Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Durham
Homes in Durham
Durham's 136,837 homes are a mix: 51% detached houses, 38% apartments or units in buildings of two or more homes and 11% townhouses and other attached houses.
Much of Durham is new: 43% of homes were built 2000 or later, and only 30% before 1980. The median home dates from 1995. 52% of homes are lived in by their owners.
Its housing is much like Chapel Hill's, 9 miles away. Nationally, Durham's homes are newer than those in 75% 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.
Shallow openings
43% 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.
Rounded drywall corners
70% 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.
Apartments and condos
38% 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.
A whole house in Durham
The most common home in Durham has three bedrooms: 37% of homes. 18% have four bedrooms or more, and 18% have one or none. The median home has 5.2 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 1.2% of the median home value here, $392,800 (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 windowsWorking from home
23% of workers here worked from home in the 2020–2024 survey years, more than in 84% 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
6.1% of people in Durham are under five, more than in 64% 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.
Durham weather and your shutters
At Durham, NC (6 mi away), July averages a high of 87°F and January a low of 27.9°F. Average highs reach 85°F in July and average lows sit at or below freezing from January to February.
About 40 days a year reach 90°F, 84 nights fall to freezing and 50 inches of precipitation falls, spread fairly evenly through the year.
Among the North Carolina cities we have climate normals for, Durham has the second-most freezing days.
That's more freezing nights than in 61% 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 77° above the horizon in June and 31° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Durham, NC (temperature) and Durham 1.2 NW, NC (precipitation, 2 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48.9°F | 27.9°F | 3.5 in |
| Feb | 52.5°F | 30.3°F | 3 in |
| Mar | 60.7°F | 37.2°F | 4.1 in |
| Apr | 70.3°F | 46°F | 3.6 in |
| May | 76.6°F | 55.4°F | 4.8 in |
| Jun | 83.3°F | 64.2°F | 4.8 in |
| Jul | 87°F | 68.8°F | 5.3 in |
| Aug | 84.6°F | 67.2°F | 4.3 in |
| Sep | 79.3°F | 60.9°F | 5.9 in |
| Oct | 69.5°F | 48°F | 3.4 in |
| Nov | 60°F | 37.1°F | 3.3 in |
| Dec | 52.1°F | 32.2°F | 4 in |
Humid summers
Hot days and 50 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.
Cold winters
With 84 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.
Fitting them in Durham
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 Durham
- Chapel Hill 9 mi
- Cary 14 mi
- Apex 17 mi
- Raleigh 17 mi
- Wake Forest 22 mi
- Burlington 32 mi
More about shutters in Durham
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Durham’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Durham
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Durham 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.