Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Columbia
Homes in Columbia
Columbia has an unusually large share of townhouses and other attached houses: 25% of its 43,280 homes, beside 39% detached houses and 35% apartments.
The 1980s and 1990s built 43% of today's homes, more than any other period we count. 43% are older than that and 14% newer. The median home dates from 1983. 65% of homes are lived in by their owners.
In nearby Ellicott City, 6 miles away, 26% of homes were built before 1980, so Columbia's windows are on the whole older. Nationally, Columbia's homes are newer than those in 59% of the 881 US cities we have census figures for.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024. Estimates carry margins of error.
Townhouses
25% of homes share a wall with the next one. Their front windows face the street side by side with the neighbours', so many owners pick a louver size and a white or off-white finish that sit well beside the houses on either side. Bay windows on townhouses usually need a separate panel set for each face.
Replacement windows
42% of homes went up between 1950 and 1979, and most of them have had their original windows replaced since. A replacement window often sits further into or out of the wall than the old one, so the depth you have for an inside mount may differ from window to window in the same house. Measure every opening rather than copying one.
A whole house in Columbia
The most common home in Columbia has four or more bedrooms: 36% of homes. Large houses are common too: 36% have four bedrooms or more. The median home has 6.4 rooms.
Detached houses are the most common kind of home here. Across the US, the middle home among detached houses has 10 to 15 windows (EIA, 2020). Shuttering that many windows at a typical bedroom-window size comes to roughly $3,200 to $6,000. For scale, that's about 0.9% of the median home value here, $497,400 (owners’ estimates, 2020–2024).
Homes here are larger than in 84% of the 881 US cities we have figures for, so a whole-house order runs to more windows than most.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 (bedrooms B25041, rooms B25018, value B25077); U.S. Energy Information Administration, Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2020, Table HC2.1 (windows). EIA RECS 2020, Table HC2.1
A typical home10–15 windows
All of them shuttered$3,200 to $6,000
Every window priced as a 36 × 48 in opening in our basic build (flat moulding, paint stage 1, 3½ in louvers), before tax and shipping. Your windows will differ; the designer prices each one.
Price your own windowsWorking from home
25% of workers here worked from home in the 2020–2024 survey years, more than in 87% of the 881 US cities we have figures for. Glare on a screen comes from direct sun and bright sky behind or beside it. Louvers tilted up throw daylight at the ceiling instead, so the room stays bright and the screen stays readable; wider louvers give the clearest view when you open them.
Pricing a whole house at once
36% of homes here have four bedrooms or more. For a house that size, list every window in one go: type or paste the sizes, or upload them as a spreadsheet saved as CSV, and the designer prices each window and the total.
Ages (B01001), working from home (B08301) and value (B25077): U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates, 2020–2024. Rankings compare the US cities we have figures for.
Columbia weather and your shutters
At Laurel 3 W, MD (8 mi away), July averages a high of 88.6°F and January a low of 26.1°F. Average highs reach 85°F from July to August and average lows sit at or below freezing from December to February.
About 36 days a year reach 90°F, 86 nights fall to freezing and 49.8 inches of precipitation falls, spread fairly evenly through the year.
That's more freezing nights than in 62% of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.
Daylight runs from 14 h 56 min on the longest day to 9 h 24 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 74° above the horizon in June and 27° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Laurel 3 W, MD (temperature) and Columbia 2.3 N, MD (precipitation, 2 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42.7°F | 26.1°F | 3.4 in |
| Feb | 46.1°F | 28°F | 2.8 in |
| Mar | 54.8°F | 34.8°F | 4.2 in |
| Apr | 67°F | 44.9°F | 3.7 in |
| May | 75.5°F | 55.3°F | 5.1 in |
| Jun | 84.2°F | 64.5°F | 4.8 in |
| Jul | 88.6°F | 69.4°F | 5.3 in |
| Aug | 87.1°F | 67.9°F | 3.9 in |
| Sep | 80°F | 61.2°F | 4.7 in |
| Oct | 68.5°F | 49.7°F | 4.2 in |
| Nov | 57.1°F | 38.6°F | 3.7 in |
| Dec | 47°F | 31.4°F | 4 in |
Humid summers
Hot days and 49.8 inches of precipitation make for heavy summer air. Wood swells when it's humid, so give kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms some air: run the fan after a shower and tilt the louvers open so steam doesn't sit behind them.
Cold winters
With 86 freezing nights a year, warm room air meets cold glass for months. Shutters closed tight overnight hold that air against the window, so condensation can collect on the sill: tilt the louvers open in the morning, and wipe the sill on windows that often run wet.
Fitting them in Columbia
Shutter Boys shutters are made for you to fit yourself: an inside or outside mount takes a drill, a level and our step-by-step guide. If you'd rather hire someone, a finish carpenter or blinds installer can fit them; ask on your quote and we'll tell you if we know one near you. You arrange and pay the installer directly.
Near Columbia
- Ellicott City 6 mi
- Severn 10 mi
- Glen Burnie 14 mi
- Aspen Hill 14 mi
- Baltimore 15 mi
- Wheaton 15 mi
More about shutters in Columbia
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Columbia’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Columbia
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Columbia can sell or refer Shutter Boys shutters: dealers buy at trade pricing with a protected area; referral partners earn a fee on each client they send. No fee to join.
Price your windows
Pick your look once, add every window, and see each one drawn and priced. Send it to us and we reply with your quote.