Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Methuen
Homes in Methuen
Methuen's 19,191 homes are a mix: 59% detached houses, 33% apartments or units in buildings of two or more homes and 8% townhouses and other attached houses.
The biggest building period was 1950 to 1979, which accounts for 34% of homes standing today; 15% are from 2000 or later. The median home dates from 1968. Owners live in 72% of homes.
Of the 26 Massachusetts cities we have census figures for, Methuen has some of the newest homes and the smallest share of apartments. In Lawrence, 3 miles away, 73% of homes are apartments, more than here. Nationally, Methuen's homes are older than those in 69% 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
30% 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.
Out-of-square openings
With 64% 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.
Bought to stay
Owners live in 72% of homes, and shutters are usually bought to stay with the house. Poplar takes paint well, so they can be repainted years from now if you change a room's colours. Keep your order list: it records every size if you add a room later.
A whole house in Methuen
The most common home in Methuen has three bedrooms: 43% of homes. 21% have four bedrooms or more, and 10% have one or none. The median home has 5.7 rooms.
Detached houses are the most common kind of home here. Across the US, the middle home among detached houses has 10 to 15 windows (EIA, 2020). Shuttering that many windows at a typical bedroom-window size comes to roughly $3,200 to $6,000. For scale, that's about 0.9% of the median home value here, $499,700 (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 home10–15 windows
All of them shuttered$3,200 to $6,000
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 windowsMethuen weather and your shutters
At Lawrence, MA (3 mi away), July averages a high of 82.9°F and January a low of 19.6°F. Average lows sit at or below freezing from December to March.
About 13 days a year reach 90°F, 124 nights fall to freezing and 49.4 inches of precipitation falls, spread fairly evenly through the year.
That's more freezing nights than in 81% of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.
Daylight runs from 15 h 20 min on the longest day to 9 h 2 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 71° above the horizon in June and 24° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Lawrence, MA (temperature) and Lawrence, MA (precipitation, 3 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35.1°F | 19.6°F | 4.2 in |
| Feb | 37.3°F | 21.4°F | 3.8 in |
| Mar | 44.9°F | 29.7°F | 4.7 in |
| Apr | 57.2°F | 40°F | 4.2 in |
| May | 68°F | 49.8°F | 3.8 in |
| Jun | 77.3°F | 59.2°F | 4.1 in |
| Jul | 82.9°F | 64.8°F | 3.7 in |
| Aug | 81.4°F | 63.8°F | 3.7 in |
| Sep | 74.2°F | 56.3°F | 3.9 in |
| Oct | 61.8°F | 44.4°F | 4.7 in |
| Nov | 50.8°F | 34.8°F | 3.9 in |
| Dec | 40.6°F | 26.2°F | 4.7 in |
Cold winters
With 124 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
49.4 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 Methuen
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.
More about shutters in Methuen
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Methuen’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Methuen
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Methuen 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.