Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Tempe
Homes in Tempe
Tempe's 86,182 homes are a mix: 38% detached houses, 49% apartments or units in buildings of two or more homes and 10% townhouses and other attached houses.
The biggest building period was 1950 to 1979, which accounts for 40% of homes standing today; 25% are from 2000 or later. The median home dates from 1984. Most homes are rented: owners live in only 42%.
Of the 23 Arizona cities we have census figures for, Tempe has the third-highest share of older homes and the highest share of apartments. In nearby Chandler, 9 miles away, 10% of homes were built before 1980, so Tempe's windows are on the whole older. Nationally, Tempe's homes are newer than those in 62% 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.
Apartments and condos
49% of homes are in buildings of two or more units. Balcony and patio doors suit bypass or bifold panels rather than hinged ones, which need floor space to swing. Check what your HOA or building allows to show from outside before you order: most rules are about the colour seen through the glass.
Replacement windows
40% 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.
Renting?
58% of homes are rented. Shutters screw into the window frame or casing, so ask your landlord before you install; taking them down later leaves only screw holes to fill.
A whole house in Tempe
The most common home in Tempe has two bedrooms: 32% of homes. Three-bedroom homes make up another 27%. The median home has 4.5 rooms.
Apartments are the most common kind of home here. Across the US, the middle home among apartments in buildings of five or more units has 3 to 5 windows (EIA, 2020). Shuttering that many windows at a typical bedroom-window size comes to roughly $900 to $2,000. For scale, that's about 0.3% of the median home value here, $455,400 (owners’ estimates, 2020–2024).
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 home3–5 windows
All of them shuttered$900 to $2,000
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
21% of workers here worked from home in the 2020–2024 survey years, more than in 78% 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.
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.
Tempe weather and your shutters
At Tempe Asu, AZ (2 mi away), July averages a high of 105.9°F and December a low of 37.7°F. Average highs reach 85°F from April to October.
About 179 days a year reach 90°F, 10 nights fall to freezing and 8.7 inches of precipitation falls, most of it around August and least in June.
That's more 90°F days than in any other of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.
Daylight runs from 14 h 22 min on the longest day to 9 h 56 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 80° above the horizon in June and 33° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Tempe Asu, AZ (temperature) and Tempe 4.0 SW, AZ (precipitation, 2 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 70.6°F | 38.5°F | 1.1 in |
| Feb | 73.7°F | 40.9°F | 1.1 in |
| Mar | 80.4°F | 45.9°F | 0.9 in |
| Apr | 86.9°F | 50.9°F | 0.3 in |
| May | 95°F | 59.1°F | 0.2 in |
| Jun | 103.7°F | 67°F | 0.1 in |
| Jul | 105.9°F | 75.8°F | 0.8 in |
| Aug | 104.8°F | 75.1°F | 1.4 in |
| Sep | 100.8°F | 68.9°F | 0.7 in |
| Oct | 91°F | 56.3°F | 0.6 in |
| Nov | 79°F | 45.1°F | 0.7 in |
| Dec | 69.3°F | 37.7°F | 0.8 in |
Dry air
Only 8.7 inches of precipitation a year, and days and nights about 33°F apart. Dry air pulls moisture out of wood, so poplar louvers can shrink very slightly through their first dry season; that's normal for real wood.
Months of hard sun
With 179 days a year above 90°F, sun on the window is the main thing shutters do here. Closed louvers stop direct sun before it reaches the room; angled up, they still let light bounce off the ceiling. On south and west windows, white and light finishes stay cooler and show fading less than dark stains; keep stains for windows out of the afternoon sun.
Fitting them in Tempe
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.
More about shutters in Tempe
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Tempe’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Tempe
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Tempe 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.