Secrets to Successful Shutter Buying

by RW Guidry

Buying shutters does not have to be a stressful or an overwhelming experience. If you follow these simple steps you will be well on your way to a happy buying experience.

"Remember shutters are a lot like airplanes. Some cost less than
others but there are no cheap airplanes"

3 Mistakes to Avoid

1. Choose the right company to buy from – Get this right and you will save yourself enormous amounts of grief and money and will not likely make the other 2 mistakes. There have been a lot of changes in the shutter industry in recent years. New manufacturers are entering the market with great prices and some dealers are here today and gone tomorrow. You need to find a dealer that you can trust and has been around for several years. I have been around the shutter industry for nearly 50 years and I have seen far too many times people have paid their deposits but never received their shutters. You also need a dealer that can educate you about product selection, features and benefits so you can be empowered to make the right decisions. Be aware of sole manufacturer reps that sell only one brand of products. They may make a good product but their features or prices may not be the best choice for your project.
2. Choose the right product - choosing the wrong product can lead to years of dissatisfaction. This can be easily avoided by taking the time to do your research. Search web sites. Ask friends and acquaintances about their shutters. You may have had shutters before but find out what is new. This is where a good dealer can guide you through the maze and blow away the fog to help you discover the path that will get you where you want to go. For more information see our companion article “ Choosing The Right Product ”.
3. Get it installed right – this is the number one cause of most not so enjoyable shutter purchasing experiences and it is the one area that you the customer have the least direct control over. You are really at the mercy of your dealer who is the one that designates who will install your shutters. If installed right every time you look at that shutter you will get a warm fuzzy feeling from a job well done. The worst thing that can happen is that you get a heavy sinking feeling wishing you had done something different. If you are not satisfied that you will get a proper install ask to see some recent installations by your designated crew. The proof really is in the pudding.

The Price per Square Foot Deception - dirty little secret of the shutter industry

Shutters are sold by the square foot. Don’t fall into the trap of just comparing shutter price per square foot. You may hear a lot about price per square foot but that is not the whole story. There is another factor to consider and that is the formula for computing square feet. The basic formula in inches is width x height / 144. Sounds simple but here is where the slight of hand appears. Some companies round up to the nearest whole inch and then do the calculation. The square footage(sf) may compute 17.1 but then that gets rounded up to the next whole square foot which in this case is 18 nearly 1 whole sf added to your cost per window times 10, 20 windows I think you get the picture. Another variation of this is called frame to frame square foot pricing. This involves using the original opening width and height and adding the frame dimension. This is an OK method but only if it is exact no rounding. Some companies use original opening size and do not add for frame and do not round producing the smallest sf factor. When a company uses rounding in their formula distortions will occur raising the actual price by as much as 15%. So remember the square foot formula times price per square foot affects the bottom line and the bottom line is the bottom line of comparison.