Home Window Shutters: Which Kind Is Right for You?
Plantation shutters are window treatments that are both classic and current that never goes out of style. Window shutters instantaneously alter the style of your home and complement any decor. Window shutters add real value to your home that is as practicable as they are beautiful, and they should last a lifetime. They are also a great source of insulation for your windows, keeping it cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Like any home investment, only plantation shutters of phenomenal quality will add long-term value and maximize appreciation. Window shutters come in lots of varieties including, Composite Wood, Real Wood, Vinyl, and Poly.
Composite wood shutters unify the warm look and richness of real wooden shutters with the durability and performance of composite plantation shutters. More economical than real wood, they will function well with your family’s active lifestyle, because are scratch resistant, humidity resistant and washable making them less open to environmental effects. Manufactured from a unique wooden composite material, ordinarily MDF, they are impossible to distinguish from real wooden plantation shutters. Louver sizes range from 1 7/8″ to 4 1/2″. Typically they only come in shades of white, but a few manufacturers offer some wood tone colors. The composite material tends to sag at extended widths, so individual panels can just be built to 30″ to 34″ wide
Real wood plantation shutters are assembled from a multitude of types of wood most commonly Basswood, Poplar, Pine, Western Red Cedar, and Knotty or Select Alder. They may be custom built to your specifications with the options of framing material, either painted or stain, and louver sizes varying from 1 1/4″ to 5 1/2″. Real wood is lighter and more stable than composite, so larger single panels can be made in sizes up to 36″ to 50″ wide. Real wood is not suitable for high humidity areas like some of the other kinds of window shutters are.
Vinyl plantation shutters are an easy-to-care-for alternative. They’re durable, and for those with small children, they offer an option that is easily cleaned. They likewise handle difficult environments well, such as high humidity areas. Louver sizes are 2 1/2″, 3 1/2″, and 4 1/2″. They can be manufactured at wider widths with use of aluminum reinforcing rods on the inside. These window shutters are hollow and need caps to cover the ends of the components. This can be unattractive to a number of people.
Poly plantation shutters are manufactured with a solid PVC polymer material that won’t chip, crack, warp or split. They should be coated with hard baked on finish to it safeguard from dents. It is moisture resistant, fire resistant, and impervious to termites (as is vinyl). Louver sizes additionally come in 2 1/2″, 3 1/2″, and 4 1/2″. Poly has aluminum tubing molded into the components to give rigidity at wider widths, usually up 36″ wide for a single panel. They look the same as wood shutters, but just come in shades of white.
Plantation shutters provide excellent energy effectiveness. Not just do window shutters insulate from temperature extremes, but they further are excellent for sound insulation. Window shutters are an asset that will be appraised into the value of your house. They are both beautiful and sturdy. Window shutters should be considered fine furniture for you windows. They are absolutely a lifetime investment.