Plantation shutters in Gaithersburg

Plantation shutters, also called California shutters or interior window shutters, made to the measurements you take and shipped to your door in Gaithersburg. 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 Gaithersburg

Apartments outnumber houses in Gaithersburg: 52% of its 27,280 homes are in buildings of two or more units. Detached houses make up 19% and townhouses and other attached houses 29%.

The 1980s and 1990s built 37% of today's homes, more than any other period we count. 32% are older than that and 32% newer. The median home dates from 1989. 51% of homes are lived in by their owners.

Of the 18 Maryland cities we have census figures for, Gaithersburg has the second-highest share of apartments. In Germantown, 4 miles away, 33% of homes are apartments, fewer than here. Nationally, Gaithersburg's homes are newer than those in 74% 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

29% 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

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.

Patio door shutters

Rounded drywall corners

68% of homes here were built from 1980 on, and many houses of that era have rounded ("bullnose") drywall corners around the windows instead of square returns. A shutter can't sit flat against a curve: choose an outside mount with a frame that clears the corner, or an inside mount if the flat part of the opening is deep enough for your louvers.

How to measure

Shallow openings

32% of homes were built in 2000 or later. Newer windows are often set close to the room side of the wall, and handles, cranks and alarm sensors stick out into the space a louver swings through. Measure the depth to the glass and to anything that sticks out; the designer checks it against the louver size you pick.

Choosing a louver size

Gaithersburg weather and your shutters

At Rockville 1 NE, MD (4 mi away), July averages a high of 87.1°F and January a low of 26.9°F. Average highs reach 85°F in July and average lows sit at or below freezing from December to February.

About 23 days a year reach 90°F, 86 nights fall to freezing and 46.9 inches of precipitation falls, spread fairly evenly through the year.

That's more freezing nights than in 62% of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.

Daylight runs from 14 h 55 min on the longest day to 9 h 25 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, Rockville 1 NE, MD (temperature) and Gaithersburg 2 Wnw, MD (precipitation, 2 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.

Gaithersburg: average monthly low and high temperatures20°F40°F60°F80°FJFMAMJJASOND
Average daily low to high, by month.
Monthly figures
Monthly climate normals
MonthAverage highAverage lowPrecipitation
Jan42.2°F26.9°F3.3 in
Feb45°F28.4°F3.2 in
Mar53.7°F35.9°F4.1 in
Apr65.9°F45.6°F3.8 in
May74.3°F54.9°F4.6 in
Jun82.2°F63.6°F4.8 in
Jul87.1°F68.8°F4.3 in
Aug84.9°F67°F3.8 in
Sep77.5°F60°F4.4 in
Oct65.9°F48°F3.7 in
Nov55.7°F38.2°F3.4 in
Dec46°F30.9°F3.5 in

Cold winters

With 86 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.

Why poplar

Wet months

46.9 inches of precipitation a year keeps the air damp for long stretches. Steam and condensation are hard on any joint, so in kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms keep the air moving and wipe water off the sill before it sits.

Why poplar

Fitting them in Gaithersburg

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 Gaithersburg

More about shutters in Gaithersburg

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