Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in San Mateo
Homes in San Mateo
San Mateo's 42,641 homes are a mix: 42% 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 48% of homes standing today; 13% are from 2000 or later. The median home dates from 1965. 50% of homes are lived in by their owners.
Its housing is much like Redwood City's, 6 miles away. Nationally, San Mateo's homes are older than those in 78% 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.
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
48% 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.
Plaster walls and deep casings
22% of homes date from before 1950, when walls were plaster on lath and windows sat in deep wood casings. Plaster cracks if you drive screws carelessly: drill a pilot hole, use fixings made for plaster, and fix into the casing or the framing behind it. A deep casing is good news for an inside mount; measure its depth before you choose a louver size.
San Mateo weather and your shutters
At San Francisco Intl AP, CA (5 mi away), September averages a high of 74.8°F and January a low of 44.5°F. No month averages a high above 85°F or a low below freezing.
About 4 days a year reach 90°F, 0 nights fall to freezing and 19.3 inches of precipitation falls, most of it around December and least in July.
Daylight runs from 14 h 46 min on the longest day to 9 h 34 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, San Francisco Intl AP, CA (temperature) and San Mateo 0.8 NE, CA (precipitation, 1 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 58°F | 44.5°F | 3.8 in |
| Feb | 60.8°F | 46.1°F | 3.6 in |
| Mar | 63.4°F | 47.6°F | 2.5 in |
| Apr | 65.6°F | 49.1°F | 1.3 in |
| May | 68.3°F | 51.6°F | 0.5 in |
| Jun | 71.5°F | 53.6°F | 0.2 in |
| Jul | 72.6°F | 55.3°F | 0 in |
| Aug | 73.4°F | 56.4°F | 0 in |
| Sep | 74.8°F | 55.9°F | 0.1 in |
| Oct | 72.3°F | 53.4°F | 0.8 in |
| Nov | 64.3°F | 48.5°F | 2 in |
| Dec | 58.2°F | 44.6°F | 4.5 in |
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.
A mild year
Few days here are very hot or very cold, so louvers spend most of the year on everyday work: angling daylight off the TV, giving privacy from the street, and opening wide on a fine morning. That makes louver size more a matter of view than of shade; bigger louvers leave more open glass.
Fitting them in San Mateo
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 San Mateo
- Redwood City 6 mi
- South San Francisco 7 mi
- Hayward 12 mi
- San Leandro 13 mi
- Alameda 13 mi
- Daly City 13 mi
More about shutters in San Mateo
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using San Mateo’s own figures.
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.