Shutter BoysCalifornia shutters in New Westminster
Homes in New Westminster
Apartments outnumber houses in New Westminster: 80% of its 36,100 occupied homes are in buildings of two or more units, 35% of all homes in buildings of five or more storeys. Detached houses make up 14% and semi-detached and row houses 6%.
Much of New Westminster is new: 32% of homes were built 2001 or later, and only 41% in 1980 or earlier. 55% of homes are lived in by their owners.
Of the 33 British Columbia cities we have census figures for, New Westminster has the second-highest share of apartments. In Burnaby, 6 km away, 69% of homes are apartments, fewer than here. Nationally, New Westminster's homes are newer than those in 55% of the 167 Canadian cities we have census figures for.
Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population. Period of construction and tenure come from the 25% sample; counts are randomly rounded.
Condo towers
35% of homes are in buildings of five storeys or more, where floor-to-ceiling window walls are common. Tier-on-tier panels let you open the top for light and keep the bottom closed for privacy, and a mounting frame gives the panels a square edge on glass that runs wall to wall. Many buildings ask you to book the elevator for deliveries and keep to set work hours, so check with management before install day.
Shallow openings
32% of homes were built in 2001 or later. Newer windows are often set close to the room side of the wall, and handles, cranks and alarm sensors stick out into the space a louver swings through. Measure the depth to the glass and to anything that sticks out; the designer checks it against the louver size you pick.
A whole house in New Westminster
The most common home in New Westminster has two bedrooms: 37% of homes. 12% have four bedrooms or more, and 37% have one or none. Homes average 4.5 rooms.
Apartments are the most common kind of home here. No Canadian survey counts windows by type of home; in the US, the middle apartment in a building of five or more units has 3 to 5 (EIA, 2020). Shuttering that many windows at a typical bedroom-window size comes to roughly $1,300 to $2,900 CAD. For scale, that's about 0.3% of the median home value here, $700,000 CAD (owners’ estimates, 2021).
Homes here are smaller than in any other of the 167 Canadian cities we have figures for: many orders are a few rooms, not a whole house.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (bedrooms, rooms and value from the 25% sample; counts randomly rounded); U.S. Energy Information Administration, Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2020, Table HC2.1 (apartment windows). EIA RECS 2020, Table HC2.1
A typical home3–5 windows
All of them shuttered$1,300 to $2,900 CAD
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
26% of workers here worked from home on census day in May 2021, during the pandemic, more than in 76% of the 167 Canadian 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, place of work and value: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population. Rankings compare the Canadian cities we have figures for.
New Westminster weather and your shutters
At Pitt Meadows (16 km away), August averages a high of 25.1 °C and December a low of 0.1 °C. No month averages a high above 29 °C or a low below freezing.
About 11 days a year top 30 °C, 60 days drop to 0 °C or below and 1,649 mm of precipitation falls, most of it around January and least in August.
That's more 30 °C days than in 56% of the 160 Canadian cities we have climate normals for.
Daylight runs from 16 h 14 min on the longest day to 8 h 11 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 64° above the horizon in June and 17° in December.
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020, Pitt Meadows. Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6.8 °C | 0.5 °C | 252.4 mm |
| Feb | 8.8 °C | 0.4 °C | 133.6 mm |
| Mar | 11.3 °C | 2.3 °C | 173.4 mm |
| Apr | 14.9 °C | 4.5 °C | 104.5 mm |
| May | 19 °C | 7.9 °C | 95.3 mm |
| Jun | 21.3 °C | 10.8 °C | 68.9 mm |
| Jul | 25 °C | 12.6 °C | 47.6 mm |
| Aug | 25.1 °C | 12.4 °C | 36.3 mm |
| Sep | 21.5 °C | 9.8 °C | 94 mm |
| Oct | 15 °C | 5.9 °C | 180 mm |
| Nov | 9.6 °C | 2.4 °C | 249 mm |
| Dec | 6.1 °C | 0.1 °C | 214.1 mm |
Humid summers
Hot days and 1,649 mm 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.
Summer sun
On the 11 days a year above 30 °C, closed louvers keep direct sun off the glass and out of the room. In a window that takes afternoon sun, white and light paint finishes stay cooler to the touch than dark stains.
Fitting them in New Westminster
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 New Westminster
- Burnaby 6 km
- Port Moody 10 km
- Port Coquitlam 11 km
- Coquitlam 12 km
- Surrey 12 km
- Vancouver 16 km
More about shutters in New Westminster
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using New Westminster’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in New Westminster
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in New Westminster 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
Choose Canada in the designer, enter millimetres or inches, and we reply with your quote in Canadian dollars.