Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Modesto
Homes in Modesto
Modesto is a city of houses: of its 75,752 homes, 71% are detached, 6% are townhouses and other attached houses and 21% are apartments or units in buildings of two or more homes.
The biggest building period was 1950 to 1979, which accounts for 45% of homes standing today; 13% are from 2000 or later. The median home dates from 1978. 59% of homes are lived in by their owners.
In nearby Turlock, 12 miles away, 43% of homes were built before 1980, so Modesto's windows are on the whole older. Nationally, Modesto's homes are older than those in 58% 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
45% 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.
Out-of-square openings
With 55% 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.
Whole-house orders
With 71% of homes detached, most orders here cover a whole house: bedrooms, a patio door, perhaps a bay. Put every window in one list in the designer so the louver size and colour match from the street, and if you have an HOA, send it the drawings before you order.
A whole house in Modesto
The most common home in Modesto has three bedrooms: 45% of homes. 20% have four bedrooms or more, and 11% have one or none. The median home has 5.3 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% of the median home value here, $442,700 (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 windowsYoung children at home
6.7% of people in Modesto are under five, more than in 81% of the 881 US cities we have figures for. Shutters have no cords or chains at all: the louvers tilt with a rod or by hand, so there's nothing to hang within a child's reach. US rules for cords on custom blinds and shades are still being rewritten; ours never had any.
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.
Modesto weather and your shutters
At Modesto City CO AP, CA (3 mi away), July averages a high of 95°F and December a low of 38.6°F. Average highs reach 85°F from June to September.
About 90 days a year reach 90°F, 12 nights fall to freezing and 12.5 inches of precipitation falls, most of it around January and least in July.
That's more 90°F days than in 76% of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.
Daylight runs from 14 h 46 min on the longest day to 9 h 33 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 76° above the horizon in June and 29° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Modesto City CO AP, CA (temperature) and Modesto City CO AP, CA (precipitation, 3 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 56.1°F | 38.8°F | 2.6 in |
| Feb | 62.2°F | 41.8°F | 2.2 in |
| Mar | 68.1°F | 45.2°F | 1.8 in |
| Apr | 73.8°F | 48.4°F | 1 in |
| May | 82°F | 53.7°F | 0.7 in |
| Jun | 89.7°F | 59.2°F | 0.2 in |
| Jul | 95°F | 62.7°F | 0 in |
| Aug | 93.5°F | 62°F | 0 in |
| Sep | 89.1°F | 58.6°F | 0.1 in |
| Oct | 79°F | 51.5°F | 0.6 in |
| Nov | 65.7°F | 43.2°F | 1.1 in |
| Dec | 56.2°F | 38.6°F | 2.2 in |
Summer sun
On the 90 days a year above 90°F, 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.
Dry air
Only 12.5 inches of precipitation a year, and days and nights about 26°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.
Dry summers, wet winters
Barely any of the year's precipitation falls in June, July and August; most comes in the cool months. Wood takes on moisture in the wet season and gives it back in the dry one, so expect the panels to feel slightly tighter in winter than in summer. Fit them in the season you're in, and leave the hinge screws a quarter turn from tight until they've been through both.
Fitting them in Modesto
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 Modesto
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Modesto’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Modesto
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Modesto 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.