Shutter BoysUpdated
The short version: wait until the openings are finished, then measure the real windows, not the plans. Spend at the builder on what goes into the walls and floors; window coverings attach to finished surfaces and are easy to add later. Expect a little settling in the first year, and measure the way that allows for it.
Fewer new homes in 2027
In the US, the National Association of Home Builders says 2026 is the second year in a row of falling single-family home building, and that “signs indicate further declines in 2027”[1]. In Canada, CMHC’s July 2026 outlook expects housing starts to fall from about 241,400 in 2026 to about 223,400 in 2027[2]. Fewer homes are being started, but more than two hundred thousand a year in Canada alone still means a lot of new owners looking at bare windows.
Builder package or after closing
Many builders offer window coverings as an option, some don’t. Neither choice is wrong; they suit different buyers.
| Feature | Suits you if | Check before you decide |
|---|---|---|
| Take the builder’s package | You want everything done on move-in day and don’t mind the builder’s choice of product. | Which windows it covers, what the product is, how it’s controlled (cords or cordless), and who handles warranty claims. |
| Order yourself after closing | You want to choose the product, see each room furnished first, or spread the cost room by room. | That the openings are finished, and your timing: bedrooms usually need something from the first night. |
| Temporary shades, then shutters | You want privacy now and a permanent covering later, without rushing the decision. | Fresh paint needs time to cure; read the shade’s instructions before you stick anything to new trim. |
Builders’ prices vary by community and change over time, so we don’t quote them. Ask for the line items and compare them with a priced order of your own. For a 36 × 48 in window, ours is $320 – $400 in the US ($460 – $570 CAD in Canada) before tax and shipping, and the designer prices every window as you add it.
Buying from Mattamy Homes in Ontario? Our Mattamy upgrades guide covers what its Design Studio offers and what to leave until you have the keys.
When the openings are ready to measure
An opening is ready when nothing more will be added to it. In practice that means:
- The windows are in and their hardware, cranks and locks, is fitted.
- The drywall or trim around the opening is finished. Casing and a sill change the size and depth of the opening, and drywall returns aren’t always square.
- It’s painted and caulked. We build to the nearest ⅛ in, so measure the opening as it will be, not before the last bead of caulk.
Plans give the rough opening, which is larger than the finished one. Always measure the window you have. Our measuring guide takes five measurements per window: depth, width three times, height three times, square, and anything in the way.
A first-year timeline
What happens to the windows of a new house, and what to do about window coverings, from the last weeks before closing to the first anniversary.
| Feature | What’s happening | What to do about window coverings |
|---|---|---|
| Before closing | The builder is finishing trim, paint and caulking. Site visits are often limited. | Decide on the builder’s package or not. If you can get into the finished house, for example at the walkthrough, take the measurements then. |
| Move-in week | Bare windows, boxes everywhere, and fresh paint still curing. | Temporary shades in bedrooms and bathrooms. Measure every finished opening while the rooms are still empty and easy to reach. |
| First three months | You find out which rooms get the morning sun, which face the street, and where you work and sleep. | Draw the house in the designer and order room by room, bedrooms first. Fit them yourself or have someone do it. |
| First heating season | Construction moisture leaves the house, and condensation shows on windows first. | Keep humidity in range, run the fans, and open the louvers in the mornings so air reaches the glass. |
| First year | The framing settles as it dries. Nail pops and small cracks around windows and doors are common. | If a panel starts to rub, adjust the hinges. Finish the low-priority rooms if you left them for later. |
What a new house does in its first year
A new house dries out. The National Research Council’s digest on wood shrinkage notes that most Canadian building codes allow framing lumber to be at up to 19% moisture content when it’s installed, and that indoor conditions bring wood down to about 12% in summer and about 6% in winter[3]. As it dries the framing shrinks, and the digest says “differential shrinkage commonly occurs around windows and doors”[3]. You see this as nail pops and small cracks in the first year or two.
The framing isn’t the only thing drying. Another NRC digest, on moisture problems in houses, says moisture added during construction by concrete, plaster and unseasoned wood comes out during the first heating season, and that “moisture problems tend to be most severe the first year after construction.” It also notes that windows, being the coldest surfaces, are “usually the first surfaces on which condensation is noticed”[4]. So a new house often has wet windows in its first winter that it won’t have later.
Health Canada’s advice for any home is to keep relative humidity between 30% and 50%, to use a dehumidifier when moisture condenses on window panes or humidity is above 50%, and to run bathroom fans during showers and for at least 30 minutes after[5]. A cheap hygrometer tells you where you are. For shutters, add one habit: on cold mornings, open the louvers so the glass can dry, and wipe any water off the sill. Our condensation guide goes into more detail.
For window coverings, the first year means three things:
- Measure carefully, and use the smallest figure. An opening that’s slightly out of square is normal in a new house; the three-point measurements catch it. If an opening is badly out of square, an outside mount, which sits on the trim around the window, hides it.
- Expect to adjust. If a panel starts to rub after the first heating season, the hinges usually need a small adjustment. That’s a screwdriver job, not a fault.
- Keep humidity steady. The same swings that move the framing move wood shutters, and every wood product in the house.
Warranties: read yours before you drill
In Ontario, Tarion’s new home warranty “lasts for a total of seven years from the original date of possession”, divided into one-year, two-year and seven-year coverages[6]. Other provinces and US states have their own programs, and your windows may have a manufacturer’s warranty of their own. We can’t tell you what yours say about fixing things to the window frame or trim. Read them, and ask your builder if it isn’t clear, before you drill. An outside-mount frame fastens to the trim or wall around the window rather than inside the opening, which is one way to keep screws out of the window frame.
New home, young family
A new house is often a growing family’s house. Shutters have no cords, which matters in a nursery or a child’s room. The rules on corded coverings in both countries are in our cord safety guide.
Which rooms first
Few people cover every window at once, and they don’t need to. Order by what each room needs from the first night, and leave the rooms where a cheap shade is fine for later, or for good. Prices below are for one window in our basic build, before tax and shipping; the designer prices your actual sizes.
| Feature | Why it comes in this order | A typical window, priced |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bedrooms | Darkness and privacy from the first night. Shutters have no cords, which matters in a child’s room. | 36 × 48 in: $320 – $400 in the US, $460 – $570 CAD |
| 2. Rooms facing the street | Living and dining rooms on the front of the house are the ones neighbours see into after dark. | 48 × 60 in: $540 – $660 in the US, $770 – $950 CAD |
| 3. Patio door | Large glass, often on the sunny side. Choose a layout that clears the handle and the door’s path. | 72 × 80 in: $1,080 – $1,320 in the US, $1,540 – $1,900 CAD |
| 4. Bathrooms and laundry | Poplar works with a fan and the window out of spray. Our aluminum interior shutters, made for bathrooms and humid rooms, are coming in 2027. | 24 × 36 in: $160 – $200 in the US, $230 – $290 CAD |
| 5. Low-use rooms | A guest room, a basement window or a garage door window can take a simple shade. Shutters there are a choice, not a need. | Your call |
Because every window is made to its own measurements with the same louvers and colour, a room you add next year matches the rooms you did first. Ordering in stages may mean paying shipping more than once, so group rooms where you can.
A sensible order of work
- Move-in week: temporary shades in the bedrooms and bathrooms.
- First month: measure every finished opening, and draw them in the designer to see the whole house priced.
- Order by priority: bedrooms first, then rooms on the street side, then the rest. Matching louvers and colour mean later rooms match the first.
- Fit them yourself: six steps and the tools you need.
Common questions
When should I order window coverings for a new build?
Once you can measure the finished openings: drywall, trim and paint done, and the windows in. Measurements from plans or a half-finished house won’t match the opening you end up with. For most buyers that means after the walkthrough or after closing.
Should I take the builder’s window covering package?
Compare it line by line: what product, which windows, what control and what warranty. A builder package is convenient and done before you move in; ordering yourself after closing lets you choose the product and do it room by room. We don’t know your builder’s prices, so we don’t guess at them here.
Can I measure for shutters before I get the keys?
Only if the openings are finished and you can measure them yourself in the house. Many builders limit site visits before closing, so many buyers measure on the walkthrough or right after closing.
Will a new house move after the shutters are fitted?
A little, in the first year or two, as the framing dries. The National Research Council notes that shrinkage commonly shows around windows and doors. Measuring the width and height three times and using the smallest figure, as our guide asks, allows for an opening that isn’t perfectly square.
Do I need window coverings on move-in day?
For bedrooms, most people want something. A cheap temporary shade for the first weeks costs little and gives you time to live in the rooms before choosing what goes on each window.
Sources
- Housing headwinds intensify heading into 2027 (October 1, 2026), National Association of Home Builders, Eye on Housing
- Summer update: 2026 housing market outlook (July 22, 2026), Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (government)
- Canadian Building Digest 244: Effects of wood shrinkage in buildings (A.T. Hansen, 1987), National Research Council Canada (copy hosted by MIT) (government)
- Canadian Building Digest 231: Moisture problems in houses (A.T. Hansen, 1984), National Research Council Canada (copy hosted by MIT) (government)
- Guide to addressing moisture and mould indoors, Health Canada (government)
- 5 questions we often get from new home owners, Tarion (regulation)