What they cost and why nobody will tell you a number, what actually happens at a free measure, how long you will wait, and what happens if it is not right. Written by the people who make them, for somebody who has not bought shutters before.
Most people booking a measure have looked at photographs and have no idea what blade size they want, whether the panels should swing or slide, or what any of it should cost. That is normal, and it is what the measure is for. You do not need to have decided anything before we come.
What helps is knowing roughly which rooms you are doing and what is bothering you about them now - the afternoon heat in the west-facing room, the neighbours seeing in, the blinds that never sit straight. Tell us the problem and we will tell you what solves it.
We come to you, measure every opening to the millimetre, and go through the choices in front of the actual window: blade size, how the panels open, the frame that suits your reveal, and the colour against your walls. If an opening is out of square, we build to the opening you have rather than asking you to accept a gap.
The measure and the quote are free, and there is no obligation at the end of it. Nobody signs anything at your kitchen table.
Every quote comes with a 3D preview of your own window - your sizes, your panel layout, your blade size - which you can open and close on screen. It is the difference between imagining a shutter and looking at one. If it is not what you pictured, we change it and send it again, and that costs nothing.
The price arrives in writing at the same time, itemised, so you can see what each window costs rather than one number for the house.
Anyone quoting a price per window before measuring is guessing. The price depends on the size of the opening, the blade size and the frame, which is why the measure comes first.
What we can tell you is where the money goes. Buying from the manufacturer removes the retailer margin, which is usually the largest single line in a shutter price. We make them at our own factory at Moolap and our own team installs them, so you are paying for the shutter and the fitting rather than for the shop in between.
A deposit confirms the order and starts manufacture, and the balance is due before installation. The exact split is shown on your quote before you agree to anything, so there is nothing to discover later.
Most orders are made and installed within a few weeks of you approving the quote. We confirm your timing in writing when the order is placed rather than leaving you to wonder, and because the factory is ours you can ask where your order is and get a real answer.
Tell us and we come back. The same business measured, made and installed it, so there is no supplier to blame and nobody to pass you to. Adjustments after installation are a normal part of the job, not an argument.
Shutters cost more than blinds up front and they last far longer. A shutter is a fitted part of the window rather than a covering hung in front of it, which is why it insulates: a closed shutter holds a still layer of air against the glass, and that glass is where most of the heat arrives in a Victorian summer and leaves in winter.
They are also the part of the window you keep. Blinds get replaced. Shutters get cleaned.
Call us during business hours, using the number at the top of this page, and you will speak to someone who can answer questions about your own windows. Or ask for a free measure and quote and we will come to you.
If you would rather send a question first and decide later, do that instead. We keep your enquiry so that whoever calls you back already knows what you asked, and the person who calls you back knows how your shutters are made. What we do with your details is set out in our privacy policy.
We measure and install across Melbourne and the western suburbs, Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula and the Surf Coast. You can read more about the shutters themselves, including blade sizes, frames, materials and colours.