Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in National City
Homes in National City
National City's 19,414 homes are a mix: 40% detached houses, 48% apartments or units in buildings of two or more homes and 9% townhouses and other attached houses.
The biggest building period was 1950 to 1979, which accounts for 52% of homes standing today; 12% are from 2000 or later. The median home dates from 1969. Most homes are rented: owners live in only 35%.
In nearby Chula Vista, 6 miles away, 42% of homes were built before 1980, so National City's windows are on the whole older. Nationally, National City's homes are older than those in 77% 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.
Out-of-square openings
With 70% 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.
Replacement windows
52% 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.
Apartments and condos
48% 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.
Renting?
65% 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 National City
The most common home in National City has two bedrooms: 38% of homes. 11% have four bedrooms or more, and 28% have one or none. The median home has 4 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 0.2% of the median home value here, $612,200 (owners’ estimates, 2020–2024).
Homes here are smaller than in 90% of the 881 US cities we have figures for: many orders are a few rooms, not a whole house.
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 windowsOlder homes, high values
Owners here value their homes higher than in 78% of the 881 US cities we have figures for, and 70% of homes were built before 1980. If an older house still has good wood shutters, repair them before you replace them; if not, poplar painted to match the trim suits original casings.
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.
National City weather and your shutters
At Chula Vista, CA (2 mi away), September averages a high of 77.1°F and December a low of 46°F. No month averages a high above 85°F or a low below freezing.
About 5 days a year reach 90°F, 0 nights fall to freezing and 9.4 inches of precipitation falls, most of it around February and least in August.
Daylight runs from 14 h 18 min on the longest day to 10 h 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, Chula Vista, CA (temperature) and Chula Vista, CA (precipitation, 2 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 67.5°F | 46.5°F | 1.8 in |
| Feb | 66.8°F | 48.3°F | 2.3 in |
| Mar | 67°F | 51.4°F | 1.4 in |
| Apr | 68.4°F | 53.5°F | 0.7 in |
| May | 68.9°F | 58°F | 0.3 in |
| Jun | 71°F | 61.2°F | 0.1 in |
| Jul | 74.6°F | 64.7°F | 0.1 in |
| Aug | 76.9°F | 65.8°F | 0 in |
| Sep | 77.1°F | 64°F | 0.1 in |
| Oct | 74.9°F | 58.5°F | 0.4 in |
| Nov | 71.1°F | 50.9°F | 0.6 in |
| Dec | 66.5°F | 46°F | 1.6 in |
Fitting them in National City
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 National City
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using National City’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in National City
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in National City 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.