Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Portland
Homes in Portland
Portland's 307,719 homes are a mix: 52% detached houses, 41% apartments or units in buildings of two or more homes and 5% townhouses and other attached houses.
More homes here were built before 1950 than in any later period we count: 34%. Only 24% date from 2000 or later. The median home dates from 1966. 52% of homes are lived in by their owners.
Of the 13 Oregon cities we have census figures for, Portland has the highest share of older homes and the third-highest share of apartments. In nearby Vancouver, 7 miles away, 40% of homes were built before 1980, so Portland's windows are on the whole older. Nationally, Portland's homes are older than those in 68% 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
34% 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.
Out-of-square openings
With 63% 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.
Apartments and condos
41% 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 Portland
The most common home in Portland has three bedrooms: 29% of homes. 16% have four bedrooms or more, and 28% have one or none. The median home has 4.7 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 0.8% of the median home value here, $581,500 (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
29% 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.
Older homes, high values
Owners here value their homes higher than in 76% of the 881 US cities we have figures for, and 63% of homes were built before 1980. If an older house still has good wood shutters, repair them before you replace them; if not, poplar painted to match the trim suits original casings.
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.
Portland weather and your shutters
At Portland Kgw-TV, OR (2 mi away), August averages a high of 80.6°F and January a low of 37.3°F. No month averages a high above 85°F or a low below freezing.
About 11 days a year reach 90°F, 18 nights fall to freezing and 44.9 inches of precipitation falls, most of it around December and least in July.
Daylight runs from 15 h 41 min on the longest day to 8 h 42 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 68° above the horizon in June and 21° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Portland Kgw-TV, OR (temperature) and Portland 0.8 Ene, OR (precipitation, 1 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46.9°F | 37.3°F | 6.5 in |
| Feb | 50.5°F | 38.8°F | 4.4 in |
| Mar | 55.8°F | 40.9°F | 4.9 in |
| Apr | 60.7°F | 44.2°F | 3.7 in |
| May | 68°F | 49.4°F | 3 in |
| Jun | 72.9°F | 53.3°F | 1.7 in |
| Jul | 80.3°F | 57.9°F | 0.6 in |
| Aug | 80.6°F | 58.6°F | 0.6 in |
| Sep | 74.9°F | 55.1°F | 1.6 in |
| Oct | 62.9°F | 47.9°F | 3.9 in |
| Nov | 52.3°F | 41.6°F | 6.7 in |
| Dec | 45.9°F | 37.3°F | 7.3 in |
Dry summers, wet winters
Barely any of the year's precipitation falls in June, July and August; most comes in the cool months. Wood takes on moisture in the wet season and gives it back in the dry one, so expect the panels to feel slightly tighter in winter than in summer. Fit them in the season you're in, and leave the hinge screws a quarter turn from tight until they've been through both.
Fitting them in Portland
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 Portland
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Portland’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Portland
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Portland 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.