How Exterior Shutters Improve Your Home's Value And Energy Efficiency

By Author: Karen Hoffmann
Total Articles: 18
Comment this article

Benefits of Exterior Shutters

Whether you're in hurricane-prone Florida or freezing Chicago, exterior window shutters protect your home from extreme weather. They insulate your home, and wooden exterior shutters are an attractive addition that adds value to your home. Exterior shutters also provide protection from vandalism and crime. Finally, exterior wooden shutters are built to last, and custom exterior shutters will look great on your home for decades.

Weather Resistance

Back in the day, shutters were invented because they protect from the sun and the elements. Custom wood shutters protect against high winds and freezing snow and hail.

Is your home on the receiving end of unwanted guests with names like Andrew, Hugo, or Wilma? If you live in a hurricane-prone area, think about installing Bermuda exterior shutters. These top-hinged shutters can be closed tight against your windows in advance of a hurricane or tropical storm, thus protecting your home from water damage and broken glass.

If you don't want to freeze next winter, operable panel exterior shutters are a good choice if they're ...
... made from hardwood. Real hardwood has a high "R-value," which means it resists heat flow better than other building materials. Installing wood exterior shutters - and keeping them closed in the winter - can insulate your home from heat loss. And you'll save money on your heating bills!

Not only do exterior wood shutters lower the cost of heating and cooling your home, they also protect your draperies, furniture, and carpet from sun damage. Louvered shutters, which have slats laid across the frames with spaces between them, are a great way to cool your home in an environmentally friendly way.

Curb Appeal

Exterior shutters can add a touch of character to a house. What kind of home do you have? Bungalow, American Craftsman, Mediterranean Revival? Make sure and choose the style of custom exterior shutters that will fit your house's architecture.

The windows to your home ought to be a reflection of your style too. Solid wood shutters are available in a wide variety of styles and materials, and will make any home they adorn stand out. Wood exterior shutters function as an excellent accent to your home's style. Custom wood shutters add oomph to so many architectural styles and can be customized to suit any taste.

Durability

Because the wood used to construct exterior shutters is durable yet soft, the pieces can be carved into many different shapes and sizes. The wood you choose for your exterior window shutters will depend on the climate in which you live.

No matter where you are, you'll want to purchase high-quality hardwoods. Options include poplar wood, teak wood, mahogany wood, cherry wood, cedar wood, maple wood, and oak wood. An excellent choice is Spanish cedar, a hardwood with natural resistance to moisture, decay, fungus and insects.

When you choose custom wooden shutters from a whole-cut piece of hardwood, your shutters will be less likely to have cracks, low-quality joins, thin filler wood, or other inferior milling techniques. Such problems can cause your custom exterior shutters to leak warm air in the winter or cool air in the summer. When wooden exterior shutters are made from a solid piece of wood, they are stronger and more energy efficient.

Customization

Get the exact exterior shutters that you want by choosing from custom mouldings, carvings, hardware, and more. Paint your custom window shutters a color that you love! Of course, you can also keep your custom wood shutters unfinished for a rustic look. You can find custom exterior shutters with operable louvers or fixed louvers in a variety of configurations, and they can be crafted from various species of wood, including poplar, cherry, maple, cedar, mahogany, oak, and teak.

Enhance the architectural lines of your home with custom exterior shutters. Large homes with many windows look fantastic when indoor wood shutters frame each window. If your building is tall and skinny, on the other hand, you might want to choose Bahama shutters, which will add width.

Most importantly, make sure your custom exterior shutters fit your windows seamlessly for the best possible energy efficiency, helping you save on heating and cooling costs.

Estate Millwork's wood shutters factory ships made-to-order and hand constructed exterior shutters anywhere around the country. For more information or view a catalog for our custom exterior shutter products and hardware, visit www.estatemillwork.com