Chicago's Frequently Asked Questions About Shutters

For more than 29 years, we’ve heard every question about shutters you can imagine from our customers in Chicago. And we’ve collected the top ten of them here. Perhaps in these questions and answers you’ll find answers to questions of your own. If not, please don’t hesitate to contact Sunburst Shutters Chicago directly. We’re here to assist you and happy to do so.

That is based on how you want 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 right for you. Or are you looking to duplicate the wood in your home as closely as possible? Ovation® wood shutters are the ultimate fit for you.

Plantation shutters are known for being energy efficient. And to get the greatest 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 giving way and the loops that hold the slats in place falling apart. And they might be troublesome 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 variety of colors, materials, and unique patterns, turning your window into artwork. By effortlessly pulling up the fabric of the shade, your entire window is exposed and you can see out onto your Chicago neighborhood.

Draperies also are available in a wide assortment of color, fabric, and patterns. They are a traditional choice 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, there’s no rush to clean draperies for five years.

If you’re looking for a window treatment that lasts over 10 years, saves you real dollars 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. As a matter of fact, Polywood shutters insulate up to 70% better than an equivalent wood shutter. That's energy savings you can't get with any other window treatment.

Plantation shutters are unparalleled when it comes to control over privacy and light. And with their large louvers, Polywood plantation shutters give your space a clean contemporary feel whether they’re closed or open.

An inappropriately installed window treatment can be difficult to open and can get damaged easily. We have a skilled installation crew that comes to your home and installs your window treatment exactly, ensuring that each one operates flawlessly – and doesn’t get damaged when opened and closed.

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

Your plantation shutter slats – or louvers – can be moved effortlessly by adjusting them up or down. Generally, a tilt rod mounted on the front of the shutters allows you to adjust the louvers. If you would like to move the louvers with your hand, we propose buying shutters with hidden tilt-rods or rear-mounted tilt rods. This gives your shutters a clean, contemporary appearance.

Our Polywood shutters last 50+ years – more than any other shutter around. 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 simple to clean because they have large louvers and their tilt bars are either hidden or mounted on the rear. Just tilt them open and dust them like furniture – or wipe smudges with a wet cloth.

Plantation shutters are custom fashioned to fit your windows exactly. They become a permanent fixture of your home, adding to its resale value. It’s not possible to move these shutters from one house to another.

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

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 polished look – and allowing you to close the bottom louvers for privacy while leaving the top louvers open for light. At night, you are able to close the top louvers as well for privacy and security. This also comes in handy during the day when the sun is hindering 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 a lot of room to look through.

Easy! Call us at 847-250-6544 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. Once you’ve selected a shutter that matches your style, we can provide you with the most accurate shutter estimate for your project. Schedule your in-home consultation today!

Yes! There’s a need to remove or do work on your current window trim when putting in new plantation shutters. Natural Ovation wood shutters and patented Polywood shutters are offered in an array of frame styles to fit naturally into your current window trim. If your windows have no trim, we also have frame styles available to install right onto the drywall around your window to secure your stunning new shutters to your window opening.

Your installation crew will measure each of your house’s windows during your free in-home consultation to make sure that your window trim is tastefully complemented by the frame of your new shutters.

Sunburst Shutters Chicago is committed to offering a range of window coverings made right here in America. Our marquee Polywood plantation shutters are 100% American-made, from the manufacturing of our patented Polywood material to the building of the shutters themselves. Not only does that result in a lower final price without unnecessary shipping and handling costs, it also gives you the benefit of knowing you’re choosing an all-American shutter for your Chicago house.

And it’s not just Polywood that’s from the U.S. Our naturally beautiful Reclaimed Wood shutters are constructed with lumber harvested from places across the country, from homespun Southern barn doors to sturdy Texas ranch fences and more.

The primary differentiator between a shutter that’s stained or painted is the way the shutter material interacts with the color. Paint lays atop the material it’s coloring, covering the surface. Stains on the other hand penetrate the shutter, becoming a part of the natural wood or faux wood material.

The two color options have their own unique benefits. There are often a larger number of color options for painted shutters. With stained shutters, the color won’t interfere with the natural wood grain, so you’re able to see the random grooves and bumps of the material without it being masked by a layer of paint.

For your in-home window design consultation, we’ll bring samples of our stain and paint options right to your door so you can easily match and complement colors with your existing interior design.

The entire plantation shutter process, beginning with your initial consultation through finishing your shutter installation, will take around four to six weeks. The process takes this long because we strive to build shutters that are perfectly customized to every facet of your windows. To do that, we need to take precise measurements, utilize advanced software to design your shutters, assemble your custom shutters manually, and deliver them to your home for installation. Real wood shutters typically take longer than Polywood due to the extra steps needed to stain and treat the wood.

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

Yes, we do have a showroom. We’d be delighted to show you our showroom so you can see our entire collection of shutters and window treatments. The showroom is located at 11416 Kiley Dr, so you’re welcome to visit anytime during our normal business hours to take a look for yourself.

Sunburst Shutters Chicago offers a start to finish in-home shopping experience. So we send a representative to you to take precise measurements of your windows, show you your options, and give you an accurate quote. The design consultation is absolutely free. That’s the best way to start a shutter project. If you only want a rough estimate, you can submit the measurements of your windows either by phone or through our contact form.

The answer will depend on your own taste. If you want to keep the trim you already have, we’re able to build your shutters to match your current trim. If you prefer our shutter frames, then removing trim is fine—but it’s not a requirement. 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 handyman, you’re probably familiar with some of the process involved in a shutter installation. However, DIY shutters might be a tad complex for most Chicago homeowners. Our recommendation is to leave the installation to our certified and insured professionals, that way you won’t be at risk of damaging your shutters, windows, or any other part of your house.

Far and away our most in-demand shutter options are our classic white Polywood® faux wood plantation shutters, and Ovation® real wood shutters.

More specifically, the most popular shutter configuration features includes a 3.5” louver, non-textured finish, with a Z-frame. If those words don’t mean anything to you, that’s ok. We’d be delighted to demonstrate what all that means in person. Set up your complimentary home consultation and we’ll help you figure out what will look best in your space.

Shutters with a smooth finish have a more chic look, while shutters with a textured finish look a little more natural. However the perks to each style of plantation shutter finish are a little deeper, and ultimately come down to your own taste.

Perks of shutters with a smooth finish – A smooth finish to your shutters offer a clean, sleek, sophisticated look. A smooth finish may be perfect for you if your home has few other wood textured surfaces or furniture. A smooth finish is easier to see when it needs dusting, compared to a textured finish. We usually recommend a smooth finish for faux wood shutters like Polywood.

Perks of shutters with a textured finish – Shutters with a wood grain finish offer a more natural look in your home. That’s awesome if your goal is to bring the beauty of nature indoors, particularly if you want to complement the look of your hardwood floors. A wood grain on your shutter louvers will also make dust harder to see, which means you can wait a little longer between regular cleanings. A wood-grain finish looks especially great on real wood shutters in Chicago.

For the most part, the bigger your window is, the more shutter panels you’ll need. The optimal design is to use a single panel for windows up to 26” wide, two panels for windows up to 50” wide, and four for windows up to 98” wide.

Single wide panels aren’t as room-friendly as two separate panels. Often, wide panel shutters won’t fit flush against the wall due to their size. Multiple small panels solve that issue.

For any windows that you may want to open or shut regularly, you’re usually better suited with multi-panel shutters, since they’re easier to open and have more support from the frame when you do open and shut them.

With Sunburst Shutters Chicago, any and all shutter measurements 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 place in your house or has a unique shape, our shutter pros can get you an exact measurement so that your shutters will line up just right with the windows.

During your complimentary in-home consultation, your Sunburst Shutters rep can help you pick from our wide variety of Chicago plantation shutters, such as choices for finish, stain colors, and custom mounts and frames.

So schedule your in-home consultation today by calling 847-250-6544 today.

Sunburst can help you find the ideal shutter for your windows, regardless of how small your frame. We will work with an outside mount installation that connects to the trim or wall outside the window cavity . Your shutters will still have equivalent functionality and energy efficiency, and will blend superbly with your established decor.

If the louver is separated and hanging from the frame, you could have a busted louver pin. To mend this you should remove the pin from both the louver and the stile with some needle-nose pliers or a utility knife. Once the damaged pin is removed, stick the replacement pin base into the same hole in the shutter stile, then slide the louver onto the pin. To get additional complementary louver pins, just call us at 847-250-6544.

Pricing on plantation shutters hinges on the chosen product line and window area. While we can give you an estimate over the phone, complete costs are offered after our free in-person consultation. Call 847-250-6544 to schedule an appointment today.

First, pull out the snapped 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. Thread the staple through the loop on the louver and guide its legs into the same staple holes on the tilt rod. For new shutter staples, call us at 847-250-6544.

Polywood shutters are seen as some of the safest window coverings in Chicago. The durable, cordless design is safe for kids and pets. The non-toxic and hypoallergenic paint, polymers, and materials will never chip, splinter, or peel. And because Polywood is pest and water resistant, you will not have to worry about termites, mold or wood rot.