INFORMATION

• About Our Products

  Normally a shutter panel fixed inside the window will have to endure some quite extreme variations in heat and humidity. Quite often it may have a radiator underneath it too. A shutter panel may look like a door or kitchen unit panel but it has to live in a totally different environment. In the UK the inside glass temperature reaches 55c in summer. Our shutters are tested in Arizona (69c). Apart from our oiled Vancouvre range all the other finishes are carefully developed to be UV resistant and long lasting.

• The Vancouver Range

  The Vancouver range is made of Western Red Cedar. It can be left outside untreated due to its resin content. We don't have to laminate these shutters to prevent warping,as cedar has a relatively straight grain and is very stable. All but the Vancouver are laminated in some way in construction, this is actually more expensive to make than solid timbers. We do this to make a better product. We can only sell cedar for these prices because although the wood is relatively expensive it is also the cheapest to make in labour and machinery terms. The cedar finishes may darken slightly. We don't use regular domestic paint if we did you would have to repaint/varnish your shutters every couple of years. These materials inevitably cost more. See colour ranges.

• The Phoenix Range

  The Phoenix range is made from Phoenix timber, sometimes called Parasol. It is a very light hardwood and has a laminated core. The timber goes through many processes before it becomes a shutter.

  
  
  
• The Seattle Range

  if you have young children still in their destructive period you should definitely consider this range. If you do break louvers or damage a panel seriously we can usually remake one exactly from our records or replace louvers. The quality of our lowest price Seattle range is as good as our top of the range Vancouver.

  
  
  

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• What Are Plantation Shutters?

  Plantation shutters are louvred panels fixed either inside or outside windows and doors. They originated in America and the West Indies and date back 200 years.

• What Are Solid Shutters?

  These are panels that have no louvers. They were originally installed in reveal boxes in pre Edwardian houses and were used as security when the owners de camped for the season. They were not designed to be opened, and shut daily like our present designs and that is why so few remain today.

• How Do I Measure My Windows And Doors?

  For a quick quote just measure the width and height of the opening at the smallest point.

• What If My Windows Are Not Square?

  Shutters can be installed on virtually any window, French door or patio sliding doors. They can also be used effectively as room dividers fitted on tracks. If the window/door opens inwards they can always be mounted outside of the reveal. Bi Pass tracking allows for shutter to slide past each other and is used where there are overhangs preventing the panels from swinging out.

• Installation

  There is no such thing as a window that is perfectly square. Battens on the side are 25mm thick and can be scribed to square off the window. If the window slants the shutters will emphasise this as they are square and we do not advise trimming them lengthwise as when opened will look very odd.

  Frames are used a lot now and for reveal edge fixes and outside fix are really the way to go. Inside reveal fixes are possible as long as the window is reasonably square. The new L frames we use are great and are scribable should that be necessary.

  You will always find an optimum position however for the shutters that looks right.

  If they look right, they are right!

• How Many Shutter Panels Do I Need In My Window Or Divider?

  A lot of the time you will have to consider where the panels are going to fold back to and if there is enough room for this to happen. This is also true where you are fitting inside the reveal next to the window and you will not want the shutters, when open, to protrude into the room too much.

  There are many exceptions for instance, a long window with 3 panes of glass, would have 6 panels, three folding either way or if you are only going to open them too clean the windows you could easily have just 3 panels. The Americans never open the shutters only the louvers so design with large panels.

  Generally a window looks best with 4 panels, two opening as pairs either way. A 3 window bay, however, will usually have 2 panels on the smaller side windows and 4 in the centre. All panels will open away from the middle. The window will normally dictate the number of panels. If the window is split into two halves you would either have 2 or 4 panels and it follows that if it is three panes then three or six panels will suffice. The vertical dividers of the windows are where the vertical stiles of the shutters should be ideally.

• When Would I Need Sliding Tracks?

  We would not recommend hanging more than 3 panels from a single frame together unless they were not going to be opened apart from window cleaning. As the maximum recommended width of our panels is 750mm you may say that this equates to 4500mm maximum width but it would be asking a lot of the batten to hold panels of this width and weight without sagging at a later date.

  Quite a lot of common sense is needed to achieve a good installation. Openings over 2200mm generally need a top track , even if not using a top track at this width try to use a light panel such as Vancouver or Phoenix.

  Ideally 8 panels or 12 panels for very large opening is best although quite often it is wise to hang even 6 panels from tracking if they are quite large.

• How Long From Ordering To Fitting?

  Shutters are custom manufactured to fit individual openings and are ready for installation in 6 to 8 weeks from the date of the order and receipt of the deposit. They can be air freighted, but this will lead to an extra charge.

• Does Wood Warp, Shrink, Change Colour Or Age In Any Way?

  Of course it does and so it should. If it doesn't then it isn't natural.

  CEDAR can warp in very rare occasions like any wood but is less prone to do so than virtually any other timber we know of. We do give you a guarantee though against significant warping, there is less than 1 in 2000 chance of this happening.

  PHOENIX can shrink and does but also very little and we always advise fitting tight in the first instance. Shutters can quite easily be adjusted should this occur as it is never that much but it is probably better to leave them as they can just as easily swell again should the humidity increase.

  Wood is a natural material. We do make perfect shutters because the market today expects perfect manufacture. These shutters are not rustic. Rustic products are made in rustic environments with basic tools and little technology, and are specifically finished to look that way. If you want an aged look then you can add it later. In fact within a week or two they develop a more lived in look and your decor adds character.

• How Do I Maintain My Shutters?

  Shutters are easily cleaned using a feather duster, damp sponge/soft cloth. The finish shouldn't need repainting for many years, indeed the Seattle shutters are totally maintenance free and cannot be re painted anyway.

• Where Are They Made?

  We are amongst the first to source custom products in China it is true but we have had to employ the most modern methods to do this. Shutters are made in less than a day from order. They use very sophisticated and expensive computers and machinery to do this. They have to make very good products, as we don't want to have to alter it here or maintain it. The owners of the facility have invested tens of millions of US dollars to make our products as good, as they are.

  Our workers work reasonable hours for above average pay. They have careers and housing and children at schools. China make, some of the highest quality products on offer here, including our shutters.

• Is Our Wood Eco Friendly?

  Our Cedar comes from the Western Red Cedar Association in Canada. It is either replanted cedar or taken from designated forest areas where it is a managed forest. Cedar is one of the most used timbers in the world, because although a softwood, it is amazingly long lasting a resistant to wet and rot. As a result it is farmed on very well managed forests.

  "The Phoenix" is made from a laminated constructed Phoenix wood, sometimes called Parasol. It grows in sub tropical areas of the southern states of the USA, China and Japan. It is a very fast growing tree reaching full height in about 15 years. Ideal for farming .It is a hardwood but very light. It is the slowest burning wood on the planet it needs a secondary heat source to burn. In Japan it is believed that it has mystical properties.

  "The Seattle Range" is our most eco friendly product because no trees have been cut down to make this product . Made from a laminated veneered lumber core (Basswood or other strong frame materials strips that are off cuts not usable elsewhere, laminated together with epoxy making a light, strong core)< LDF laid bulk and polymer sealed outer coating.

  We use the most material efficient methods to make shutters that are known to us. We re use whatever wood is left from a process somewhere else even the sawdust is used to power the generators that power the plant and provide hot water. The 3 large turbines that do this cost more than the average shutter companies, entire production equipment.

  Our packaging is made from biodegradable cardboard, we even make the packing inserts from cardboard. All recycling waste facilities in the UK will accept our cardboard. We do not use bubblewrap.

• Warranty

  All products are protected against warping and defects of workmanship for a minimum of 12 months from date of fitting. See full terms and conditions.