Which shutter co. should I go with?

Paris167

New member
I know there are many threads on shutters ( sorry test) but I wanted to highlight 3 companies - any thoughts on which I should go with?
Prices are similar. Good recs in general onTI for these companies. Anyone have a great or bad experience with either of these companies?

- window decorators
- golden west
- OC shutters

We're going with basswood - would you say Norman is better than Sunland and why?

Since prices are very similar, just off by a few hundred, we want quality over price.

Thanks for any input you can offer.
 
Paris said:
I know there are many threads on shutters ( sorry test) but I wanted to highlight 3 companies - any thoughts on which I should go with?
Prices are similar. Good recs in general onTI for these companies. Anyone have a great or bad experience with either of these companies?

- window decorators
- golden west
- OC shutters

We're going with basswood - would you say Norman is better than Sunland and why?

Since prices are very similar, just off by a few hundred, we want quality over price.

Thanks for any input you can offer.
If you know you want basswood, you can eliminate windows decorators. I think they pretty much like to just sell Sunland Polycore. They might offer Norman as well, not sure.

Golden West and OC Shutters do not sell either Sunland or Norman. They make their own basswood and have the best reputations if you want basswood. Golden West might be a very tiny notch above OC Shutters.

I had OC Shutters and WinDeco come over. OC Shutters is great, you aren't really going to go wrong with either OC Shutters basswood or Sunland through WinDeco.

That said, from what I could tell, OC Shutters or Golden West aren't really going to bargain much. You might get a few hundred off or so, nothing very big.

But Sunland from WinDeco should be 25-30% cheaper than the other two. You can bargain with WinDeco and ask for 25-30% off what you're getting quoted from the other two. They very likely will give it you without a huge hassle.

Just your choice whether you really want basswood or are ok with Sunland polycore. Advantage of the latter is durability and insulation. Advantage of the former is little better fit/finish, option of having a wood colored shutter or if having "real" wood matters to you.
 
I had Golden West shutters in my new home and very satisfy with the product, installation and overall service.  Golden West also did all the shutters for Irvine Pacific's model homes so you can visit Strada's model home and check out their quality.  Golden West make their own shutter at their own factory and they encourage you to visit their factory.

I paid about $22/sq.ft for Golden West's shutter.  It's more expensive then others but I feel their quality is worth it.


Here's my review of Golden West Shutter from the shutter thread.
lnc said:
Got my shutters from Golden West Shutters and just want give some updates for this thread.  If you read the previous few post involves qwerty, you will appreciate just how important a window covering is. :)

I only had Express Blinds and Golden West Shutters came out for a quote.  I don't know how ZeroLot  and others here have the energy to checkout several dozen vendors, I'm pretty much done with just one. 

With 3.5" louver, clear view (hidden tilt) Express Blinds quote me $16.77/ sq.ft. and Golden West Shutters quote me $22/sq.ft.  The Golden West's price also includes seamless frame option (cost 5% more) which Express Blinds don't offer.

I end up picking Golden West. The sales guy keep calling us back to follow up on us and keep inviting us to visit their shutter factory.  The Express blinds,  I didn't hear anything from them after the initial contact.  Golden West has this optional seamless frame I really like where the inner frame is in one piece instead of 4 section nail together and they caulk the seams in the outer frame and painted over to mask the seams.  Seamless frame cost 5% (little over $1/ sq.ft.) more but it give the shutter a more clean look.  Since I didn't have too many windows, the differences in prices between Express Blinds and Golden West is not that big, so I end up using Golden West.

Just had them installed few days ago and very please with the final product.  The design and quality are better than Hunter Douglas's I had in my previous home. The installer was fantastic, he even paint the joint/seam area of the outer frame so the seams are not visible.  Overall I'm very please with the shutter and the product is worth its price.
 
We are in the process of selecting a company for shutters. We have looked at their products very closely. I think Golden West shutters seem like real basswood and much better quality than all the rest.
 
Thanks for the input. I think I'm now between golden west and OC shutters.

Do you think it's worth paying extra for clear view? I like the traditional look and don't mind the bar in the middle but don't want up end up choosing an outdated product that may affect future resale.
 
Paris said:
Thanks for the input. I think I'm now between golden west and OC shutters.

Do you think it's worth paying extra for clear view? I like the traditional look and don't mind the bar in the middle but don't want up end up choosing an outdated product that may affect future resale.

Choice between clear view or tilt rod is just a matter of personal preference.  Clear view is very popular nowadays but there's nothing wrong going with center tilt rod.

If you do decided to go with conventional shutter with center tilt rod, make sure the louvers can stay close properly.  I had this problem with my conventional tilt rod shutter (by Hunter Douglas) on my previous home.  The tilt rod is unable to stay lock to the small recess notch on the frame and with the weight of the rod, it will keep the louver slightly open.  I end up placing a small piece of folded paper to jam the tilt rod in the notch so the louver can stay complete shut.  I don't have this issue with any of clear view shutters.

Not sure how Golden West's or OC Shutter's conventional tilt rod shutter do in this matter but just make sure you check one out before you make the final decision. 
 
is there any reason to have the tilt rod over clear view?  while a personal preference, i think most people would rather have clearview.
 
My friend wishes she had spent the money to get rid of the rod. I don't think anyone that went clearview wishes they had gotten the rod.
 
I think maybe because I'm used to it with my current shutters I like the traditional look of the rod in the middle. The clear view looks odd, somehow incomplete to me.

But I'm still deciding between traditional vs clear view. Too many decisions and price is so similar with many of these companies.

Qwerty what shutter co did you guys go with?
 
Paris said:
I think maybe because I'm used to it with my current shutters I like the traditional look of the rod in the middle. The clear view looks odd, somehow incomplete to me.

But I'm still deciding between traditional vs clear view. Too many decisions and price is so similar with many of these companies.

Qwerty what shutter co did you guys go with?

Something like budget blinds. I'll doublecheck and post the name. They did a really good job. No issues. Kevin is the owner. Lives in irvine. Definitely not the cheapest but good service and install. He owns the franchise with his wife, the corporate company was on the tv show undercover boss.
 
Clearview is way easier to clean.  Just run a microfiber cloth all the way across in one fell swoop.  You can clean a huge window in about 20 seconds.

Takes probably half the time as cleaning the ones with the rod, and even when you clean those inevitably you leave dust around the rod part. 

Paris, I suggest you also give Bella Blinds a call:http://www.yelp.com/biz/bella-blinds-laguna-niguel

The owner is Derek he does everything himself from the measuring to the estimate to the order placement to the install. 

He only does Sunland Poly but I found his price to be quite affordable compared to the other 3 estimates I got. 

Like most, he orders from China and it takes around 6-7 weeks or you can pay ~$1k extra and get it in 2 weeks made locally.
 
I also used Bella Blinds based on Aquabliss's recommendation.  As mentioned earlier, Derek is a one-man show.  He wasn't the cheapest, but not the most expensive either.  The quotes didn't vary that much anyway (within a few hundred dollars) including real basswood from Golden West.  In the end, I picked poly over basswood due to moisture concerns in the bathroooms (as well as better insulation and less potential for termites).

I liked Derek for 2 main reasons:

1.  Even for my large windows, he was able to do a single panel whereas other companies wanted to do a double (which would cut down on natural light coming through).

2.  He is very meticulous with the install (using actual screws instead of a nailgun to fasten the shutters to the wall) and caulking around the frames so there isn't a gap between the frame and the wall (as I understand, most installers do not do this).
 
Golden West shutters felt much lighter than the poly and the Orange County company basswood shutters. I was also debating between traditional and clear view but after reading the previous comments may decide on clear view.


 
akimyai said:
I also used Bella Blinds based on Aquabliss's recommendation.  As mentioned earlier, Derek is a one-man show.  He wasn't the cheapest, but not the most expensive either.  The quotes didn't vary that much anyway (within a few hundred dollars) including real basswood from Golden West.  In the end, I picked poly over basswood due to moisture concerns in the bathroooms (as well as better insulation and less potential for termites).

I liked Derek for 2 main reasons:

1.  Even for my large windows, he was able to do a single panel whereas other companies wanted to do a double (which would cut down on natural light coming through).

2.  He is very meticulous with the install (using actual screws instead of a nailgun to fasten the shutters to the wall) and caulking around the frames so there isn't a gap between the frame and the wall (as I understand, most installers do not do this).

We're thinking of going with 100% basswood. Is termites and moisture in bathrooms that much of a concern? I didn't 't think about termites...

I thought the lighter the better - I heard polycore can warp over time. OC shutters said they used to do polycore but stopped recently due to many issues they were running into.

And I wanted a slightly different color than white - a light cream or Swiss coffee color shutter - which also supports basswood
 
Shopping for shutters can be very confusing.

If you talk to people at Golden West, they will say basswood is the best and poly/MDF are no good (in fact they have both Sunland and Norman examples in their showroom to demonstrate the "inferior" quality).

When I asked about doing wood in the bathrooms, they said, "No problem... look at the wood cabinets in your bathroom.  You don't worry about those, do you?"  He had a good point, yet doing wood shutters in the wet areas just didn't sit well with me. When you take a shower, the moisture doesn't condense on the cabinets.  It condenses on your mirrors and windows... precisely where your wood shutters will be.  It is for this reason that I went with poly.

I don't think you have to worry about termites if you don't plan on staying in the house for more than 7 years.

Poly is definitely much heavier than wood.  Wood, ironically, is the lightest of all materials.  There really is no right answer... just do what works best for you after considering all of the pro's and cons to make an informed decision.

Poly, btw, also comes in off-white, cream, ivory, etc.  But white is the most popular.  The advantage of wood is if you want to stain it to show the wood grain.
 
So I decided to go with OC Shutters because they offered $15.95/sqft - isn't that a good price? And it's for 100% basswood, the quality looked really nice. And so far their customer service has been superior. Window decorators hasn't even called to follow up - business must be amazing for them so they have no time. And golden west I got a bad vibe from the owner, he offered a certain discount and then didn't remember that he offered it...rubbed me the wrong way. And his prices were $1500 more than OC shutters. It's shutters, even if those shutters are made of gold I can't justify paying that price difference for shutters that look similar to me between the 2 companies

Thanks for all your input TI  ;D
 
Paris said:
So I decided to go with OC Shutters because they offered $15.95/sqft - isn't that a good price?

It's that the price for the clear view or the conventional w/ tilt rod?

If it's for conventional shutter with center tilt rod, the price is really good.
If it's for clear view, the price is awesome. 

Either you have an awesome haggling skill or you pull a "Paris" on the poor vendor.  :p

     
 
lnc said:
Paris said:
So I decided to go with OC Shutters because they offered $15.95/sqft - isn't that a good price?

It's that the price for the clear view or the conventional w/ tilt rod?

If it's for conventional shutter with center tilt rod, the price is really good.
If it's for clear view, the price is awesome. 

Either you have an awesome haggling skill or you pull a "Paris" on the poor vendor.  :p

   

Lol! I decided to go with the traditional, for some reason I just didn't warm up to the clear view. But regardless compared to other vendors OC shutters was much better prices and their quality is pretty good. And the service guy was great - nice, informative and no pressure sales. For some reason the golden west guy kept calling at inopportune times and was getting annoying. And the window decorators was just absent after sending me a quote - extreme opposites
 
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