Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Washington
Homes in Washington
Apartments outnumber houses in Washington: 67% of its 361,014 homes are in buildings of two or more units. Detached houses make up 11% and townhouses and other attached houses 22%.
More homes here were built before 1950 than in any later period we count: 41%. Only 24% date from 2000 or later. The median home dates from 1958. Most homes are rented: owners live in only 42%.
In nearby Arlington, 5 miles away, 53% of homes were built before 1980, so Washington's windows are on the whole older. Nationally, Washington's homes are older than those in 76% 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.
Plaster walls and deep casings
41% 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.
Apartments and condos
67% 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.
Out-of-square openings
With 69% 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.
Townhouses
22% of homes share a wall with the next one. Their front windows face the street side by side with the neighbours', so many owners pick a louver size and a white or off-white finish that sit well beside the houses on either side. Bay windows on townhouses usually need a separate panel set for each face.
A whole house in Washington
The most common home in Washington has one bedroom: 31% of homes. Small homes are a big part of the mix: 43% have one bedroom or none. The median home has 3.9 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, $737,100 (owners’ estimates, 2020–2024).
Homes here are smaller than in 88% 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 windowsWorking from home
33% 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 87% of the 881 US cities we have figures for, and 69% 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.
A few windows and a door
43% of homes here have one bedroom or none, so many orders are a bedroom window, a living room window and a balcony door. Sliding doors take bypass or bifold panels; check your building's rules on what shows from outside first.
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.
Washington weather and your shutters
At Natl Arboretum DC, MD (2 mi away), July averages a high of 89.8°F and January a low of 27.8°F. Average highs reach 85°F from June to August and average lows sit at or below freezing from December to February.
About 47 days a year reach 90°F, 84 nights fall to freezing and 45.6 inches of precipitation falls, spread fairly evenly through the year.
That's more 90°F days than in 54% of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.
Daylight runs from 14 h 54 min on the longest day to 9 h 26 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 75° above the horizon in June and 28° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Natl Arboretum DC, MD (temperature) and Natl Arboretum DC, MD (precipitation, 2 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44.7°F | 27.8°F | 3 in |
| Feb | 47.8°F | 29.5°F | 2.8 in |
| Mar | 55.9°F | 36.5°F | 4 in |
| Apr | 67.6°F | 46.4°F | 3.4 in |
| May | 76.9°F | 56.6°F | 4.3 in |
| Jun | 85.4°F | 66.1°F | 4.6 in |
| Jul | 89.8°F | 70.9°F | 4.6 in |
| Aug | 88.4°F | 68.8°F | 3.7 in |
| Sep | 81.7°F | 61.5°F | 4.1 in |
| Oct | 69.9°F | 49°F | 4.2 in |
| Nov | 58.4°F | 38.9°F | 3.2 in |
| Dec | 49.2°F | 31.9°F | 3.7 in |
Humid summers
Hot days and 45.6 inches 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.
Cold winters
With 84 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 Washington
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 Washington
- Arlington 5 mi
- Silver Spring 7 mi
- Alexandria 7 mi
- Bethesda 8 mi
- Wheaton 11 mi
- Aspen Hill 14 mi
More about shutters in Washington
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Washington’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Washington
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Washington 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.
Apply to the dealer program · Dealers in District of Columbia
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.