Shutter BoysCalifornia shutters in Cape Breton
Homes in Cape Breton
Cape Breton is a city of houses: of its 42,315 occupied homes, 74% are detached, 8% are semi-detached and row houses and 15% are apartments or units in buildings of two or more homes.
More homes here were built 1960 or earlier than in any later period we count: 37%. Only 11% date from 2001 or later. Owners live in 71% of homes.
Of the 5 Nova Scotia cities we have census figures for, Cape Breton has the highest share of older homes and the second-highest share of apartments. Nationally, Cape Breton's homes are older than those in 92% of the 167 Canadian cities we have census figures for.
Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population. Period of construction and tenure come from the 25% sample; counts are randomly rounded.
Plaster walls and deep casings
37% of homes date from 1960 or earlier, 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 68% of homes built in 1980 or earlier, 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 6 mm, add a mounting frame in the designer, or choose an outside mount so the shutter covers the uneven edges.
Whole-house orders
With 74% of homes detached, most orders here cover a whole house: bedrooms, a patio door, perhaps a bay. Put every window in one list in the designer so the louver size and colour match from the street.
Bought to stay
Owners live in 71% 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.
Cape Breton weather and your shutters
At Sydney (28 km away), July averages a high of 23.4 °C and February a low of −9.9 °C. Average lows sit at or below freezing from December to April.
About 3 days a year top 30 °C, 159 days drop to 0 °C or below and 1,482 mm of precipitation falls, spread fairly evenly through the year.
That's more days at or below freezing than in 72% of the 160 Canadian cities we have climate normals for.
Daylight runs from 15 h 45 min on the longest day to 8 h 38 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 67° above the horizon in June and 21° in December.
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020, Sydney. Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | −0.8 °C | −9.1 °C | 139.1 mm |
| Feb | −1.1 °C | −9.9 °C | 131 mm |
| Mar | 1.8 °C | −6.4 °C | 121.3 mm |
| Apr | 6.8 °C | −1.7 °C | 119.8 mm |
| May | 13.2 °C | 2.7 °C | 98.9 mm |
| Jun | 18.6 °C | 7.8 °C | 100.8 mm |
| Jul | 23.4 °C | 12.9 °C | 87.3 mm |
| Aug | 23.4 °C | 13.4 °C | 99.2 mm |
| Sep | 19.4 °C | 9.5 °C | 118.2 mm |
| Oct | 13.1 °C | 4.6 °C | 147 mm |
| Nov | 7.7 °C | 0.4 °C | 149.2 mm |
| Dec | 2.6 °C | −4.4 °C | 169.8 mm |
Wet months
1,482 mm 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.
Cold winters
With 159 days at or below freezing 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 Cape Breton
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 Cape Breton
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Cape Breton’s own figures.
Price your windows
Choose Canada in the designer, enter millimetres or inches, and we reply with your quote in Canadian dollars.