Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Columbus
Homes in Columbus
Columbus's 425,182 homes are a mix: 44% detached houses, 45% apartments or units in buildings of two or more homes and 10% townhouses and other attached houses.
The biggest building period was 1950 to 1979, which accounts for 34% of homes standing today; 24% are from 2000 or later. The median home dates from 1980. Most homes are rented: owners live in only 44%.
Of the 18 Ohio cities we have census figures for, Columbus has the newest homes. In nearby Newark, 30 miles away, 71% of homes were built before 1980, so Columbus's windows are on the whole newer. Nationally, Columbus's homes are older than those in 52% 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
45% 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.
Out-of-square openings
With 50% 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.
Renting?
56% 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.
A whole house in Columbus
The most common home in Columbus has two bedrooms: 36% of homes. Three-bedroom homes make up another 33%. 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 0.6% of the median home value here, $252,900 (owners’ estimates, 2020–2024).
Homes here are smaller than in 86% of the 881 US cities we have figures for: many orders are a few rooms, not a whole house.
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 windowsOne room at a time
Homes here cost less than in 76% of the 881 US cities we have figures for, and many owners do a house in stages. Start with the rooms where light and privacy matter most, usually bedrooms and the street-facing front, and keep the same louver size and colour so later rooms match. Your saved design keeps every size.
Young children at home
6.5% of people in Columbus are under five, more than in 78% 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.
Working from home
18% of workers here worked from home in the 2020–2024 survey years, more than in 69% 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.
Columbus weather and your shutters
At Columbus Wcmh, OH (3 mi away), July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 20.9°F. Average highs reach 85°F in July and average lows sit at or below freezing from December to March.
About 23 days a year reach 90°F, 113 nights fall to freezing and 42.3 inches of precipitation falls, spread fairly evenly through the year.
That's more freezing nights than in 73% of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.
Daylight runs from 15 h 1 min on the longest day to 9 h 20 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 73° above the horizon in June and 27° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Columbus Wcmh, OH (temperature) and Grandview Heights 0.1 N, OH (precipitation, 3 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36.5°F | 20.9°F | 3 in |
| Feb | 40.3°F | 22.6°F | 2.3 in |
| Mar | 50.6°F | 31°F | 3.4 in |
| Apr | 64.2°F | 40.8°F | 4 in |
| May | 74.1°F | 51.4°F | 4.6 in |
| Jun | 82°F | 61.1°F | 4.6 in |
| Jul | 85°F | 64.6°F | 4.7 in |
| Aug | 84.1°F | 62.5°F | 3.7 in |
| Sep | 78.1°F | 54.6°F | 3.1 in |
| Oct | 65.8°F | 43.4°F | 2.8 in |
| Nov | 52.3°F | 32.9°F | 3 in |
| Dec | 40.9°F | 26.8°F | 3.1 in |
Cold winters
With 113 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 Columbus
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 Columbus
- Newark 30 mi
- Springfield 43 mi
- Kettering 65 mi
- Dayton 66 mi
- Middletown 81 mi
More about shutters in Columbus
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Columbus’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Columbus
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Columbus 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.