Gotcha Covered shutters vs Shutter Boys: in-home service or made-to-measure DIY

Updated October 30, 2026

The short version: Gotcha Covered is an in-home service. A local consultant brings samples, measures, and its installers fit the shutters, in wood, vinyl or PolyCORE. We make one shutter, solid American poplar, priced online window by window and fitted by you. If you want the whole job done for you, Gotcha Covered is built for that. If you’re comfortable with a tape measure and a drill, we cost less for real wood.

Who Gotcha Covered is

Gotcha Covered sells and installs window treatments through local franchises. Its home page lists “curtains, blinds, shades, shutters, and drapes”, offers a “free in-home or virtual design consultation”, and says it will “design, supply, and install custom window treatments”^[1]. The site’s footer says “All franchise locations are independently owned and operated”^[1]. Its About page dates the business “Since 1991” and counts “158 locally owned locations nationwide”^[2].

It isn’t only in the US. Its site has a page for Gotcha Covered of NW Edmonton and St. Albert, in Alberta^[8], and Franchising.com reported a new location in Vancouver, British Columbia, on January 22, 2025^[9].

What shutters it sells

The shutters page leads with “Custom Vinyl, Wooden, and PolyCORE Plantation Shutters”, and also lists wood composite shutters, “Bypass shutters for sliders” and Bahama shutters^[3]. Orders go to “trusted manufacturers”; the page doesn’t name them^[3].

• Wood. Its wood page says basswood is “a top choice due to its strength, lightweight nature, and resistance to warping”, and also describes oak and cedar. It offers stains, paints and “visible or hidden tilt mechanisms”^[4].
• PolyCORE. “A unique combination of poly resin and wood composite”, with a “co-extruded aluminum core”, which Gotcha Covered calls “100% waterproof” and suited to bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms and sunrooms^[5].
• Vinyl. Made with “exclusive, hollow Polyresin3®”, for rooms that hold moisture^[6].
• Wood composite. “A durable wood composite core with a protective acrylic coating”, for humid rooms^[7].

On price, the shutters page cites “Competitive pricing based on national buying power”, and says plainly that “The upfront cost is higher than that of other window treatments”^[3]. No shutter prices are published on the pages we read.

Choosing a shutter material room by room

Gotcha Covered’s range means a consultant can put a different material in each room; ours means every shutter in the house is the same solid wood. Here is how its published descriptions line up against ours, room by room.

The one room where the difference matters most is the bathroom. For that question in detail, see bathroom shutters; for sliding doors, see patio door shutters, which covers bypass and bifold layouts and their clearances.

Where Gotcha Covered is stronger

• Someone else measures and fits. Its shutters page says “We measure every window and handle professional installation from start to finish”, and that “Panel alignment is checked and adjusted before your installer leaves”^[3]. Getting the measurements right is part of its job, not yours.
• Wet rooms. We only make wood, and wood doesn’t belong in shower spray. Gotcha Covered sells PolyCORE and vinyl for bathrooms and laundry rooms^[5][6].
• One visit for everything. If you also want drapery, shades or motorization, one consultant can quote the whole house^[1].
• Seeing samples at home. Consultants bring samples to the visit^[2], which is the best way to judge colour against your own trim and light.

Where we’re different

• A price before anyone visits. Add your windows in the designer and each one is priced as you go. A 36 × 48 in window in our basic build is $320 – $400 in the US and $460 – $570 CAD in Canada, before tax and shipping. Every size
• Real wood, every time. Every shutter we make is solid American poplar, painted or stained, so you never need to ask which material a quote is for. Why poplar
• Your schedule. No appointment to book; you measure when it suits you, and talk to a designer by video or phone only if you want to.
• The labour is yours, and so is the saving. Measuring and fitting are the parts of an in-home price you don’t pay for. How to measure and how to install take you through both.

Our shutters are one product: solid American poplar, made to the measurements you take, priced online window by window, and fitted by you. Price your windows

Which one suits you

Comparing a quote from Gotcha Covered with our price

An in-home quote and an online price only compare if they describe the same shutter. Ask the consultant to put these in writing, then build the same thing in our designer:

1. The material, per window. Wood, PolyCORE, vinyl and composite are different products at different prices^[3]. If it’s wood, ask which species.
2. Louver size and tilt. 2½, 3½ or 4½ in, and a visible tilt rod or hidden tilt; both choices can change the price.
3. Frame and mount. Inside or outside the window opening, and the frame style. Our mounting guide explains the difference.
4. What the total includes. Measuring, installation, removal of old blinds, and tax. Our prices are for the shutters only; add an installer if you want one.
5. The warranty, in writing. Its pages mention “warranty support” without terms^[2], and each location is independently owned^[1]. Ask who honours the warranty, for how long, and whether labour is covered.
6. The lead time. Neither the shutters page nor the wood page states one, so ask.

With those answers, divide the quote by the number of windows and compare it with the per-window prices in our designer. The gap you see is mostly the measuring, installation and visit, which is exactly the trade you’re deciding on.

When a shade suits a window better than a shutter

Gotcha Covered sells shades and drapery as well as shutters, and that range is worth remembering: some openings are better served by something other than a shutter. A wide sliding door needs something that stacks out of the way, like patio door blinds; a tall wall of glass often suits a motorized roller shade or solar shade; and a softer look comes from roman or cellular shades. Our sister company, Shade Boys, makes those to measure, so you can put shutters in the bedrooms and street-facing windows and a shade where a shutter would get in the way.

The names of Gotcha Covered and its products are trademarks of their owners. Shutter Boys isn’t affiliated with Gotcha Covered, and this page isn’t endorsed by it. What we say about Gotcha Covered comes from its own pages and the Franchising.com report cited, checked October 30, 2026; prices, offers and terms change, and each location is independently owned, so check with yours before you buy.