Indianapolis's Frequently Asked Questions About Shutters

For more than 26 years, we’ve been asked every question about shutters thinkable from our customers in Indianapolis. 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 Indianapolis directly. We’re here to help you and happy to do so.

That depends on how you desire 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 right for you. Or are you looking to copy the wood in your home as closely as possible? Ovation® wood shutters are a better fit for you.

Plantation shutters are recognized 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. Not to mention, 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, transforming your window into artwork. Just by pulling up the fabric of the shade, your entire window is exposed and you can see out onto your Indianapolis neighborhood.

Draperies also are available in a wide variety of color, fabric, and patterns. They are a traditional alternative for a window treatment. Installing thick panels between the drapes and the window provides you with light and temperature block-out capabilities. And unlike other window treatments, it’s not necessary to clean draperies for five years.

If you want a window treatment that lasts over 10 years, saves you real dollars on your energy bills, and looks charming on your windows, shutters are the choice for your home. Not only are shutters durable, but they’re also beautiful and energy efficient. In fact, Polywood shutters insulate up to 70% better than a comparable wood shutter. That's energy savings you will miss out on 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 house a clean modern feel whether they’re closed or open.

A poorly installed window treatment can be tough to open and can get damaged easily. We have a skilled installation crew that comes to your home and installs your window treatment precisely, ensuring that each one moves smoothly – and doesn’t get damaged throughout.

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 pushing them up or down. Usually, a tilt rod mounted on the front of the shutters allows you to adjust the louvers. To move the louvers with your hand, we suggest buying shutters with hidden tilt-rods or rear-mounted tilt rods. This gives your shutters a clean, contemporary look.

Our Polywood shutters last 50+ years – more than any other shutter on the market. That’s why these plantation shutters are a permanent fixture that boosts your home’s resale value. Learn more about the durability of our shutters.

Plantation shutters are a breeze 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 wet cloth.

Plantation shutters are custom built to fit your windows perfectly. They become a permanent fixture of your home, adding to its resale value. This means they can’t 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 beautiful and energy saving, but plantation shutters also increase the value of your home. We’ve seen it first hand in Indianapolis!

Sunburst Shutters Indianapolis is proud to offer a collection of window treatments made right here in America. Our popular Polywood plantation shutters are 100% made in America, from the manufacturing of our exclusive 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 perk of knowing you’re choosing an all-American shutter for your Indianapolis house.

And it’s not just Polywood that’s from America. Our stunning Reclaimed Wood shutters are built using lumber harvested 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, covering the surface. Stains on the other hand permeate the shutter, becoming a part of the natural wood or Polywood material.

The two color options have their own unique benefits. There tend to be a larger number of color options for painted shutters. With stained shutters, the color won’t obscure the natural wood grain, so you can see the random knots and bumps of the material without a layer of paint masking it.

When it comes time for your in-home window design consultation, we’ll bring samples of all our color options right to your door so you can perfectly match and complement colors with your existing interior design.

The entire plantation shutter process, beginning with your in-home consultation through putting your shutters in, usually takes around four to six weeks. The process takes this long because we strive to build 100% custom shutters for your windows. To do that, we need to take exact measurements, make use of advanced software to design your shutters, assemble your custom shutters by hand, and deliver them to your home for installation. Real wood shutters tend to take longer than Polywood because of the staining and finishing process.

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

Sunburst Shutters Indianapolis offers a total in-home shopping experience. So we send shutter expert to you to get window measurements, show you your options, and give you an accurate quote. The shutter consultation is absolutely free. That’s the simplest way to start a window treatment project. If you’re only looking for a simple estimate, you can submit your window measurements either by phone or through our contact form.

The answer will depend on your personal style. If you want to keep your existing trim, we can build custom shutters to complement 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, we’ll help you choose the right option to match the vision you have in mind for your windows.

If you’re a seasoned DIYer, you might be familiar with some of the process involved in installing shutters. However, taking on DIY shutters might be a little tricky for most Indianapolis homeowners. Our suggestion is to leave the installation to our certified and insured professionals, so you won’t risk damage to your shutters, your windows, or anything else in your house.

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

As far as shutter options, the most popular shutter configuration features includes a 3.5” louver, non-textured finish, with an interior-mount Z-frame. If none of that makes any sense, that’s ok. We’ll be happy to show you what all those things mean in person. Set up your complimentary home consultation and we’ll help you find what will work best in your home.

Shutters with a smooth finish have a more fashionable look, while shutters with a textured finish 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 style.

Benefits of shutters with a smooth finish – A smooth finish to your shutters offer a clean, sleek, sophisticated look. If your home doesn’t have many 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 wood grain finish. We usually recommend a smooth finish for faux wood shutters like Polywood.

Benefits of shutters with a wood grain finish – Shutters with a textured finish give you a more natural look in your home. That’s awesome if you want to bring the look of nature indoors, especially if you want to accentuate the look of your hardwood flooring. A wood grain on your shutters can also make it harder to see dust, meaning you can wait a little longer between regular cleanings. A textured finish looks especially great on real wood shutters in Indianapolis.

Usually, the larger the surface area of your window, the more shutter panels you’ll want on it. The optimal design is to use a single 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 user-friendly as multiple panels. Oftentime, wide panel shutters can’t fit flush against the wall due to their width. Multiple smaller panels don’t have that same issue.

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

With Sunburst Shutters Indianapolis, all of your shutter measurements will be done by our team for free as part of your in-home consultation. Even if your window is in a difficult to reach place in your house or has a distinct shape, our shutter pros can get you an exact measurement so that the final product will line up just right with the windows.

At your complimentary shutter consultation, your Sunburst Shutters installer can help you narrow down your options from our extensive array of Indianapolis plantation shutters, featuring choices for louver size, stains, and custom framing options.

So schedule your shutter consultation today by calling 317-558-9066 today.

Sunburst can assist you in picking the perfect shutter for your home, no matter how narrow your frame. We will work with an outside mount installation that attaches to the trim or wall outside the window cavity . Your shutters will still have identical capabilities and energy efficiency, and will blend superbly into your design scheme.

If the louver is separated and drooping from the frame, you could have a busted louver pin. To fix this you should take out the pin from both the louver and the stile with a set of needle-nose pliers or a utility knife. Once the pin is taken out, stick the replacement pin base into the same hole in the shutter stile, then slide the louver onto the pin. To acquire extra louver pins at no cost, just call us at 317-558-9066.

Pricing on plantation shutters hinges on the chosen product line and window dimensions. While we can give you a basic quote over the phone, exact costs are determined after our no cost in-person consultation. Call 317-558-9066 to make an appointment today.

Locate and pull out the damaged staple out of the louver with a pair of needle-nose pliers. Then dab on some adhesive (like wood glue or epoxy) to coat the legs of a new staple. Thread the staple into the loop on the louver and guide its legs into the existing staple holes on the tilt rod. For extra shutter staples, call us at 317-558-9066.

Yes, we do. We'd be happy to walk you through our showroom to see our entire collection of shutters and window treatments. The showroom is located at 5644 W 79th St., so feel free to visit during our standard business hours to take a look for yourself.

A half shutter allows you 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 polished look – and letting you close the bottom louvers for privacy while leaving the top louvers open for light. At night, you can close the top louvers as well for privacy and security. This also comes in handy during the day when the sun is preventing 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 more than enough space to look through.

Simple! Call us at 317-558-9066 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 shutter 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 a reason to take out or alter your existing window trim when putting in new plantation shutters. Natural Ovation wood shutters and patented Polywood shutters are available in an array of frame styles to fit naturally into your existing 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 beautiful new shutters to your window opening.

Your shutter installation team will measure each of your house’s windows during your free in-home consultation to ensure that your window trim is beautifully complemented by the frame of your new shutters.

Polywood shutters are some of the safest window coverings in Indianapolis. The cord-free, durable design is perfect for kids and pets. The toxin-free and hypoallergenic materials and paint will never chip or peel. And since Polywood is water and pest resistant, you’ll never have to worry about bugs, mold, or wood rot.