Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Chapel Hill
Homes in Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill's 23,581 homes are a mix: 41% detached houses, 44% apartments or units in buildings of two or more homes and 14% townhouses and other attached houses.
The 1980s and 1990s built 32% of today's homes, more than any other period we count. 35% are older than that and 32% newer. The median home dates from 1988. 47% of homes are lived in by their owners.
Of the 22 North Carolina cities we have census figures for, Chapel Hill has the second-highest share of apartments. Its housing is much like Durham's, 9 miles away. Nationally, Chapel Hill's homes are newer 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.
Apartments and condos
44% 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.
Rounded drywall corners
65% 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.
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.
A whole house in Chapel Hill
The most common home in Chapel Hill has two bedrooms: 31% of homes. 27% have four bedrooms or more, and 18% have one or none. The median home has 5 rooms.
Apartments are the most common kind of home here. Across the US, the middle home among apartments in buildings of five or more units has 3 to 5 windows (EIA, 2020). Shuttering that many windows at a typical bedroom-window size comes to roughly $900 to $2,000. For scale, that's about 0.2% of the median home value here, $613,700 (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 home3–5 windows
All of them shuttered$900 to $2,000
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 windowsWorking from home
28% of workers here worked from home in the 2020–2024 survey years, more than in 92% 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.
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.
Chapel Hill weather and your shutters
At Chapel Hill Williams AP, NC (1 mi away), July averages a high of 89.6°F and January a low of 31.7°F. Average highs reach 85°F from June to August and average lows sit at or below freezing in January.
About 45 days a year reach 90°F, 68 nights fall to freezing and 43.7 inches of precipitation falls, spread fairly evenly through the year.
That's more 90°F days than in 52% of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.
Daylight runs from 14 h 36 min on the longest day to 9 h 43 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 78° above the horizon in June and 31° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Chapel Hill Williams AP, NC (temperature) and Chapel Hill Williams AP, NC (precipitation, 1 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 51.2°F | 31.7°F | 3.4 in |
| Feb | 54.8°F | 33.8°F | 2.8 in |
| Mar | 62.7°F | 40.1°F | 3.9 in |
| Apr | 72.2°F | 48.1°F | 3.6 in |
| May | 79.1°F | 57°F | 3.5 in |
| Jun | 86.3°F | 65.3°F | 4.4 in |
| Jul | 89.6°F | 69.3°F | 4.1 in |
| Aug | 87.8°F | 67.9°F | 3.8 in |
| Sep | 81.9°F | 62.2°F | 4.4 in |
| Oct | 72.3°F | 49.6°F | 3.2 in |
| Nov | 62.4°F | 39.5°F | 3.2 in |
| Dec | 54.2°F | 34.5°F | 3.4 in |
Humid summers
Hot days and 43.7 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.
Fitting them in Chapel Hill
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 Chapel Hill
- Durham 9 mi
- Cary 16 mi
- Apex 17 mi
- Raleigh 24 mi
- Burlington 26 mi
- Wake Forest 30 mi
More about shutters in Chapel Hill
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Chapel Hill’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Chapel Hill
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Chapel Hill 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.