Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Tucson
Homes in Tucson
Tucson's 247,823 homes are a mix: 52% detached houses, 34% apartments or units in buildings of two or more homes and 8% townhouses and other attached houses.
The biggest building period was 1950 to 1979, which accounts for 44% of homes standing today; 19% are from 2000 or later. The median home dates from 1979. 52% of homes are lived in by their owners.
Of the 23 Arizona cities we have census figures for, Tucson has the highest share of older homes. In nearby Catalina Foothills, 11 miles away, 35% of homes were built before 1980, so Tucson's windows are on the whole older. Nationally, Tucson's homes are older than those in 55% 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.
Replacement windows
44% 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.
Manufactured homes
6% of homes are mobile or manufactured homes, whose windows usually sit in thin walls with little depth inside the opening. An outside mount on a frame is the reliable choice there, fixed into the framing around the window rather than the thin wall panel.
Out-of-square openings
With 52% of homes built before 1980, many openings have had decades to settle. Measure each one's width at the top, middle and bottom, and both diagonals. If the diagonals differ by more than about ¼ inch, add a mounting frame in the designer, or choose an outside mount so the shutter covers the uneven edges.
A whole house in Tucson
The most common home in Tucson has three bedrooms: 34% of homes. 16% have four bedrooms or more, and 23% have one or none. The median home has 4.8 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 1.7% of the median home value here, $266,200 (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 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 windowsOne room at a time
Homes here cost less than in 74% of the 881 US cities we have figures for, and many owners do a house in stages. Start with the rooms where light and privacy matter most, usually bedrooms and the street-facing front, and keep the same louver size and colour so later rooms match. Your saved design keeps every size.
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.
Tucson weather and your shutters
At Tucson Intl AP, AZ (5 mi away), June averages a high of 101.2°F and December a low of 40.5°F. Average highs reach 85°F from May to October.
About 158 days a year reach 90°F, 12 nights fall to freezing and 12.2 inches of precipitation falls, most of it around July and least in May.
That's more 90°F days than in 97% of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.
Daylight runs from 14 h 15 min on the longest day to 10 h 2 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 81° above the horizon in June and 34° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Tucson Intl AP, AZ (temperature) and Tucson 6.4 Sse, AZ (precipitation, 2 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 66.5°F | 40.8°F | 1 in |
| Feb | 69.2°F | 43.2°F | 1.1 in |
| Mar | 75.8°F | 48°F | 0.6 in |
| Apr | 82.9°F | 53.3°F | 0.3 in |
| May | 91.8°F | 61.8°F | 0.2 in |
| Jun | 101.2°F | 71.1°F | 0.3 in |
| Jul | 100.2°F | 76.3°F | 2.4 in |
| Aug | 98.6°F | 75.2°F | 2.4 in |
| Sep | 95.1°F | 70.4°F | 1.4 in |
| Oct | 86.3°F | 59°F | 0.8 in |
| Nov | 75.1°F | 47.9°F | 0.6 in |
| Dec | 65.5°F | 40.5°F | 1.1 in |
Months of hard sun
With 158 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.
Dry air
Only 12.2 inches of precipitation a year, and days and nights about 27°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.
Fitting them in Tucson
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 Tucson
- Catalina Foothills 11 mi
- Casas Adobes 16 mi
- Marana 27 mi
- Casa Grande 73 mi
- San Tan Valley 81 mi
- Queen Creek 86 mi
More about shutters in Tucson
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Tucson’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Tucson
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Tucson 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.