Give your house a bit of traditional flair with exterior wooden shutters. Wood shutters come in a wide variety of styles and patterns, and are very easily customizable. Whether you’re looking for a way to make your house simply look better or to prevent the extremes of summer and winter to enter your house, shutters offer a large number of both practical and aesthetic benefits. Shutters can be classified into being either operable (meaning they can open and close) or decorative. Operable shutters can offer significant practical advantages to a homeowner.
Practical Benefits
By choosing a high-quality, solid wooden such as Cedar or Mahogany, you’ll see a number of real benefits. Custom shutters made from single-cuts from these types of wooden reduce the number of issues you could see in lesser woods like wooden-cracks which could result in house air leaking outside. By strictly using top-grade woods, which aren’t as prone to having leaking/cracking problems, you will be able to save on utility costs. A pair of custom open/close shutters can also be great help in battling climates.
During the summer, they can be closed to keep cool air in, as well as give you and your house’s furniture/carpet protection from the sun. In the winter, the shutters can also be closed to help prevent any warm air from seeping out, as well as keep the cold air from coming in. In addition to keeping normal climate changes outside, the right pair of shutters can prevent dangerous climates such as hurricanes from damaging you or your windows. Operable, Bermuda-style shutters, which were designed specifically for hurricane-climates, are perfect for homeowners in coastal, stormy regions like Florida. Depending on the type of lumber used, wooden shutters are also very adaptable.
The more high-grade woods that have either FAS, 2FAS or CLEAR qualifications such as teak, cedar, poplar, or oak are all very long lasting due to their quality. These various woods can help serve different purposes depending on the weather conditions the shutters will be in, with an example being Spanish Cedar. This is one of the more durable woods that can be used, as it is not only naturally rot resistant, but also resistant to insects such as termites, fungus and moisture, giving it the most flexible of qualities compared to most woods used for exterior shutters.
Aesthetic Benefits
Wooden shutters not only are long-lasting and help you save on costs; they also can be the perfect added touch to any house. The windows of a home can be easily overlooked when thinking of ways to spruce up a house’s image, but a simple, quick add-on like a shutter can make all the difference. Whether you’re looking for a sophisticated, antique feel, a classic, colonial American look or something completely different altogether, the type of wooden shutter you get will depend on the type of architecture your house is based on. Shutters in general can help a house look better, but wooden shutters in particular can really set a property apart.
Customizing Your Shutters
Exterior wooden shutters might not be something that’s crossed your mind before, but by selecting the appropriate style and pattern, they can be a wonderful external house addition. For keeping a house cool and airing it out in the summer, a pair of Louvered shutters can be ideal. A Bermuda-type is best for hurricane areas, and a Board-and-Batten style is good for sun protection. All different types have their pros and cons, but as long as a solid hardwood is selected, your shutter will not suffer from rot or cracks regardless.
To start out the customization process, you can choose from the type of wooden you want used. The best choices are woods such as Spanish Cedar, Mahogany and Oak. Next, you will need to choose the type of shutter you want, such as louvered, board-and-batten, flat panel or Bermuda. From there, you can decide on the type of style you want. A good shutter company usually gives you a select number of patterns to choose from, but if you’re creative you can create a completely unique design. Even if you’re not looking to make an original pattern, you can still be creative when it comes to color. You can have your wooden finished for you, painted yourself, or left unpainted.
Exterior wooden shutters are a great add-on to a home, and are something that can only increase a house’s value over time.
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