Creaky door getting you down? Read this!

Posted on: 16 April 2021

Roller shutters offer plenty of benefits for a home. They secure the windows from burglars, fitting snugly against the frames. Plus, they form a physical barrier that protects your home during a storm. Of course, they allow you to control the flow of light and heat into rooms also. When installing roller shutters, you'll have several decisions to make about the various options. To help you pick the best shutters for your home and situation, read on.

Material Alternatives

Firstly, you need to pick a material for the shutters — two standard options are aluminium and steel. If you're interested in environmentally friendly options, you can enquire if any models include recycled metal. Both aluminium and steel can be recycled multiple times without any deterioration in quality.

While aluminium is often the lighter of the two metals, and steel is the stronger, this depends on the particular shutter construction.  Both metals resist rust, as the powder coating process that spreads colour across the roller shutters also shields them from moisture damage. Aluminium and stainless varieties of steel are the most resilient to rust, and thus ideal for coastal regions. Other less common material options for roller shutters include timber and polycarbonate.

Manual or Motorised

You also need to decide whether to install manual or motorised roller shutters. Manual designs have a crank inside your home, which you can wind to move the shutters up and down. You'll need to adjust each window individually.

Alternatively, you could install automated roller shutters that run on electricity, solar power or batteries. These provide convenience, as you'll be able to operate the roller shutters at the press of a button on a remote control or wall panel.

Some roller shutters feature sensors that recognise various weather conditions and automatically wind down in response. Other models include a timer, so you can set them to move at specific times. While automated models provide convenience, they'll cost more because of their added features.

Colour Matching Options

One of the most fun aspects of installing roller shutters is choosing their colour. You could match them to the trim of your home. If your house has white window frames, you could install white roller shutters.

You can also create an accent with the shutters. For example, a building might have sandy-coloured external walls with deep-blue window and door trim. You could install cream roller shutters, but colour the pelmet the same blue shade as the trim. You could also design some horizontal stripes on the shutters in that same blue to match the roller shutters while making them a standout feature. Other possibilities are to echo the hue of the walls or roof.