutter industry before Paul Heinley. Paul and his wife discovered the beauty of shutters while visiting New Orleans in 1943. She fell in love with their beauty and functionality. Paul was a design engineer for Hughes Aircraft whose hobby was wood-working. He made some shutters for his wife for her birthday, started building shutters for friends and within a few years was famous nationwide. When I joined his company, its reputation for strict adherence to quality and design made it the leading shutter company of its day and helped inspire the popularity of shutters today. Learning the shutter business at Heinley was challenging yet fun. I loved the machinery and the creative process of building something. I loved the smell of the factory and the challenge of meeting their perfectionist standards.
After mastering the art of shutters, I started my own shutter company. I’ve always enjoyed working with a wide variety of people, helping customers find solutions for their home, and enjoyed the creative process of design and manufacturing.
How was the shutter industry different then?
In the early days of the shutter industry, the material of choice was Sugar Pine. There were no synthetic shutters. The overall quality in the industry was much higher in those days, quality now ranges from excellent to poor, depending upon the product a homeowner selects. Prices were two to three times higher then, adjusted for inflation! That’s why, at The Shutter Source, I emphasize “the best shutters at the best price.”
What is the most beautiful shutter installation that you participated in?
I’ve done over 14,000 jobs to date in my career, many of them strikingly beautiful. We just finished a job north of Sacramento in an A-frame mountain home. You can see photos of it on our website. It is beautiful and spectacular. A while back we did an onion-dome shaped shutter installation that was pretty striking. And we once built a 23 foot tall shutter installation as a room divider and a 70 foot wide glass wall, on a single overhead track. This creative solution allowed a developer to get $30,000 more for his units.
What is important to you in delivering customer service?
We work hard to ensure that our customers are happy with their shutters, to exceed their expectations when we deliver and install their shutters. There are times when that can be a challenge. It makes me happy to see the smiles on customers’ faces when their shutters are installed in their home.
Irv, why should homeowners choose The Shutter Source?
I believe that we offer the ability to accomplish almost anything in our business from the exquisite small job that puts the finishing touch in a library or the hotel that wanted us to install 500 windows in four days. We can do these things with grace, competence, and style.
Although known for our mastery of fine wood shutters, our most popular product is Duracore Shutters™. I believe that the Duracore Shutters™ are absolutely the finest on the market today. It is not only beautiful but stays beautiful for many, many years, probably lasting as long as the home. It is the most durable and long-lasting shutter on the market. Duracore Shutters™ are water-proof, dust resistant, scratch resistant, energy efficient, Green-certified, and come with a lifetime transferable warranty. We offer it at a very low price.
We are a relatively small company and try our hardest to deliver a wonderful product that is installed to our standards, which in most cases is higher than our customer’s expectations. We do this at a terrific value with a smile. We are very versatile and our people are the best of the best. I love it when we exceed customers’ expectations and invite customers to call me personally about their experience once we install their shutters in their home. After more than forty years in the shutter business, the beauty and functionality of the shutters and the smiles on customers’ faces are still what inspires me.
Read More