FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

It depends on how you want shutters to complement your interior design. Do you prefer a window treatment that offers lifetime durability and beauty that can perfectly color contrast against your wall paint? Then Polywood® plantation shutters are the ideal interior shutter option. Are you looking to match the traditional wood craftsmanship inside your home as closely as possible? If so, Ovation wood shutters are the answer. Sunburst Shutters has a variety of shutters to fit every decorating style, window type, and budget.

Window treatments offer a variety of energy efficiency, depending on the material, the thickness, the amount of the window they cover, and more. But the window treatments that offer the most power in maximizing energy efficiency are plantation shutters, especially our exclusively patented Polywood® shutters. Polywood® was specifically engineered to provide optimal insulation through features exclusive to Sunburst Shutters. Click here to learn more about the many benefits the Polywood® Shutter Insulation System has to offer your home and bank account.

Yes, even though plantation shutters are best known for providing you privacy at best, given each shutter is installed with a decorative frame, leaving little room for those less desirable side-space gaps that come with most other traditional window treatments, there are multiple ways you can leverage natural light;

• Shutter louvers and panels can be opened or closed to manage light. For just a little light, tilt the louvers open slightly. For complete light, tile the louvers open at a 45-degree angle. For complete light and view, swing the panels open too.
• To get the best of both worlds, go with a divider rail option. The result is a shutter that can control light from the top louvers (opening them) and yet keep the bottom louvers closed for privacy.

An inappropriately installed window treatment can be tough to open and damage easily. We have a professional installation crew that comes to your home and installs your window treatment with great accuracy, making sure that each one moves smoothly—and doesn’t get damaged in the process.

Shutter frames are permanently affixed to the window opening to provide stability. Shutter panels are hinged into the frame, so they swing open if needed. Before we install your shutters, we bring samples to your home during our free in-home design consultation so you can pick the best frames and shutters for you.

You can easily have shutters in a pop-out window. Our shutter frame can be flush with the window opening or on the wall around it—allowing room for the shutters to completely swing open.

There isn’t a window type we can’t handle, especially tilt-in windows. We can install shutters in a tilt-in window. We’ll provide a frame that fits around the outside of the window opening to leave enough room for the window to tilt in freely without hitting the shutters.

Window treatment options on sliding doors or French doors can be tricky. But shutters are typically the ideal solution, especially in achieving style consistency throughout your entire home. They are optimal in functionality offering maximum privacy, energy efficiency, light, and sound control. Shutters are permanent and more durable than any other treatment on doors that are opened and closed regularly.

Your plantation shutter slats – or louvers – can be moved simply by adjusting them up or down. Most commonly, a tilt rod mounted on the front of the shutters allows you to adjust the louvers by moving the tilt rod. If you would like to move the louvers without a visible tilt rod on the shutters, we suggest shutters with hidden/rear-mounted tilt rods. This gives your shutters a clean and contemporary look.

Our Polywood® shutters last over 50 years – more than any other shutter you can find. That’s why these plantation shutters are a permanent fixture that adds to your home’s resale value. Learn more about the durability of our shutters.

Plantation shutters are a piece of cake to clean because they have large louvers and their tilt bars are either hidden or mounted on the rear. Simply tilt them open and dust them like furniture – or wipe smudges with a moist cloth.

If you bought shutters from Sunburst, give your local store a call about your broken shutter. We’ll send out a tech to analyze the problem and provide solutions for you. Our most common shutter issue is the family dog chewing on louvers—something we can easily fix for you.

Plantation shutters are custom fashioned to fit your windows perfectly. They become a permanent fixture of your home, boosting its resale value. These shutters cannot be moved from one house to another.

Plantation shutters are an investment that allows temperature control, energy efficiency, and privacy. They are custom fashioned and installed on your windows to become permanent fixtures. Not only are they exquisite and energy saving, but plantation shutters also boost the value of your residence. When you invest in Sunburst Shutters for your home, you invest wisely.

The only way to truly give you an accurate cost for your shutters is by one of our Sunburst reps coming to your home and taking accurate measurements of your windows. This is a free service as part of your in-home design consultation.

Many factors influence cost—from the type of shutter to the size of the window, to the frame, and more. Even if you have windows in a difficult-to-reach area of your house or with a unique shape, our shutter experts can get you a precise measurement so that the shutters you get will perfectly match up with your windows.

Easy! Call us 877-786-2877 or fill out the form below to schedule your free in-home consultation, and we’ll guide you from there. If we service your market, we come out to your home to measure the windows you want to cover with shutters and bring samples of all our shutter products and their available options. This way we can provide you with the most accurate shutter price for your project. Schedule your in-home consultation today!

We take pride in not only helping you select a window treatment that best suits your home but one that will also provide you with longevity & durability. We go above and beyond to make sure your windows are accurately measured for precise customized fabrication and turnkey install, avoiding the potential and costly hiccups that traditionally occur with ordering window treatments online.

If you’re an experienced handyperson, you’re probably familiar with some of the processes involved in a shutter installation. However, installing shutters yourself can be a tad complicated for most homeowners. Our recommendation is to leave the installation to our certified and insured professionals, that way you won’t risk damage to your shutters, your windows, or any other part of your home.

Yes! There’s no reason to remove or do work on your old window trim when installing new plantation shutters. Our natural Ovation™ wood shutters and patented Polywood® shutters can be customized with a variety of frame styles to fit easily into your existing window trim. If your windows are trim-less, we offer frame styles to install directly onto the drywall around your window to secure your gorgeous new shutters to your window opening.

Your shutter sales rep will measure each of your house’s windows during your complimentary design consultation to make sure that your new shutters will fit perfectly with your current window trim.

The main difference between painted and stained shutters is the way the shutter material interacts with the color. Paint lays on top of the shutter, covering the surface. Conversely, stains penetrate the shutter, becoming a part of the natural wood or our Polywood® material. Our Polywood® shutters come in 3 shades of white with a baked-on paint finish, which is key in preserving their vibrancy for a lifetime, as they will not crack, chip or warp.

Both methods come with their individual benefits. There are typically more color options for painted shutters. With stained shutters, the color doesn’t obscure the natural wood grain, so you’re able to see the natural grooves and ridges of the material without it being hidden by a layer of paint.

During your in-home window design consultation, our team will bring samples of our stain and paint options, so you can perfectly color match with your existing interior design.

The entire plantation shutter process, beginning with your initial consultation through finishing your shutter installation, usually takes around four to six weeks.

Why this long? Our number one goal is to build the perfect shutters for your windows. Doing that requires us to take exact measurements, make use of advanced software to design your shutters, assemble your brand-new shutters manually, and carefully ship them to you prior to installation. Real wood shutters typically take longer due to the staining and finishing process. In efforts to achieve perfection, it’s worth the wait.

The term “poly shutter” is used for any non-wood shutter. Poly shutters can be made in a number of ways, but none of which have the features and benefits of Sunburst’s Polywood Shutter. Polywood Shutters are exclusive to Sunburst Shutters & Window Fashions. We designed and created them with features unlike any other shutter.

Polywood has unique weather stripping for energy efficiency and extra light control, a patented baked-on paint finish that lasts longer than any other shutter, and a number of other features no other shutter offers.

Some companies try to capitalize on the popularity of Sunburst’s Polywood Shutter by calling their poly shutter “Polywood.” But beware that Polywood is only available through Sunburst Shutters stores and authorized dealers.

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Use your zip code and find the location nearest you or call 877-786-2877 to find a showroom near you.

Sunburst Shutters offers a start to finish in-home shopping experience. We send a representative to your home to measure all your windows, discuss your options, and give you a quote. The shutter consultation is totally free. That’s the best way to start a window treatment project. If you’re only looking for a simple estimate, you can give us the measurements of your windows either by phone or through our contact form.

Whether or not to remove the trim depends on your own taste. If you want to keep your existing trim, we can build your shutters to complement your current trim. If you like our shutter frames better, then you can take out the existing trim—but it’s not a requirement. If you’re trying to go trim-less or replace your trim, your Sunburst installer can help you find the best option to fit the vision you have in mind for your windows.

For the most part, the larger the window, the more shutter panels you’ll want. Our recommendation is to use one panel for windows up to 26 inches wide, two panels for windows up to 50 inches wide, and four for windows up to 98 inches wide.

Single wide panels are not as room-friendly as multiple panels. Sometimes, wider panels won’t fit flush against the wall because of their width. Two smaller panels resolve that.

For any windows that you’ll open or shut often, you’re usually better off with multi-panel shutters, since they’re easier to open and have additional support from the frame when you do operate them.