Plantation shutters in Dundalk

Plantation shutters, also called California shutters or interior window shutters, made to the measurements you take and shipped to your door in Dundalk. Fit them yourself, or ask us for an independent installer near you.
Framed California shutters fitted across a condo window wall, in time-lapse.

Homes in Dundalk

Dundalk has an unusually large share of townhouses and other attached houses: 47% of its 26,780 homes, beside 37% detached houses and 14% apartments.

The biggest building period was 1950 to 1979, which accounts for 54% of homes standing today; 6% are from 2000 or later. The median home dates from 1955. 65% of homes are lived in by their owners.

Of the 18 Maryland cities we have census figures for, Dundalk has the highest share of older homes. In Baltimore, 6 miles away, 35% of homes are apartments, more than here. Nationally, Dundalk's homes are older than those in 95% 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.

Townhouses

47% 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.

Bay window shutters

Out-of-square openings

With 85% 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.

How to measure

Replacement windows

54% 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.

Choosing a louver size

Plaster walls and deep casings

31% 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.

How to install

Dundalk weather and your shutters

At MD Sci Ctr Baltimore, MD (6 mi away), July averages a high of 90.1°F and January a low of 30°F. Average highs reach 85°F from June to August and average lows sit at or below freezing from January to February.

About 43 days a year reach 90°F, 52 nights fall to freezing and 44 inches of precipitation falls, spread fairly evenly through the year.

Among the Maryland cities we have climate normals for, Dundalk has the second-most hot days.

That's more 90°F days than in 51% of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.

Daylight runs from 14 h 56 min on the longest day to 9 h 24 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 74° above the horizon in June and 27° in December.

Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, MD Sci Ctr Baltimore, MD (temperature) and MD Sci Ctr Baltimore, MD (precipitation, 6 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.

Dundalk: average monthly low and high temperatures30°F50°F70°F90°FJFMAMJJASOND
Average daily low to high, by month.
Monthly figures
Monthly climate normals
MonthAverage highAverage lowPrecipitation
Jan43.7°F30°F3.1 in
Feb46.8°F31.9°F2.8 in
Mar55.2°F38.7°F3.9 in
Apr66.8°F48.2°F3.6 in
May75.9°F58°F3.4 in
Jun85.4°F67.7°F3.4 in
Jul90.1°F72.9°F4.7 in
Aug87.3°F71°F4.4 in
Sep80.4°F64.5°F4.5 in
Oct68.8°F52.6°F3.5 in
Nov57.6°F42.6°F3 in
Dec48°F34.6°F3.7 in

Humid summers

Hot days and 44 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.

Why poplar

Fitting them in Dundalk

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.

How to install · How to measure

Near Dundalk

More about shutters in Dundalk

Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Dundalk’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.

Design your shutters