We all like to save money, so when considering the cost of window shutters for your home, it’s prudent to examine where costs can be lowered and to make the most sensible decisions. However, there’s a difference between informed and effective cost savings and just being cheap. Sometimes, cheap can be really expensive – especially for cheap window shutters.
Here at the Scottish Shutter Company, we can offer the best advice on upgrading and updating your home with window shutters, including knowing exactly when to spend and when to hold back.
Why Window Shutters?
Let’s start with why! Why choose window shutters over blinds or curtains (or even just looking out at the stars every night)? Shutters have seen a huge rise in popularity over the past decade; while they’ve always been around, more and more people are seeing their advantages, making window shutters a new style staple.
Shutters offer:
- Superior light control that’s far more comprehensive than curtains or most blinds.
- Impressive sound dampening that leaves outside, outside.
- Complete privacy from nosey noses and peeking eyes.
- Improved insulation that leads to energy efficiency and savings.
- A stunning aesthetic with plenty of styles and colours to choose from.
- True versatility, with shutters suitable for every room, including kitchens and bathrooms, and for any sized and shaped window – even patio doors.
Window Shutters: the Cost
You don’t get all these benefits for free, and we’re not going to pretend that shutters aren’t a significant investment. They are more pricey than curtains or blinds, but that’s because they are a superior product, made from superior materials, for a superior end result.
Still, with cost such a major factor in buying decisions, It’s no surprise that a whole host of websites and businesses offer cheap window shutters.
This is nothing new. It’s true of most things; after all, for every Prada, there’s a Primark!
But just like buying cheap clothes, when you get cheap window shutters, the result is not the quality you expect. Whereas with clothes, you can afford to accept the lesson and move on, choosing to shop elsewhere, when you’ve spent a considerable sum on installing inferior cheap window shutters, you might find yourself stuck.
Cheap Window Shutters: The Truth
Let’s look at the truth behind cheap window shutters and exactly why opting to save without proper research can lead to problems in the future.
Problem #1 – Measurements
When buying cheap window shutters, the work of measuring up is yours. It’s not impossible to do, of course, and plenty of people are confident to get out the tape measure and work out the size of their windows, but there’s no room for mistakes here. Get the measurements wrong and you end up with useless shutters.
Measuring accurately is essential to gain the benefits of your shutters; after all, if they don’t properly fit the window, you can wave goodbye to the insulation benefits, the superior light control, and more.
Not only that, but you will find they will be very difficult to fit if they’re the wrong size.
Sadly, it happens all the time.
Problem #2 – Fitting
When those shutters arrive, you have to fit them.
Like many skills, fitting shutters looks easy if you stand back and watch a professional at work. Trying to do it yourself, often for the first time, is a very different matter – and that assumes you have all the necessary tools and accessories to hand.
Plus, the time it takes. Many people have to take time away from work and family to install their shutters when they arrive, which has a real tangible cost. While a professional may fit your shutters in a matter of hours, doing it yourself could take twice as long or even more. Maybe the shutters just sit there on the side, waiting for the right day…
Staying up half the night holding in your growing fury at trying to fit slightly-off-size cheap window shutters with the wrong tools and a thumping headache when you’ve already been at this for five hours is no one’s idea of fun!
Plus, if you go wrong, it can have expensive consequences.
Problem #3 – Quality
The problems of measuring and fitting are nothing compared to the quality issues that can (and do) occur when shutters have been ordered from cheap internet sites. At the Scottish Shutter Company, we’ve seen some real horrors, but consider the following:
- Flimsy plastic slats rather than quality wooden louvres
- Huge gaps between ill-fitted louvres
- Wonky and unstable frames
- Mismatched colours between shutters – or worse, on the same shutter!
- Missing parts
- Poor quality materials that degrade quickly over time
- And so much more…
The truth is, cheap has a cost – is it one you are willing to pay?
Why Your Cheap Window Shutters Could Cost You More
What do you get when you pay for quality window shutters? What does that big price difference between the online bargains of cheap window shutters and the premium products such as those offered by The Scottish Shutter Company actually represent?
Let’s take a look!
Local Showroom
There is true value in coming to a tangible shop and looking at the range of shutters before you buy. A lot has been lost with the rise of online retailers, and when it comes to investing in your home, the ability to see actual products on display is one of those things. By maintaining a bricks-and-mortar location, we prioritise the fundamental need to engage with and compare shutters before you commit.
A Professional Measure
Our experts will come to your home and do a thorough survey and measurement, ensuring that no mistakes are made in the sizing of your shutters.
Handmade to Order
One of the great benefits of window shutters is that they are tailored to fit your home and its windows. Our shutters are handmade to order, meaning they fit snugly and precisely, exactly as intended.
Quality Materials
There’s no shoddiness here! Each window shutter we install has been made using the best quality materials to ensure longevity, durability, and the perfect look.
Expertly Installed
With none of the hair-pulling problems described earlier, our experienced experts will perfectly fit your shutters without any fuss.
A Longlasting Investment
Our work doesn’t end with beautifully fitted shutters, however. We guarantee both the shutters themselves and our work with comprehensive aftercare and maintenance support. With the Scottish Shutter Company, you know your shutters are premium quality and will last for years.
Fitted Window Shutters With The Scottish Shutter Company
Cheap window shutters mean paying less upfront, but they’ll cause you no end of grief from the problems getting them installed, living with poor quality shutters, and then the need to replace them sooner than a quality alternative. Don’t do it to yourself – download a brochure from us at the Scottish Shutter Company today to see what your home can look like with a quality fitted shutter.
