Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Boulder
Homes in Boulder
Apartments outnumber houses in Boulder: 52% of its 47,465 homes are in buildings of two or more units. Detached houses make up 39% and townhouses and other attached houses 8%.
The biggest building period was 1950 to 1979, which accounts for 47% of homes standing today; 18% are from 2000 or later. The median home dates from 1977. 47% of homes are lived in by their owners.
Of the 20 Colorado cities we have census figures for, Boulder has the highest share of apartments. In nearby Broomfield, 12 miles away, 21% of homes were built before 1980, so Boulder's windows are on the whole older. Nationally, Boulder's homes are older than those in 59% 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.
Apartments and condos
52% 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
47% 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.
A whole house in Boulder
The most common home in Boulder has two bedrooms: 30% of homes. 25% have four bedrooms or more, and 22% have one or none. The median home has 4.7 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 0.1% of the median home value here, $1,039,500 (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 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 windowsWorking from home
34% of workers here worked from home in the 2020–2024 survey years, more than in 98% of the 881 US 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.
Older homes, high values
Owners here value their homes higher than in 94% of the 881 US cities we have figures for, and 55% 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.
Boulder weather and your shutters
At Boulder, CO (2 mi away), July averages a high of 88°F and December a low of 21.1°F. Average highs reach 85°F from July to August and average lows sit at or below freezing from November to March.
About 33 days a year reach 90°F, 138 nights fall to freezing and 19.8 inches of precipitation falls, most of it around April and least in December.
Among the Colorado cities we have climate normals for, Boulder has the most precipitation.
That's more freezing nights than in 89% of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.
Daylight runs from 15 h 1 min on the longest day to 9 h 19 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 73° above the horizon in June and 27° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Boulder, CO (temperature) and Boulder 1.3 NW, CO (precipitation, 1 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47°F | 21.5°F | 0.8 in |
| Feb | 48.3°F | 22.3°F | 0.9 in |
| Mar | 57°F | 29°F | 1.9 in |
| Apr | 62.8°F | 34.5°F | 3 in |
| May | 71.3°F | 42.7°F | 3 in |
| Jun | 82.5°F | 51.1°F | 1.8 in |
| Jul | 88°F | 57°F | 1.8 in |
| Aug | 86°F | 55.5°F | 1.4 in |
| Sep | 78.8°F | 48.1°F | 2 in |
| Oct | 65.9°F | 37.2°F | 1.6 in |
| Nov | 54.5°F | 28.1°F | 0.9 in |
| Dec | 46.3°F | 21.1°F | 0.7 in |
Cold winters
With 138 freezing nights a year, warm room air meets cold glass for months. Shutters closed tight overnight hold that air against the window, so condensation can collect on the sill: tilt the louvers open in the morning, and wipe the sill on windows that often run wet.
Fitting them in Boulder
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 Boulder
- Broomfield 12 mi
- Longmont 12 mi
- Westminster 14 mi
- Arvada 14 mi
- Thornton 18 mi
- Lakewood 24 mi
More about shutters in Boulder
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Boulder’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Boulder
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Boulder 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.