Shutters

[Roger]

I put in my order with Pacific Windecor (finally!). 

Hopefully everything goes off well. I am getting a mix of woven wood shades and norman shutters. More expensive than I expected (for 12 windows, 1 small balcony door and a slider door) but we have huge windows. And I didn't really negotiate except to ask if he was giving me his best price..lol. His quote was lower than the other company I vetted so I had no basis for bargaining.

Arvind was very patient- we met a few times (even before I said I was going to go with him) so I could confirm my choices of the colors for the shades and the choice of frames. So there was nothing to fault in terms of customer service. Fingers crossed that the installation quality is also as good.

We will have Arvind come over this weekend - when he gave you estimate did you ask for how many square-ft total that he was quoting for?

 

[whome]

I put in my order with Pacific Windecor (finally!). 

Hopefully everything goes off well. I am getting a mix of woven wood shades and norman shutters. More expensive than I expected (for 12 windows, 1 small balcony door and a slider door) but we have huge windows. And I didn't really negotiate except to ask if he was giving me his best price..lol. His quote was lower than the other company I vetted so I had no basis for bargaining.

Arvind was very patient- we met a few times (even before I said I was going to go with him) so I could confirm my choices of the colors for the shades and the choice of frames. So there was nothing to fault in terms of customer service. Fingers crossed that the installation quality is also as good.

We will have Arvind come over this weekend - when he gave you estimate did you ask for how many square-ft total that he was quoting for?

Nope - he didn't really tell us that. When I asked him how much he was quoting me per sqft for the shutters he said it was around 15.75 but to me it seems more like 16.5 but I can't be sure exactly. He measures a few inches extra on each side to accommodate the frames etc.
Hope that helps!

 

[Roger]

I put in my order with Pacific Windecor (finally!). 

Hopefully everything goes off well. I am getting a mix of woven wood shades and norman shutters. More expensive than I expected (for 12 windows, 1 small balcony door and a slider door) but we have huge windows. And I didn't really negotiate except to ask if he was giving me his best price..lol. His quote was lower than the other company I vetted so I had no basis for bargaining.

Arvind was very patient- we met a few times (even before I said I was going to go with him) so I could confirm my choices of the colors for the shades and the choice of frames. So there was nothing to fault in terms of customer service. Fingers crossed that the installation quality is also as good.

We will have Arvind come over this weekend - when he gave you estimate did you ask for how many square-ft total that he was quoting for?

Nope - he didn't really tell us that. When I asked him how much he was quoting me per sqft for the shutters he said it was around 15.75 but to me it seems more like 16.5 but I can't be sure exactly. He measures a few inches extra on each side to accommodate the frames etc.
Hope that helps!

Thanks whome! That's very helpful.  I will just ask him price per sqft then. 

 

[Roger]

I put in my order with Pacific Windecor (finally!). 

Hopefully everything goes off well. I am getting a mix of woven wood shades and norman shutters. More expensive than I expected (for 12 windows, 1 small balcony door and a slider door) but we have huge windows. And I didn't really negotiate except to ask if he was giving me his best price..lol. His quote was lower than the other company I vetted so I had no basis for bargaining.

Arvind was very patient- we met a few times (even before I said I was going to go with him) so I could confirm my choices of the colors for the shades and the choice of frames. So there was nothing to fault in terms of customer service. Fingers crossed that the installation quality is also as good.

We will have Arvind come over this weekend - when he gave you estimate did you ask for how many square-ft total that he was quoting for?

Nope - he didn't really tell us that. When I asked him how much he was quoting me per sqft for the shutters he said it was around 15.75 but to me it seems more like 16.5 but I can't be sure exactly. He measures a few inches extra on each side to accommodate the frames etc.
Hope that helps!

Whome - We put our order after his visit last weekend.  he said it'll be around 1st week of August for installation.  Finger cross...

 

[whome]

@Roger - great Good luck!! Did you get a good price?

 

[Roger]

@Roger - great Good luck!! Did you get a good price?

@Whome - I actually don't know lol..  knowing that he won't give you the sf total I just asked him how much he charges per sf and he said ~16.  But I didn't bother to measure and calculate the total myself... 

 

[Paris167]

thoughts on doing shutters and having curtains over it in living room?

Thats just too much window treatment, just my 2 cents. Take a look at the model homes, the trend now is to have curtins with bambo type shades underneath.

Just about everyone has white plantation shutters...easier to maintain and good look.  Curtains are quite a pain to clean and problematic if you have little kids.

Agree, I love white shutters but from a design perspective you don't want all your window coverings with shutters, it's too much. It's nice to add some variety. Most of my windows (primarily smaller and bedroom) have white shutters but the large windows I love to keep open esp ones with a view so they have curtains. The mix adds some nice interest tot he interior design

I agree! Though my dilemma is that my biggest (and only 'kind of view') window is the one in the master window. I like the idea of thick curtains for that window, so I can keep it open if I'm working in there, but my husband wants shutters. I see the convenience and advantages of shutters for that room but it will be such a pain to open them.

try and talk your husband out of shutters for your large VIEW window. Drapes would look so much nicer, esp dueing the day when you can keep it open to maximize your view. The shutters are very view restrictive

 

[irvinehomeowner]

The shutters are very view restrictive

But isn't that why you open them?

It goes both ways, you want to maximize your view but at the same time protect your privacy when need be.

We are putting one on our huge front window because too large of a crowd forms when I'm playing Just Dance on the XBox.

 

[whome]

thoughts on doing shutters and having curtains over it in living room?

Thats just too much window treatment, just my 2 cents. Take a look at the model homes, the trend now is to have curtins with bambo type shades underneath.

Just about everyone has white plantation shutters...easier to maintain and good look.  Curtains are quite a pain to clean and problematic if you have little kids.

Agree, I love white shutters but from a design perspective you don't want all your window coverings with shutters, it's too much. It's nice to add some variety. Most of my windows (primarily smaller and bedroom) have white shutters but the large windows I love to keep open esp ones with a view so they have curtains. The mix adds some nice interest tot he interior design

I agree! Though my dilemma is that my biggest (and only 'kind of view') window is the one in the master window. I like the idea of thick curtains for that window, so I can keep it open if I'm working in there, but my husband wants shutters. I see the convenience and advantages of shutters for that room but it will be such a pain to open them.

try and talk your husband out of shutters for your large VIEW window. Drapes would look so much nicer, esp dueing the day when you can keep it open to maximize your view. The shutters are very view restrictive

Yeah - that's what I thought - but we ended up placing our order with the shutter for that window. I am hoping I won't regret it.

 

[whome]

I went with Pacific Windecor for my windows. A few people have asked me about my experience. I thought I will update this post in case it is of help to somebody.

We went with a mix of shutters  (Norman clear view) and woven wood shades (centurion brand).

Overall the installers seemed careful. Arvind removed his shoes before going upstairs which I appreciated. However once they were done, Arvind said he was in a hurry to leave. While I understand that he must have had multiple jobs lined up, I was a bit annoyed as I wanted to make sure everything was working and properly installed before he left.

The shutters look good. I haven't inspected in the greatest detail (we haven't completely moved into the new house yet) but so far it looks good.

I have mixed feelings about the woven wood shades.
I have a few issues with the installation of the shades - a couple of portions seem uneven. I called Arvind about it and he said he would take
a look at them the next time he is in the vicinity. I am not sure what that means exactly so I will reserve my full judgement until the issue gets resolved.

If anybody has any questions - let me know and hope this helps!

 

[incognito]

I went with Pacific Windecor for my windows. A few people have asked me about my experience. I thought I will update this post in case it is of help to somebody.

We went with a mix of shutters  (Norman clear view) and woven wood shades (centurion brand).

Overall the installers seemed careful. Arvind removed his shoes before going upstairs which I appreciated. However once they were done, Arvind said he was in a hurry to leave. While I understand that he must have had multiple jobs lined up, I was a bit annoyed as I wanted to make sure everything was working and properly installed before he left.

The shutters look good. I haven't inspected in the greatest detail (we haven't completely moved into the new house yet) but so far it looks good.

Whome, for the ~$16.50/sq ft did you get Norman Woodlore shutters with Arvind/Pacific Windecor? Or was it Woodlore Plus?

I just met with him today to get an estimate:

- 16 windows with a total of ~212 sq ft
- Woodlore shutters for the smaller windows (under 30" width) and Woodlore Plus shutters for the 10 larger ones (36" width) because they would have required 2 panels and we want single panel for a cleaner look
- Clear view
- 3.5" louvers
- Small 1.25" beaded Z frame
- 50/50 split louver controls (with or without divider rail)

Received a quote for $3,830 which averages out to ~$18/sq ft. Seems high to me. Wondering if the Woodlore Plus is that much more expensive?

First quote but I thought Pacific Windecor would come in cheaper. I asked him to quote me Sunland polycore shutters, but he for whatever reason wasn't able to provide me quote for Sunland on the spot and said he'd get back to me on it. Seemed strange; will see

Well, I have BellaBlinds coming out on Monday to see what quote they come back with.

 

[whome]

I went with Pacific Windecor for my windows. A few people have asked me about my experience. I thought I will update this post in case it is of help to somebody.

We went with a mix of shutters  (Norman clear view) and woven wood shades (centurion brand).

Overall the installers seemed careful. Arvind removed his shoes before going upstairs which I appreciated. However once they were done, Arvind said he was in a hurry to leave. While I understand that he must have had multiple jobs lined up, I was a bit annoyed as I wanted to make sure everything was working and properly installed before he left.

The shutters look good. I haven't inspected in the greatest detail (we haven't completely moved into the new house yet) but so far it looks good.

Whome, for the ~$16.50/sq ft did you get Norman Woodlore shutters with Arvind/Pacific Windecor? Or was it Woodlore Plus?

I just met with him today to get an estimate:

- 16 windows with a total of ~168 sq ft
- Woodlore shutters for the smaller windows (under 30" width) and Woodlore Plus shutters for the 10 larger ones (36" width) because they would have required 2 panels and we want single panel for a cleaner look
- Clear view
- 3.5" louvers
- Small 1.25" beaded Z frame
- 50/50 split louver controls (with or without divider rail)

Received a quote for $3,830 which averages out to ~$22.80/sq ft. Seems high to me. Wondering if the Woodlore Plus is that much more expensive? At $22.80/sq ft, seems like on par with Golden West basswood shutters?

First quote but I thought Pacific Windecor would come in cheaper. I asked him to quote me Sunland polycore shutters, but he for whatever reason wasn't able to provide me quote for Sunland on the spot and said he'd get back to me on it. Seemed strange; will see

Well, I have BellaBlinds coming out on Monday to see what quote they come back with.

We went with Woodlore withPacific Windecor. He adds a few inches on either side so the actual square footage he uses is probably more than what you've calculated? Did he give you the square footage?

Woodlore Plus could be more expensive - I forget, though. I remember asking him.
We did, I think 13 or 14, windows with a mix of shutters and woven wood shades and ours was around 4500 (this included the sliding door and french door). It was more than we expected to pay but I only vetted one other vendor.

 

[incognito]

We went with Woodlore withPacific Windecor. He adds a few inches on either side so the actual square footage he uses is probably more than what you've calculated? Did he give you the square footage?

Woodlore Plus could be more expensive - I forget, though. I remember asking him.
We did, I think 13 or 14, windows with a mix of shutters and woven wood shades and ours was around 4500 (this included the sliding door and french door). It was more than we expected to pay but I only vetted one other vendor.

Thanks.

Forgot to ask him what his calculated total sq ft, but I did noticed that he was measuring from window edge to edge. I measured with additional 2" each sides, so I'm pretty sure my estimated sq ft is pretty accurate.

I'll have to ask him when he sends me the Sunland quote

 

[whome]

I am actually a bit annoyed with Arvind Sheth's unresponsive-ness once we paid him. I have a few issues with the installation of the woven wood shades but haven't heard from him in a week. I know he is busy so I will give him another week and see, but what have your experiences been regarding having him come back and look at and fix stuff?

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Is this becoming like certain landscapers where they get so many jobs because of referrals that their service goes down and their price goes up?

 

[whome]

Is this becoming like certain landscapers where they get so many jobs because of referrals that their service goes down and their price goes up?

Hmm - not sure. His service was pretty good while we were making our choice. He met with us multiple times. It is the post installation stuff that is bothering me. But then, he has already collected payment, maybe that is it?

 

[aquabliss]

Bella Blinds was still very responsive after the install.  I had a couple small issues and called Derek, he scheduled a time to come take a look within a week, then re-secured a number of the frame installs at my request.

He also said if I had any issues at any time later, not to hesitate to call him.  I'd definitely use him again.

 

[zlo]

I just had shutters installed by Arvind @ Pacific Windecor. Total was 2800 for 9 windows - not sure about square footage but our living room windows were really big and needed two panels each.

Pros
- very responsive to both email and calls before installation
- polite, removed shoes, installer wore booties, arrived on time during installation
- excellent installation, we had a kitchen and bathroom window that needed to be cut in a specific way and they did it perfectly
- price (compared it vs two other vendors and they were $500 less than the other alternatives)

Cons
- didn't really clean up the saw dust from the cutting up of the kitcken/bath custom fit windows
- a week later than ETA! was told we were getting it first week of August but ended up being late in the second week. He does seem to be very busy...
- came a day early to unload all the boxes in my garage. this was not a problem for us but might be for others with a full garage

 

[Roger]

Is this becoming like certain landscapers where they get so many jobs because of referrals that their service goes down and their price goes up?

We had Pac WinDecor over to install the shutters this past weekend.  Overall, they did a good job installing it.  But theere some details they they could have done better:
1.  The seem to have hard time to balance the panels for one of the windows, as a result they have to uninstall the frame they already nailed in(!) and reinstall it.  Because of this, they had to remove couple nails(including one of them seems to be mistakenly shot in) so they put some scratch on the inner edge of that window.  It is understandable but it could be avoided if they are more careful.
2.  They filled up our trash can with some of the boxes w/o telling us.  The trash can is full now and we are not able to put our own trash until the pickup this Wednesday.
3.  They asked for payment when the job is almost completed.  I told them that I won't issue the payment until we inspect the everything and satisfy with the installation.  I understand they are in hurry to their next job but it will save them the next trip coming back to us if they let us inspect everything and fix the issue on the spot altogether while they are here.
4.  No receipt - update:he emailed receipt to us today after asking about it.
They will not be my sole vendor to consider next time when it comes to shutter.

 

[incognito]

Arvind just got back to me on Sunland polycore quote and said same price as the Norman Woodlore/Woodlore Plus quote ($3,830). Again seems really high for polycore, was expecting it to be cheaper than Norman shutters.

Decided not to ask him about total sq ft he measured since I already measured it myself with additional 2 inches on each side. So using my 212 sq ft for 16 windows as the baseline for all the quotes.

Looking forward to see what Bella Blinds will quote at this afternoon for Sunland polycore to compare.