Plantation shutters in Passaic

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

Apartments outnumber houses in Passaic: 81% of its 21,693 homes are in buildings of two or more units. Detached houses make up 16% and townhouses and other attached houses 3%.

More homes here were built before 1950 than in any later period we count: 67%. Only 5% date from 2000 or later. The median home dates from 1938. Most homes are rented: owners live in only 24%.

Of the 19 New Jersey cities we have census figures for, Passaic has the highest share of older homes. In Clifton, 2 miles away, 47% of homes are apartments, fewer than here. Nationally, Passaic's homes are older than those in 97% 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

67% 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

Apartments and condos

81% 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

Out-of-square openings

With 86% 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

Renting?

76% of homes are rented. Shutters screw into the window frame or casing, so ask your landlord before you install; taking them down later leaves only screw holes to fill.

Passaic weather and your shutters

At Teterboro AP, NJ (4 mi away), July averages a high of 87°F and January a low of 25.7°F. Average highs reach 85°F from July to August and average lows sit at or below freezing from December to February.

About 29 days a year reach 90°F, 89 nights fall to freezing and 46.4 inches of precipitation falls, spread fairly evenly through the year.

That's more freezing nights than in 63% of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.

Daylight runs from 15 h 7 min on the longest day to 9 h 14 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 73° above the horizon in June and 26° in December.

Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Teterboro AP, NJ (temperature) and Teterboro AP, NJ (precipitation, 4 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.

Passaic: 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
Jan39.9°F25.7°F3.3 in
Feb42.8°F27°F2.8 in
Mar50.6°F34°F4.1 in
Apr62.5°F43.7°F4 in
May73.1°F53.3°F3.9 in
Jun82°F63.1°F4.3 in
Jul87°F68.9°F4.5 in
Aug85.1°F67.3°F4.3 in
Sep78.4°F59.9°F4.1 in
Oct66.8°F47.9°F3.7 in
Nov55.5°F38.3°F3.3 in
Dec44.9°F30.8°F4.1 in

Cold winters

With 89 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

46.4 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.

Why poplar

Fitting them in Passaic

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 Passaic

More about shutters in Passaic

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