Dover's Frequently Asked Questions About Shutters

For more than 1 year, we’ve received every question about shutters thinkable from our customers in Dover. And we’ve collected the top ten of them here. There’s a good chance that in these questions and answers you’ll find answers to questions of your own. If not, please don’t hesitate to contact Sunburst Shutters Delaware directly. We’re here to help you and happy to do so.

That depends on how you desire the shutters to relate to your home’s décor. Do you want a shutter that contrasts your wall paint color and has clean lines? Polywood® plantation shutters are ideal for you. Or are you looking to match the wood in your home as closely as possible? Ovation® wood shutters are an absolute fit for you.

Plantation shutters are recognized for being energy efficient. And to get maximum energy savings, our Polywood Shutter Insulation System is the only choice.

For the budget-conscious, blinds can be temporary window treatments to cover your windows. Cheaper store-bought blinds are susceptible to deteriorating over time, with its strings snapping and the loops that hold the slats in place falling apart. Additionally, they are difficult to clean. Even if you're budget-conscious, Sunburst Shutters blinds have the durability and craftsmanship lacking in off-the-rack, store-bought, or online blinds.

Shades offer a host of colors, materials, and unique patterns, turning your window into artwork. By simply pulling up the fabric of the shade, your entire window is exposed and you can see out onto your Dover neighborhood.

Draperies also come in a wide spectrum of color, fabric, and patterns. They are a traditional alternative for a window treatment. Installing thick panels between the drapes and the window gives you light and temperature block-out capabilities. And unlike other window treatments, you won’t have to clean draperies for five years.

If you want a window treatment that lasts more than 10 years, saves you money on your energy bills, and looks exquisite on your windows, shutters are the choice for your home. Not only are shutters durable, but they’re also magnificent and energy efficient. As a matter of fact, Polywood shutters insulate up to 70% better than an equivalent wood shutter. That's energy savings you won't find with any other window treatment.

When it comes to control over privacy and light, plantation shutters are unmatched. And with their large louvers, Polywood plantation shutters give your room a clean in vogue feel whether they’re closed or open.

A poorly installed window treatment can be a hassle to open and can get damaged easily. We have a professional installation crew that comes to your home and installs your window treatment precisely, ensuring that each one operates flawlessly – and doesn’t get damaged throughout.

But before we begin installing your shutters, we bring shutter samples to your home so we can custom design your window treatment together. Learn more about our free in-home consultation.

Your plantation shutter slats – or louvers – can be moved simply by adjusting them up or down. Generally, a tilt rod mounted on the front of the shutters gives you control over the louvers. To move the louvers with your hand, we recommend buying shutters with hidden tilt-rods or rear-mounted tilt rods. This gives your shutters a clean, contemporary feel.

Our Polywood shutters last over 50 years – more than any other shutter around. That’s why these plantation shutters are a permanent fixture that adds to your home’s resale value. Learn more about the durability of our shutters.

Plantation shutters are easy to clean because they have large louvers and their tilt bars are either hidden or mounted on the rear. Merely tilt them open and dust them like furniture – or wipe smudges with a moist cloth.

Plantation shutters are custom designed to fit your windows just right. They become a permanent fixture of your home, increasing its resale value. These shutters cannot be moved from one house to another.

Plantation shutters are an investment that allows temperature control, energy efficiency, and privacy. They are custom made and installed on your windows to become permanent fixtures. Not only are they elegant and energy saving, but plantation shutters also increase the value of your house. We’ve seen it first hand in Dover!

A half shutter lets you have privacy on the bottom and leaves the top open for light and view. It’s called a café style shutter. But is it the ideal look for a plantation shutter?

Cafe Shutters Cafe Style Shutters With Divider

What it comes down to is style choice – whether you like the look of a half shutter or that of a plantation shutter with a divider rail.

A full length shutter with a divider rail “completes” your window, giving it a fully finished look – and letting you close the bottom louvers for privacy while leaving the top louvers open for light. At night, you can close the top louvers as well for privacy and security. This also comes in handy during the day when the sun is stopping you from watching TV. And don’t worry about sacrificing any of your view. A 3.5" or 4.5" louver will almost disappear when opened flat and gives you abundant of a view to look through.

Simple! Call us at 301-835-1611 or fill out the form below to schedule your free in-home consultation, and we’ll handle it from there. We come out to your home to measure the windows you want to add shutters to and bring samples of all of our shutter products and their available options. This allows us to provide you with the appropriate shutter price for your project. Schedule your in-home consultation today!

Yes! There’s rarely a need to take out or alter your old window trim when installing new plantation shutters. Natural Ovation wood shutters and deluxe Polywood shutters can be customized with a variety of frame styles to fit seamlessly into your current window trim. If your windows have no trim, we offer frame styles to install right onto the drywall around your window to fix your stunning new shutters to your window opening.

Your Sunburst Shutters installer will measure each of your house’s windows during your free in-home consultation to ensure that your window trim is beautifully complemented by the frame of your new shutters.

Sunburst Shutters Delaware is proud to offer a range of window treatments made right here in America. Not only are Polywood plantation shutters America’s #1-selling shutter, but they’re 100% made in America. Not only does that mean saving you money on unnecessary shipping and handling costs, it also gives you the benefit of knowing you’re choosing an all-American window treatment for your Dover house.

And Polywood isn’t alone in hailing from America. Our naturally beautiful Reclaimed Wood shutters are constructed using lumber gathered from sources across the country, from homespun Southern barn doors to sturdy Texas ranch fences and more.

The primary differentiator between painted and stained shutters is the way the color interacts with the shutter material. Paint lays on top of the shutter, just coating the surface. Stains conversely, permeate the shutter, becoming a part of the natural wood or faux wood material.

The two color options have their own unique benefits. There are usually a larger number of color options for paints. With stained shutters, the color doesn’t lie over the natural wood grain, so you can see the natural knots and bumps of the material without a layer of paint masking it.

When it comes time for your in-home window design consultation, we’ll bring paint and stain samples directly to your home so you can perfectly color match with your existing interior design.

The complete plantation shutter process, from your in-home consultation to installing the shutters, usually takes about four to six weeks on average. The reason it takes this long is because we want to build shutters that are perfectly customized to every facet of your windows. To do that, we need to take precise measurements, use advanced software to design them, assemble your brand-new shutters manually, and deliver them to you prior to installation. Real wood shutters tend to take longer than Polywood because of the staining and finishing process.

It will take a little time, but it’s absolutely worth the wait.

Sunburst Shutters Delaware offers a complete shop-at-home experience. We typically send shutter expert to you to take precise measurements of your windows, show you your options, and give you an accurate quote. The shutter consultation is 100% free. That’s the most effective way to start a window treatment project. If you only want a ballpark estimate, you can submit your window measurements through our contact form, or give us a call at 301-835-1611.

That’s up to your personal taste. If you want to keep your existing trim, we’re able to build your shutters to complement your current trim. If you prefer our shutter frames, then you can take out the existing trim—but it’s not a necessity. If you’re trying to go trimless or replace your trim, we’ll help you choose the right shutter to fit your perfect vision.

If you’re an experienced handyman, you might be familiar with some of the process involved in a shutter installation. However, taking on DIY shutters might be a bit complex for most Dover residents. We recommend leaving the installation to our certified and insured professionals, so you won’t be at risk of damaging your shutters, windows, or any other part of your house.

By far our most in-demand shutter offerings are our classic white Polywood® faux wood plantation shutters, and Ovation® hardwood shutters.

As far as shutter options, the most common shutter configuration features includes a 3.5” louver, non-textured finish, with an interior-mount Z-frame. If those words don’t mean anything to you, that’s ok. We’d be delighted to show you what all those things mean in person. Set up a free in-home consultation and we’ll show you what will look best in your home.

Shutters with a smooth finish have a more chic look, while textured finish shutters look a little more natural. However the benefits to both types of plantation shutter finish go a little bit farther, and ultimately come down to your own taste.

Benefits of shutters with a smooth finish – A smooth finish to your shutters offer a clean, chic, modern look. If your home doesn’t have any other wood surfaces like hardwood floors or furniture, you may not want a smooth finish. A smooth finish is easier to see when it needs dusting, compared to a wood grain finish. We typically recommend a smooth finish for faux wood shutters like Polywood.

Benefits of a wood grain finish for shutters – A textured finish on your shutters offers a more natural, rustic look to your shutters. That’s fantastic if you want to bring the look of nature inside, especially if you want to complement the look of your hardwood flooring. A textured finish on your shutter louvers may also make dust harder to see, which means you won’t need to dust them as often as you would if they had a smooth finish. A textured finish looks especially great on real wood shutters in Dover.

Usually, the bigger your window is, the more shutter panels you’ll need. The most ideal layout is to use one panel for windows up to 26 inches wide, two panels for windows up to 50 inches wide, and four for windows up to 98 inches wide.

Single wide panels aren’t as room-friendly as multiple panels. Often, wider panels won’t fit flush against the wall because of their width. Multiple smaller panels solve that problem.

For those windows that you may want to open or shut often, you’re usually better off with multi-panel shutters, since they’re easier to open and get better support from the frame when you do operate them.

With Sunburst Shutters Delaware, any and all shutter measurements will be done by one of our installers for free as part of your in-home consultation. Even if your window is in a hard to reach area of your house or has a distinct shape, our shutter pros can get you a precise measurement so that the shutters you get will perfectly match up with your windows.

During your complimentary shutter consultation, your Sunburst Shutters expert can help you choose from our wide variety of Dover plantation shutters, featuring choices for finish, stains, and custom framing options.

So set up your free consultation now by calling 301-835-1611 today.

Sunburst can help you pick the ideal shutter for your home, regardless of how narrow your frame. We will work with an outside mount installation that attaches to the trim or wall outside the window pane . Your window treatments will still have identical performance and energy efficiency, and will integrate perfectly with other window treatments.

If the louver is detached and hanging from the frame, you could have a broken louver pin. To repair this you will want to take out the pin from both the louver and the stile with some needle-nose pliers or a utility knife. Once everything is taken out, insert the replacement pin base into the same hole in the shutter stile, then slide the louver onto the pin. To get extra louver pins at no cost, just call us at 301-835-1611.

Actual prices of plantation shutters hinges on the chosen product line and window area. While we can present you a basic quote over the phone, detailed prices are computed after our free in-person consultation. Call 301-835-1611 to schedule an appointment today.

To start, remove the broken staple from the louver with a tool like of needle-nose pliers. Then use some adhesive (like wood glue or epoxy) to spread all over the legs of a replacement staple. guide the staple into the loop on the louver and direct its legs into the previous staple holes on the tilt rod. For extra shutter staples, call us at 301-835-1611.

Polywood shutters are known as some of the safest window coverings in Dover. The cordless, durable design is safe for children and pets. The non-toxic and hypoallergenic paint, polymers, and materials will never peel or chip. And because Polywood is pest and moisture resistant, you’ll never have to check for bugs, mold, or wood rot.