Riverside's Frequently Asked Questions About Shutters

For more than 30 years, we’ve heard every question about shutters thinkable from our customers in Riverside. And we’ve put together 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 hesitate to contact Sunburst Shutters Riverside directly. We’re here to help you and happy to do so.

That is based on how you want the shutters to mesh with your home’s décor. Do you want a shutter that contrasts your wall paint color and has clean lines? Polywood® plantation shutters are perfect for you. Or are you looking to match the wood in your home as closely as possible? Ovation® wood shutters are the ultimate fit for you.

Plantation shutters are celebrated 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. Chances are, store-bought blinds will deteriorate over time, with its strings breaking 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 host of colors, materials, and unique patterns, transforming 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 Riverside neighborhood.

Draperies also offer a wide collection 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, it’s not necessary to clean draperies for five years.

If you’re looking for a window treatment that lasts beyond 10 years, saves you real dollars on your energy bills, and looks magnificent on your windows, shutters are the choice for your home. Not only are shutters durable, but they’re also elegant and energy efficient. Actually, 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 room a clean in vogue feel whether they’re closed or open.

A poorly 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 just right, ensuring that each one functions seamlessly – and doesn’t get damaged when opened and closed.

But before we start 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 simply by adjusting them up or down. Generally, a tilt rod mounted on the front of the shutters gives you control over the louvers. To move the louvers with your hand, we recommend buying shutters with hidden tilt-rods or rear-mounted tilt rods. This gives your shutters a clean, contemporary appearance.

Our Polywood shutters last more than 50 years – more than any other shutter in the US. That’s why these plantation shutters are a permanent fixture that raises 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. Gently tilt them open and dust them like furniture – or wipe smudges with a moist cloth.

Plantation shutters are custom crafted to fit your windows just right. 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 fashioned and installed on your windows to become permanent fixtures. Not only are they exquisite and energy saving, but plantation shutters also increase the value of your home. We’ve seen it first hand in Riverside!

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

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 allowing you to 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 hindering you from watching TV. And don’t worry about sacrificing any of your view. A 3.5" or 4.5" louver will almost disappear when opened flat and gives you a lot of space to look through.

Easy! Call us at 951-517-3030 or fill out the form below to schedule your free in-home consultation, and we’ll take it from there. We come out to your home to measure the windows you want to cover with shutters 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 best shutter price for your project. Schedule your in-home consultation today!

Absolutely! There’s almost never a need to remove or do work on your existing window trim when you buy new plantation shutters. Natural Ovation wood shutters and deluxe Polywood shutters are offered in a variety of frame styles to fit naturally into your current window trim. If your windows are trimless, you can choose a specific frame style to install right onto the wall around your window to fix your beautiful new shutters to your window opening.

Your installation team will measure each of your home’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 Riverside is committed to offering a collection of window treatments made right here in America. Our marquee Polywood plantation shutters are 100% made in America, from the manufacturing of our exclusive Polywood material to the construction of the shutters themselves. Not only does that mean a lower final price without unnecessary shipping and handling costs, it also gives you the bonus of knowing you’re choosing an all-American product for your Riverside house.

And it’s not just Polywood that’s from the U.S.A. Our stunning Reclaimed Wood shutters are built using lumber repurposed from sources across the country, from homespun Southern barn doors to sturdy Texas ranch fences and more.

The primary difference between painted and stained shutters is how the shutter material interacts with the color. Paint sits on the top layer of the shutter, just coating the surface. Stains on the other hand seep into the shutter, becoming a part of the natural wood or faux wood material.

Both methods come with their individual benefits. There are typically a larger number of color choices for paints. With stained shutters, the color won’t interfere with the natural wood grain, so you can see the random knots and bumps of the material without a layer of paint hiding it.

For your in-home window design consultation, we’ll bring samples of our stain and paint options directly to your home so you can perfectly color match with your existing interior design.

The whole plantation shutter process, beginning with your initial consultation through putting your shutters in, usually takes about four to six weeks. The reason it takes this long is because we strive to build shutters that are perfectly customized to every facet of your windows. To do that, we need to take exact measurements, utilize sophisticated software to design them, assemble your custom shutters by hand, and deliver them to your home for installation. Wood shutters typically take longer than Polywood due to the staining and finishing process.

It does take a little time, but it’s absolutely worth the wait.

We offer a complete in-home shopping experience. We’ll send shutter expert to you to take precise measurements of your windows, discuss your options, and provide an accurate quote. The design consultation is absolutely free. That’s the most effective way to start your shutter project. If you’re just looking for a quick estimate, you can submit the measurements of your windows through our contact form, or by calling us at 951-517-3030.

The answer will depend on your personal style. If you want to keep your existing trim, we’re able to build your shutters to match 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, we’ll help you choose the best option to match what you have in mind for your space.

If you’re a seasoned handyman, you might be familiar with what goes into a shutter installation. However, DIY shutters might be a little tricky for most Riverside 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, your windows, or injuring yourself.

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

Beyond that, the most popular shutter configuration features includes a 3 ½” louver, smooth finish, and an interior-mount Z-frame. If all that information is confusing, that’s ok. We’d be happy to demonstrate what all those things mean in person. Schedule your complimentary in-home consultation and we’ll show you what would look best on your windows.

Shutters with a smooth finish have a more modern look, whereas textured finish shutters look more natural and historic. But the benefits to each style of plantation shutter finish go a little bit farther, and ultimately come down to your own taste.

Benefits of a smooth finish for shutters – A smooth finish to your shutters offer a clean, chic, modern look. If your home doesn’t have any other wood surfaces like hardwood floors or exposed beams, you might not want a smooth finish. A smooth finish makes dust easier to see, compared to a textured finish. We usually recommend a smooth finish for faux wood shutters like Polywood.

Benefits of shutters with a textured finish – Shutters with a textured finish offer a more natural look in your home. That’s perfect if you want to bring the beauty of nature indoors, especially if you want to match the look of your hardwood furniture. A textured finish on your shutter louvers will also make it more difficult to see dust, which means you don’t have to dust them as frequently as you would if they were smooth. A wood-grain finish looks especially great on real wood shutters in Riverside.

For the most part, the larger the surface area of your window, the more shutter panels you’ll want. The optimal design 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 aren’t as room-friendly as two separate panels. Sometimes, wider panels won’t fit flush against the wall due to their size. Multiple small panels resolve that.

For those windows that you might open or shut regularly, you’ll be better off with multiple panels, since it’s easier to open them and they get additional support from the frame when you do operate them.

With Sunburst Shutters Riverside, any and all measurements for shutters will be done by our team for free as part of your in-home consultation. If you happen to have windows in a difficult to reach place in your house or you have windows with a unique shape, our installers can get you an accurate measurement so that the final product will fit your windows seamlessly.

During your complimentary in-home consultation, your Sunburst Shutters pro can help you narrow down your options from our wide variety of Riverside plantation shutters, including choices for finish, stain colors, and custom framing options.

So set up your free consultation today by calling 951-517-3030 today.

Sunburst can help you find the best shutter for your windows, no matter how narrow your frame. We will work with an outside mount installation that attaches to the trim or wall outside the window opening . Your shutters will still have equivalent capabilities and energy efficiency, and will tie in perfectly with your established decor.

If the louver is separated and jutting from the frame, you likely have a damaged louver pin. To mend this you should extract the pin from both the louver and the stile with a set of needle-nose pliers or a utility knife. Once the damaged pin is taken out, put the undamaged pin base into the same hole in the shutter stile, then slide the louver onto the pin. To get extra complementary louver pins, just call us at 951-517-3030.

Pricing on plantation shutters hinges on the chosen product line and window measurements. While we can present you an estimate over the phone, exact costs are computed after our free in-person consultation. Call 951-517-3030 to schedule an appointment today.

First, remove the snapped staple out of the louver with a pair of needle-nose pliers. Then apply some adhesive (like wood glue or epoxy) to spread all over the legs of a new staple. Thread the staple into the loop on the louver and guide its legs into the previous staple holes on the tilt rod. For extra shutter staples, call us at 951-517-3030.

Polywood shutters are seen as some of the safest window treatments in Riverside. The cord-free, durable craftsmanship is safe for kids and pets. The toxin-free and hypoallergenic paint and materials will never chip, splinter, or peel. And since Polywood is pest and water resistant, you’ll never have to check for termites, mold or wood rot.