shuttersdirect.info

 

Exterior Shutters can certainly look as attractive on a modern home, as they most definitely do on more traditional, historic and colonial or beach style property.  Shutters can give any property a new look, or enhance an existing style.   There are many designs being produced today, in a variety of materials.  Whichever you might be considering, Exterior Shutters are a great way to add that extra touch of style, and even colour, to you home.  The ultimate in finishing touches!  Non functional shutters are purely to enhance the look of any property. However, functional, Exterior Shutters have always been used to provide extra protection if, and when, severe weather should come.  Traditionally, these would be made of solid wood, but today they are also manufactured in aluminium, iron, and various synthetic materials.  Many people do prefer more modern materials, because they offer one really big advantage, less maintenance.  Synthetics are more resistance to warping and twisting, and do not need to be varnished, or painted, on a regular basis.  Although it should be recognised, not all synthetics are created equal.

 

Exterior Shutters were traditionally used to protect and cover both doors and windows.  There are many alternative materials available today, yet many still consider wooden Exterior Shutters to be the best.  There’s no doubt, they are beautiful, and for many, the high cost and maintenance is worth every cent.  However, fibreglass, aluminium, and iron offer much more protection from the high winds and rain experienced during storms and hurricanes.  Storm and Hurricane shutters can be installed onto tracks and motorized, allowing fast and easy control.  Especially useful at those times, but also, useful at ALL times.  As with any home improvement project, you will need to work out what is important, and also prudent, before making your purchase.  Vinyl window shutters do last for years, they’re also inexpensive and easy to clean.  A great way of giving your home a traditional look without the expense of traditional materials and maintenance. 

 

Fibreglass tends to be one of the more expensive synthetically manufactured Exterior Shutters available.  However, they will, and do last around twenty years, so in the long run, considering all the benefits they offer, they can be considered excellent value for money.  Fibreglass shutters are moulded, therefore much stronger than many of the other types.  Making them excellent choice, with regards to storm and hurricane protection. You will also discover they are available in an incredible variety of designs, with a myriad of colours and textures on offer.  This type of exterior shutter is highly coveted, because of its durability and the great selection of styles available.  But it’s not just the synthetics which have a lot to offer, you will also find a good selection of Aluminium Shutters available.  These shutters are extremely stylish, strong, and also offer good protection from stormy high winds and pounding rain.  They are also more economical than fibreglass.  There are lots of reasons why people choose to fit Exterior Shutters, and all of them are good one’s.

 

www.shuttersdirect.nl

www.shuttersdirect.eu

 

 

 

Any home, historic or modern, can be enhanced with the installation of window and door Shutters.  Not only are they attractive, they’re extremely practical too, and homeowners do have them fitted for a variety of reasons.  Exterior and interior shutters will provide privacy, and virtually eliminate problems caused by ‘overbearing’ direct sunlight.  Everybody loves the sunshine, but it can cause havoc with soft furnishings and make a room extremely uncomfortable on a hot summer’s day.  Shutters neither deprive you of  light, nor allow you to be overcome by it, therefore, a great solution for many people.  Aesthetically, they can add great style and colour to the interior, or exterior, of your home, providing that final, fantastic, finishing touch to it.  Traditionally, they have always been used for the same reasons as they are today: Privacy and keeping sunlight under control.  Exterior Shutters also provide a good amount of protection, against the weather and all the elements mother nature tends to throw at us. 

 

Depending on the style of the building, and your own personal preferences, both the windows and doors can be covered.  Plantataion Shutters can be fixed (purely aesthetic) or functional.  Installed within existing frames, or on tracks for easy opening. Some are even motorised, making them fully controllable and extremely easy to open. They can also be placed horizontally or vertically, made of traditional, classic wood, or, from more modern materials, such as fibreglass, aluminium and iron.  Today, with so many styles, and options available, home owners are positively spoilt for choice! There are many ways to upgrade and improve the interior of a home: Replacing floor coverings, painting the walls, building  a fireplace, or maybe freshening up the bathroom or kitchen with some new tiles. But any good interior decorator will tell you, the windows and the light will make the most dramatic difference to any room.  How you decide to ‘dress’ them can, and will, completely change the feel. 

 

 

Inside the home, ‘Plantation Shutters’ are a classic way to cover windows.  Many people refer to all interior Shutters as ‘Plantation’, however, original designs have a wide Louvre.  Each slat somewhere between two and a half, and four and a half inches in depth.  Each panel would also be adjustable, allowing complete control of how much light is allowed to enter the room.  This is also a great feature with regards to privacy.  Making them an excellent option if this is an big issue, for instance, in a bathroom or bedroom.  Like many of the styles available, these too can be found in a range of wood and vinyl, including, for more economy, a synthetic ‘wood look finish’.  Shutters, in general, are available in a range of wood and synthetic materials.  Synthetic, either vinyl or plastic, are the most economical.  Wooden Shutters are, most certainly, the most traditional, and can look just as wonderful on the inside, as they do on the outside.  However, aluminium and synthetic materials need less maintenance, and are extremely ‘storm proof’ into the bargain.  But you can guarantee, there will be something to suit your home, and your budget

Shutters are currently on trend. They are an easy way to enhance your home and ultimately the saleability factor of your property. However they are quickly being recognised as a unique method of controlling light in your home, with the added bonus of having a low carbon footprint both in manufacture and ongoing costs. You may think that this is stating the obvious, but controlling the light/sunshine entering a room with shutters has far more reaching benefits. Not only for your investment in bricks and mortar but also for your utilities bill and more importantly and often forgotten the environment.   

 

Ideas from the Gods

 

As much as the idea of shutters is very in and hip at the moment - It would be easy for shutter companies to take credit for their recent popularity surge, but alas that would be a mistruth. It would suffice to say that shutters have been around for thousands of years.

 

It is commonly believed that shutters were first used in ancient Greece in order to provide light control, ventilation and protection in that tropical environment. Those first shutters were likely constructed with fixed louvers made out of marble. Eventually the concept of shutters spread throughout the Mediterranean, and their form began to change. Wood started to replace marble as a more suitable material for production, and designers started developing movable louver shutters to allow varying amounts of light and air into a room

 

 

Conventional Cooling

 

Architects create the demand for bigger, higher and grander buildings. Subsequently this has increased the use of glass and transparent materials in the most complex to the very basic building projects all over the world. Conventionally the easiest and most common method to control the internal temperature is by air conditioning or climate control that are based on heat exchangers and driven by electricity, Electricity that is produced predominantly by gas, coal and wood burning power stations which have the highest ratios in the Carbon Footprint race.

 

Alternative Cooling - Controlling Light

 

The main points to remember are rather obvious to most people, but are often overlooked in the search for a practical way of controlling the temperature in your building

 

Sunshine = heat.

Therefore control the sunshine and you control the heat.

 

Shutters sourced from sustainable forests are providing an effective method of controlling the temperature indoors without the need for ongoing energy supplies – i.e. electricity and gas exchangers.

 

 

Sustainable and Recyclable

 

When sustainable wood sources that comply with the FSC ( Forest Stewardship Council) guidelines  are used for the production of shutters ( as most of the major manufacturers do ) it makes them one of the most viable, cost effective and environmentally friendly methods of solar control. Properly constructed shutters will last for many years but even if they have passed their best by date or fall out of favor they can be recycled and be fed back into the wood chain.

 

The initial cost of properly constructed shutters made from quality wood can be inhibitive when viewed on the short term, especially when compared to conventional cooling methods and such like. However when viewed on the long term in energy savings and in light of ever changing climate change, shutters are a strong contender and alternative.

 

 

Sustainable Wood Sources FSC Forest Stewardship Council

 

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) guidelines are now being adopted by governments and politician’s alike. Lord Mayor of London Ken Livingston joined forces with FSC and agreed to follow and enforce the FSC guidelines at press conference in 2006.

 

FSC is an international network to promote responsible management of the world’s forests. FSC brings people together to find solutions to the problems created by bad forestry practices and to reward good forest management. Through consultative processes, it sets international standards for responsible forest management. Its trademark provides international recognition to organisations that support the growth of responsible forest management.recognise products that support the growth of responsible forest management worldwide. Over the past 10 years, over 73 million hectares in 73 countries have been certified according to FSC standards while several thousand products are produced using FSC certified wood and carrying the FSC trademark. FSC operates through its network of National Initiatives in 35 countries. For more, visit www.fsc.org/en/about.

The FSC product label allows consumers worldwide to

 

 

 Direct temperature control. Alternative cooling for indoors - without electricity.

 

 

For further Information contact Shutters Direct on http://www.shuttersdirect.eu