Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Germantown
Homes in Germantown
Germantown has an unusually large share of townhouses and other attached houses: 41% of its 32,406 homes, beside 26% detached houses and 33% apartments.
The 1980s and 1990s built 60% of today's homes, more than any other period we count. 15% are older than that and 26% newer. The median home dates from 1990. 67% of homes are lived in by their owners.
Of the 18 Maryland cities we have census figures for, Germantown has the newest homes. In Gaithersburg, 4 miles away, 52% of homes are apartments, more than here. Nationally, Germantown's homes are newer than those in 89% 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
41% 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.
Rounded drywall corners
85% 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.
A whole house in Germantown
The most common home in Germantown has three bedrooms: 35% of homes. 28% have four bedrooms or more, and 8% have one or none. The median home has 5.8 rooms.
Townhouses are the most common kind of home here. Across the US, the middle home among townhouses has 6 to 9 windows (EIA, 2020). Shuttering that many windows at a typical bedroom-window size comes to roughly $1,900 to $3,600. For scale, that's about 0.7% of the median home value here, $422,400 (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 home6–9 windows
All of them shuttered$1,900 to $3,600
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
22% of workers here worked from home in the 2020–2024 survey years, more than in 81% 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.
Young children at home
6% of people in Germantown are under five, more than in 60% of the 881 US cities we have figures for. Shutters have no cords or chains at all: the louvers tilt with a rod or by hand, so there's nothing to hang within a child's reach. US rules for cords on custom blinds and shades are still being rewritten; ours never had any.
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.
Germantown weather and your shutters
At Damascus 3 Ssw, MD (6 mi away), July averages a high of 84.3°F and January a low of 24.5°F. Average lows sit at or below freezing from December to February.
About 13 days a year reach 90°F, 98 nights fall to freezing and 46.9 inches of precipitation falls, spread fairly evenly through the year.
Among the Maryland cities we have climate normals for, Germantown has the second-most freezing days.
That's more freezing nights than in 66% 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, Damascus 3 Ssw, MD (temperature) and Gaithersburg 2 Wnw, MD (precipitation, 2 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39.1°F | 24.5°F | 3.3 in |
| Feb | 42.6°F | 26.1°F | 3.2 in |
| Mar | 51.6°F | 33.1°F | 4.1 in |
| Apr | 63.9°F | 42.9°F | 3.8 in |
| May | 72.5°F | 52.8°F | 4.6 in |
| Jun | 80.2°F | 61.5°F | 4.8 in |
| Jul | 84.3°F | 66°F | 4.3 in |
| Aug | 82.6°F | 64.6°F | 3.8 in |
| Sep | 75.7°F | 57.6°F | 4.4 in |
| Oct | 64.5°F | 46.5°F | 3.7 in |
| Nov | 53.3°F | 36.4°F | 3.4 in |
| Dec | 43.5°F | 29.5°F | 3.5 in |
Cold winters
With 98 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.
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.
Fitting them in Germantown
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 Germantown
- Gaithersburg 4 mi
- Rockville 9 mi
- Aspen Hill 11 mi
- Wheaton 14 mi
- Bethesda 15 mi
- Reston 16 mi
More about shutters in Germantown
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Germantown’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Germantown
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Germantown 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.