The cost of shutters for a three-bedroom house in the UK can vary depending on where you live, but there is a general guideline to keep in mind to make sure you are getting value for money.
As with anything, you can spend just as much as you want, but to install shutters for a typical three-bedroom house the minimum cost will be approximately £2,500.
Professionally Installed Shutters
Most shutter companies provide a full service. Someone will visit your home, measure up and help you decide what you want. Then a fitter or fitting team will install your shutters for you.
The cost for this service averages at about £350 per square metre of window. The bigger the windows, the higher the cost.
New shutters for a three-bedroom house, with between eight and twelve square metres of glazing, will likely cost between £3000 and £4000.
What Changes the Cost of New Shutters?
The big cost difference is in the quality of the material used to make the shutters. Timber is typically longer lasting than vinyl. It is more resilient to daily use and will not deteriorate when exposed to UV light (daylight).
Ordering wider shutter panels will save money but may not look as good as bi-fold, double-panelled shutters.
Changing your mind after ordering your shutters is a bad idea, as your original choice may already be in production. Make sure you are certain that your order is correct before you give the go-ahead to your shutter supplier.
Can I Fit Shutters Myself?
Several companies will sell you shutters directly. As long as you are confident with a tape measure and have some DIY experience, then DIY shutter installation is for you.
Installing the shutters yourself will save money and could mean that you can stretch your budget to afford a higher-quality product. All you need are basic hand tools or an electric screwdriver and a level.
For a set of faux-wood shutters, usually a wipe-clean vinyl product, expect to pay around £400 for a standard-size (1500mm x 1000mm) window. Real wood costs a little bit more but has that solid, traditional timber feel.
Top Tip:
When fitting your shutters yourself the frames must be set absolutely plumb and level, no matter whether they follow the line of the window frame. If the shutter frames are not level you may have trouble keeping them either open or closed.
Measuring for Shutters
Shutter companies will have a downloadable measuring guide to help you get things right. It helps if you upload a photograph of the window to help a shutter company’s understanding of what you need.
They can supply framing templates and other advice to help you measure up correctly. It helps if you are comfortable working in millimetres.
Bay Windows and Other Special Items
Bay windows can be complex. Is yours a three-section bay, a box bay, or a curved bay? Three-section bays are the most common form. You see them on the front of Victorian houses right across the country.
Box bays are a more modern feature, while curved bay windows were popular in Georgian architecture, and made a brief return in the 1970s.
Shutter companies can fit their products into any window design. There are even those that will shutter specialist windows. If your window has an arched top or is a circular ‘ox-eye’, or even triangular, these windows can have bespoke shutters made for them.
What Shutters Can I Choose?
Visualising what shutters you want can be tricky, so make sure you take a good look at what’s on offer.
You could save money by ordering café-style shutters that cover the bottom half of the window. These are great for giving you privacy while letting light flood in through the top half of the window.
Do your windows face out onto a busy road? Does noise from the street disturb you at night? In this case, perhaps consider solid, un-slatted shutters. This style helps deaden noise and keep out drafts.