Shutters

Look at Window Decorators stiles, they are half the width of a quality shutter. No disrespect but you better be very gentle with them. This is how they cut costs. Thin stiles....... butterfly hinges, dowels pins.... There is a industry standard for shutters here in the U.S.
 
I would definitely recommend goldenwest for smaller jobs. A difference of $4 on 75 sqft is only $300. That is not that bad. Just tell him to knock off a couple hundred to make the deal. He'd probably do it.  They seem to have the best craftsmanship.
 
lucky said:
Irvine_RC said:
Here are the pics I promised.... nothing really to look at really.

I feel like the shutters are of good quality, the service is good, and the price is very competitive.  All in all, I would do business again with Window Decorators.
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Ah, you didn't opt for clearview. Are you at peace with that decision? Yours look just like mine (except for the handle). : )

@sentosa - It's real wood.
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Yah, I did not opt for the clearview.  I kind of like the traditional look of the tilt rod being exposed.  So far, I'm happy with my decision.

Mine is also real balsawood. 
 
M5BMW said:
Look at Window Decorators stiles, they are half the width of a quality shutter. No disrespect but you better be very gentle with them. This is how they cut costs. Thin stiles....... butterfly hinges, dowels pins.... There is a industry standard for shutters here in the U.S.
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Saw the Window Decorator shutters in person, I really wouldn't say they are that fragile. Seems pretty solid to me (doesn't feel like they would fall off or break so easily) and for what you get think it's pretty good value.

What I will say is the fit/finish (craftmanship) is not as nice as OC or GoldenWest (thus lower price point).
- No mortised (recessed) hinges so it's not that tight of a fit/finish
- Uses flush hinges vs knuckle hinges (OC 4, GoldenWest 5 knuckles)
- Magnets are extra and visibly exposed
- Dowel construction vs mortise and tendon (like OC and GoldenWest)
- Not sure about the stiles comment, they are 2" wide (1" deep) both sides, and don't think OC/Goldenwest really did 4" wide stiles (bigger than the size of a louvre). Seemed fine to me.
- Been in business for a while with the SAME name and SAME contractor license, husband and wife team and very friendly and helpful people. They know what they offer and don't pretend to be something they're not which I liked.

Functionally think it's a fine shutter from playing with them in person. The finish/craftmanship won't get it featured on Dwell but if you want good value shutters that work, really do think they are worth considering.

The wife doesn't really like their frame choices, also their color palette is also very limited (3 colors). I have some other vendors to look at including the sub-contractor that did the model homes just to get a good range of options.

Happy shopping!

 
I know a lot of the focus has been on going real wood and with basswood.

But wondering if anyone went the opposite direction with poly/composite. I've been researching more and seems with CERTAIN shutters you maybe able to claim a tax credit. 10% of the purchase up to $500 for 2013. The catch is they are classified as thermal insulation and require a certificate from the manufacturer.

Now I have seen some vinyl/poly shutters and they do look plasticy, but there are some that you really cannot tell the difference unless your know what to look for.

Two poly brands that I've been looking at that seem a little better made:
- Sunburst Polywood Shutters
- Danmer Thermalite Shutters

I mean if I can get a tax credit, get better insulation and not too concern with getting real wood shutters, doesn't seem like a bad deal.

Wondering if anyone looked at any of those brands?

Thanks!
 
After much research on TI, I finally decided to give Shutters King a call.  Daniel, the sale manager, called back and went to my unfinished house to do the measurement the next day.  He sent me the price quote later that day.  He quoted $3,900 tax included for 252 sqft (with 10 sqft min and 3" padded to actual width and length) on 19 windows with clear view and separated top/bottom control.  I think this price is close to what people discussed in this thread so I decided to go with Shutter Kings.

I didn't push back very hard on the price thinking that they have to make a living too and in return hopefully they'll do a good service on my job, I wish.
 
songkou said:
After much research on TI, I finally decided to give Shutters King a call.  Daniel, the sale manager, called back and went to my unfinished house to do the measurement the next day.  He sent me the price quote later that day.  He quoted $3,900 tax included for 252 sqft (with 10 sqft min and 3" padded to actual width and length) on 19 windows with clear view and separated top/bottom control.  I think this price is close to what people discussed in this thread so I decided to go with Shutter Kings.

I didn't push back very hard on the price thinking that they have to make a living too and in return hopefully they'll do a good service on my job, I wish.
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Thanks for the update! Are you in a plan 1 at Saratoga? Did you opt for clearview blinds?

I think you made a good choice. I was happy with the service and product. Upon install, just look around all the edges of each frame to see if they accidentally shot a nail through the face of the wall. They did that in a few spots for me and didn't fix one of them.
 
lucky said:
Thanks for the update! Are you in a plan 1 at Saratoga? Did you opt for clearview blinds?

I think you made a good choice. I was happy with the service and product. Upon install, just look around all the edges of each frame to see if they accidentally shot a nail through the face of the wall. They did that in a few spots for me and didn't fix one of them.
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I bought Saratoga plan 1.  I do opt for clearview and up/bottom control.  Daniel actually charges $1/sqft for frame build-out.  I think build-out means he needs to make the shuttle frame thicker so the blinds have room to move because most of the windows have very shallow depth into the wall.  Did you get this additional charge by Shutters King?
 
lucky said:
I think you made a good choice. I was happy with the service and product. Upon install, just look around all the edges of each frame to see if they accidentally shot a nail through the face of the wall. They did that in a few spots for me and didn't fix one of them.
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How do they fix the shutter frame on the window?
 
songkou said:
lucky said:
I think you made a good choice. I was happy with the service and product. Upon install, just look around all the edges of each frame to see if they accidentally shot a nail through the face of the wall. They did that in a few spots for me and didn't fix one of them.
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How do they fix the shutter frame on the window?
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For me... they take a really BIG nail gun, and yell BAM...... or was it the nail gun that went bam???
 
Irvine_RC said:
songkou said:
lucky said:
I think you made a good choice. I was happy with the service and product. Upon install, just look around all the edges of each frame to see if they accidentally shot a nail through the face of the wall. They did that in a few spots for me and didn't fix one of them.
Click to expand...

How do they fix the shutter frame on the window?
Click to expand...

For me... they take a really BIG nail gun, and yell BAM...... or was it the nail gun that went bam???
Click to expand...

So in lucky's case, the worker miss-fired?
 
@songkou - There were only a few windows (the master bedroom I think) where the extra thick frames were needed because of the crank and shallow depth and yes, there was an added charge, but pretty minor (though I don't recall the numbers).

In one case of a nail through the wall, the nail is still there sticking out (in fact I'm looking at it next to me right now). In another it was in the master bath (where the walls are brown) and they pulled the nail and just left a small blemish which is mostly unnoticeable (which is why I missed it while they were here). In the last case it was in the garage (where the walls are white) and they pulled the nail then filled and concealed the hole completely.
 
Just got a quote from shutters king and window decorators for 6 windows and about 130 sq feet.  Windows decorators came in below shutters king and said they could match the frame for some existing shutters that we have.  And their turn around time seems faster (2 weeks as opposed to 3-4).  The only downside is that they don't have their own contractors, but do use the contractors of the shutters manufacturer.  So I guess that is kind of the same thing?

Quick question for anyone with split view shutters.  Do you actually use this feature or are you finding yourself getting annoyed at needing to close double the amount of shutters?
 
Bryan123 said:
Quick question for anyone with split view shutters.  Do you actually use this feature or are you finding yourself getting annoyed at needing to close double the amount of shutters?
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We got the split view shutters from Shutter King. They quoted 1 month for installation and they called 1 day before scheduled installation to confirm and installed on time and did a good job.

The split view is really useful because sometimes we want light into the room but we do not want peering eyes...so we close the bottom and open the top. It really does not make a big difference to close one extra panel. It never struck me as cumbersome. The benefits it offers outweighs the extra step involved.
 
socaltrojan81 said:
Bryan123 said:
Quick question for anyone with split view shutters.  Do you actually use this feature or are you finding yourself getting annoyed at needing to close double the amount of shutters?
Click to expand...

We got the split view shutters from Shutter King. They quoted 1 month for installation and they called 1 day before scheduled installation to confirm and installed on time and did a good job.

The split view is really useful because sometimes we want light into the room but we do not want peering eyes...so we close the bottom and open the top. It really does not make a big difference to close one extra panel. It never struck me as cumbersome. The benefits it offers outweighs the extra step involved.
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Agreed. Split view is a must, especially in these sardine cans where your windows are very near your neighbors'.
 
Thank you for the feedback on the split shutters.  We are actually in tustin ranch and fortunately do not have the privacy issues.  We decided against the split shutters since we will really only be using them to block the sun in windows that don't already have shutters.  And if we change our minds later, my smarty pants husband said he'll just use a saw and remedy the situation  :p

Also we decided to go with window decorators primarily due to cost, but quick turn around time was a big plus (potentially 1 week turn around time).
 
Quick update, we finally got our shutters installed and they look great!

We decided on Norman branded shutters which have the "clearview" no visible bar anywhere (it's built into the stile).

Got 4.5" clearview, with split top and bottom. Norman is however MDF, but it's completely coated in polyurethane (same material in fridges) so very strong and also carries a lifetime finish warranty (not just workmanship like everyone else).

In total we looked at:
- WindowDecorators
- OC Shutters
- GoldenWest
- Custom Blinds
- ShutterKings/ExpressBlinds
- Sunburst Polywood Shutters
- Danmer Thermalite Shutters
- Pacific WinDecor
- EJ's Home Improvements (not E&J Shutters)

WindowDecorators
-- If you want shutters at lowest cost and don't care too much about fit/finish. By far the cheapest, really nice folks (believe it's husband/wife team). The fit and finish is okay. They use 100% basswood, butterfly hinges, dowel joining, exposed magnets, hidden tilt w/ exposed metal bar. In reality people are not going to be opening and closing and inspecting your shutters w/ a microscope. Lifetime warranty on workmanship.

OC Shutters
-- Liked their quality and would say on par with GoldenWest. They tout a "sunblock" bar which will block out light (although got something similar with my Normans). They use 100% basswood, use 4 knuckle hinges, mortise-tenon joining, recessed magnets, hidden tilt w/ exposed metal bar. Lifetime warranty on workmanship. Pricing on par with GoldenWest.

GoldenWest
-- Definitely top quality, and had many neighbors use them and happy with their service and product quality. They use 100% basswood, use 5 knuckle hinges (one more than OC), mortise-tenon joining, recessed magnets, hidden tilt w/ exposed metal bar. Lifetime warranty on workmanship. High quality workmanship for 100% basswood.

CustomBlinds
-- These guys were 15-20% higher than OC and Goldenwest, suspect similar level of quality but didn't like their pricing.

ShutterKings/ExpressBlinds
-- Actually never was able to get the site visit, they lost my request and level of service kind of leaves more to be desired. There's other reviews on them so suspect the same level of quality as WindowDecoractors. So if you're on a tight budget but want shutters they are worth taking a look.

SunBurst and Danmer
-- These are the large commercial shutter companies, you sometimes see them in Lowe's/HomeDepot. Their pricing was like double of others. So definitely going with a local installer/company will save you money.

Pacific WinDecor
-- We ended up going with this guy. Gave the best deal on Norman shutters (woodlore), cheaper than OC and GoldenWest but not as cheap as WindowDecorators. We went woodlore cause of the finish and workmanship lifetime warranty. It is MDF but the quality is very good and it's really hard for anyone to tell between 100% basswood vs MDF. What we like is the invisible tilt bar (there is no visible bar), so very clean lines. We're very happy with the purchase.

EJs Home Improvements
-- They actually had really excellent pricing for 100% basswood, a bit cheaper than OC and Goldenwest. I didn't get a chance to see them in person as by the time they responded with the quote already signed plus the wife was in love with going with the invisible tilt bar which only is offered with Norman.

Hope this helps others who are looking and be happy to share any contact info.

If anyone interested, happy to share pics!




 
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