San Diego's Frequently Asked Questions About Shutters

For more than 29 years, we’ve received every question about shutters thinkable from our customers in San Diego. 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 wait to contact Sunburst Shutters San Diego directly. We’re here to assist you and happy to do so.

That is based on how you desire the shutters to interact with 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 known 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. Store-bought blinds tend to deteriorate over time, with its strings breaking and the loops that hold the slats in place falling apart. And 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 full window is exposed and you can see out onto your San Diego neighborhood.

Draperies also are available 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 provides you with light and temperature block-out capabilities. And unlike other window treatments, there’s no need to clean draperies for five years.

If you are searching for a window treatment that lasts over 10 years, saves you actual bucks on your energy bills, and looks elegant on your windows, shutters are the choice for your home. Not only are shutters durable, but they’re also beautiful and energy efficient. In fact, Polywood shutters insulate up to 70% better than a similar 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 contemporary feel whether they’re closed or open.

An inappropriately installed window treatment can be a hassle to open and can get damaged easily. We have an expert installation crew that comes to your home and installs your window treatment just right, ensuring that each one functions perfectly – and doesn’t get damaged in the process.

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

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

Our Polywood shutters last 50+ years – more than any other shutter in the US. That’s why these plantation shutters are a permanent fixture that increases 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 crafted to fit your windows exactly. They become a permanent fixture of your home, adding to its resale value. These shutters cannot be moved from one house to another.

Plantation shutters are an investment that gives you temperature control, energy efficiency, and privacy. They are custom fashioned and installed on your windows to become permanent fixtures. Not only are they elegant and energy saving, but plantation shutters also add to the value of your home. We’ve seen it first hand in San Diego!

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

Cafe Shutters Cafe Style Shutters With Divider

In the end, it’s a 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 well-rounded look – and letting you close the bottom louvers for privacy while leaving the top louvers open for light. At night, you have the option of closing the top louvers as well for privacy and security. It’s also convenient during the day when the sun is stopping you from watching TV. And don’t worry about forfeiting any of your view. A 3.5" or 4.5" louver will almost disappear when opened flat and gives you more than enough of a view to look through.

Easy! Call us at 760-405-8887 or fill out the form below to schedule your free in-home consultation, and we’ll guide you from there. We come out to your home to measure the windows you want to shutter and bring samples of all of our shutter products and their available options. This allows us to provide you with the most accurate shutter quote for your project. Schedule your in-home consultation today!

Yes! There’s seldom a need to remove or alter your current window trim when installing new plantation shutters. Natural Ovation wood shutters and patented Polywood shutters can be customized with a variety of frame styles to fit seamlessly into your current window trim. If your windows don’t have trim, you can choose a specific frame style to install directly onto the wall around your window to fix your stunning new shutters to your window opening.

Your Sunburst Shutters installation team will measure each of your individual windows during your free in-home consultation to ensure that your window trim is perfectly complemented by the frame of your new shutters.

Sunburst Shutters San Diego is proud to offer a collection of window treatments made right here in the U.S.A. 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 product for your San Diego home.

And Polywood isn’t alone in hailing from the U.S. Our naturally beautiful Reclaimed Wood shutters are built using lumber harvested 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 material of the shutter interacts with the color. Paint lays atop the shutter, just coating the surface. Stains conversely, penetrate the shutter, bonding to the natural wood or faux wood material.

Each method comes with its unique benefits. There are often more color choices for paints. With stained shutters, the color won’t lie over the natural wood grain, so you can see the random knots and bumps of the material without it being masked by a layer of paint.

During your in-home window design consultation, we’ll bring samples of our stain and paint options right to your door so you can easily color match with your current design.

The complete plantation shutter process, beginning with your in-home consultation through installing the shutters, usually takes around four to six weeks on average. The reason it takes this long is because we want to build shutters that are completely customized to your windows. To do that, we need to take precise measurements, utilize sophisticated software to design them, assemble your custom shutters by hand, and get them to your home for installation. Shutters made from real wood tend to take longer than Polywood because of the staining and finishing process.

It does take a little time, but it’s a wait that’s definitely worth it.

Sunburst Shutters San Diego offers a complete shop-at-home experience. So we send a representative to you to take precise measurements of your windows, discuss your options, and provide an accurate quote. The shutter consultation is absolutely free. That’s the best way to start your shutter project. If you’re just looking for a quick estimate, you can give us your window measurements either by phone or through our contact form.

That’s up to your own taste. If you want to keep your trim in place, we’re able to build custom shutters to complement your current trim. If you like our shutter frames better, then you can remove the trim—but it’s not a necessity. If you want to go without trim or replace your trim, your Sunburst installer can help you choose the best option to match your perfect vision.

If you’re an experienced DIYer, you might be familiar with some of the process involved in installing shutters. However, installing shutters yourself might be a tad tricky for most San Diego residents. Our suggestion is to leave the installation to professionals that are certified and insured, so you won’t be at risk of damaging your shutters, windows, or injuring yourself.

Far and away our most popular shutter products are our classic white Polywood® faux wood plantation shutters, and Ovation® real wood shutters.

Beyond that, the most popular shutter configuration features includes a 3.5” louver, smooth finish, with a Z-frame. If none of that makes any sense, that’s ok. We’d be happy to demonstrate what all that means in person. Set up your complimentary home consultation and we’ll help you figure out what would look best on your windows.

Smooth finish shutters tend to look more modern and sleek, whereas textured finish shutters look a little more natural. But the benefits to each style of plantation shutter finish go a little bit farther, and ultimately come down to your own style.

Perks of a smooth finish for shutters – A smooth finish to your shutters offer a clean, sleek, sophisticated look. If you don’t have any other wood accessories like hardwood floors or furniture, you might not want a smooth finish. A smooth finish is easier to see when it needs dusting, in comparison with a textured finish. We usually recommend a smooth finish for faux wood shutters like Polywood.

Perks of a textured finish for shutters – A wood grain finish on your shutters offers a more natural, rustic look to your shutters. That’s perfect if your goal is to bring the beauty of nature inside, especially if you want to match the look of your hardwood floors. A wood grain on your shutters may also make dust more difficult to see, which means you can wait a little longer between regular cleanings. A textured finish looks especially great on real wood shutters in San Diego.

For the most part, the larger the window, the more shutter panels you’ll want on it. The most ideal layout is to use a single panel for windows up to 26 in. wide, two panels for windows up to 50 in. wide, and four for windows up to 98 in. wide.

Single wide panels aren’t as user-friendly as multiple panels. Sometimes, wide panel shutters can’t fit flush against the wall due to their size. Multiple small panels don’t have that same issue.

For windows that you may want to open or shut regularly, you’ll be better suited with multi-panel shutters, since it’s easier to open them and they get more support from the shutter frame when you do open and close them.

With Sunburst Shutters San Diego, any and all measurements for shutters will be done for free by one of our installers as part of your in-home consultation. Even if your window is in a difficult to reach area of your house or has a distinct shape, our installers can get you a precise measurement so that your shutters will fit your windows seamlessly.

At your complimentary in-home consultation, your Sunburst Shutters rep can help you choose from our extensive array of San Diego plantation shutters, featuring options for finish, stain colors, and custom framing options.

So schedule your in-home consultation today by calling 760-405-8887 today.

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

If the louver is detached and hanging from the frame, you probably have a damaged louver pin. To mend this you will want to remove the pin from both the louver and the stile with some needle-nose pliers or a utility knife. Once everything is taken out, stick the new pin base into the same hole in the shutter stile, then slide the louver onto the pin. To acquire extra louver pins for free, just call us at 760-405-8887.

The cost of plantation shutters hinges on the chosen product line and window measurements. While we can offer you a projection over the phone, exact prices are offered after our free in-person consultation. Call 760-405-8887 to make an appointment today.

First, pull out the snapped staple out of the louver with a tool like of needle-nose pliers. Then dab on some adhesive (like wood glue or epoxy) to cover the legs of a replacement staple. Thread the staple through the loop on the louver and direct its legs into the previous staple holes on the tilt rod. For new shutter staples, call us at 760-405-8887.

Polywood shutters are some of the safest window treatments in San Diego. The cord-free, durable craftsmanship is safe for children and pets. The toxin-free and hypoallergenic paint, polymers, and materials will never chip, splinter, or peel. And because Polywood is pest and moisture resistant, you will not have to worry about bugs, mold, or wood rot.