Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Philadelphia
Homes in Philadelphia
Philadelphia has an unusually large share of townhouses and other attached houses: 56% of its 748,270 homes, beside 8% detached houses and 35% apartments.
More homes here were built before 1950 than in any later period we count: 51%. Only 10% date from 2000 or later. The median home dates from 1949. 52% of homes are lived in by their owners.
Its housing is much like Camden's, 5 miles away. Nationally, Philadelphia's homes are older than those in 93% 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.
Townhouses
56% of homes share a wall with the next one. Their front windows face the street side by side with the neighbours', so many owners pick a louver size and a white or off-white finish that sit well beside the houses on either side. Bay windows on townhouses usually need a separate panel set for each face.
Plaster walls and deep casings
51% 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 83% 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
35% 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 Philadelphia
The most common home in Philadelphia has three bedrooms: 44% of homes. 12% have four bedrooms or more, and 22% have one or none. The median home has 5.4 rooms.
Townhouses are the most common kind of home here. Across the US, the middle home among townhouses has 6 to 9 windows (EIA, 2020). Shuttering that many windows at a typical bedroom-window size comes to roughly $1,900 to $3,600. For scale, that's about 1.1% of the median home value here, $243,100 (owners’ estimates, 2020–2024).
Homes here are smaller than in 89% 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 home6–9 windows
All of them shuttered$1,900 to $3,600
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 79% 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.
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.
Philadelphia weather and your shutters
At Phila Franklin Inst, PA (4 mi away), July averages a high of 89.3°F and January a low of 27.8°F. Average highs reach 85°F from July to August and average lows sit at or below freezing from January to February.
About 40 days a year reach 90°F, 62 nights fall to freezing and 50.9 inches of precipitation falls, spread fairly evenly through the year.
Among the Pennsylvania cities we have climate normals for, Philadelphia has the most hot days and the most precipitation.
That's more freezing nights than in 53% of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.
Daylight runs from 15 h 1 min on the longest day to 9 h 19 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, Phila Franklin Inst, PA (temperature) and Phila Franklin Inst, PA (precipitation, 4 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41.6°F | 27.8°F | 3.6 in |
| Feb | 44.9°F | 29.6°F | 3.3 in |
| Mar | 53.5°F | 36.4°F | 4.5 in |
| Apr | 65.9°F | 46.3°F | 4 in |
| May | 75.7°F | 56.3°F | 4.1 in |
| Jun | 84.9°F | 65.9°F | 4.8 in |
| Jul | 89.3°F | 71.4°F | 4.8 in |
| Aug | 87.2°F | 69.5°F | 5 in |
| Sep | 80.3°F | 62.7°F | 4.9 in |
| Oct | 68.1°F | 51.1°F | 4.2 in |
| Nov | 56.4°F | 41.3°F | 3.4 in |
| Dec | 46.5°F | 33.2°F | 4.3 in |
Humid summers
Hot days and 50.9 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 Philadelphia
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 Philadelphia
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Philadelphia’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Philadelphia
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Philadelphia 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.