Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Charleston
Homes in Charleston
Charleston's 77,417 homes are a mix: 48% detached houses, 45% apartments or units in buildings of two or more homes and 7% townhouses and other attached houses.
Much of Charleston is new: 45% of homes were built 2000 or later, and only 34% before 1980. The median home dates from 1995. 56% of homes are lived in by their owners.
Of the 7 South Carolina cities we have census figures for, Charleston has the second-highest share of apartments. In Mount Pleasant, 6 miles away, 24% of homes are apartments, fewer than here. Nationally, Charleston's homes are newer than those in 71% 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
45% 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.
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.
Rounded drywall corners
66% 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.
A whole house in Charleston
The most common home in Charleston has three bedrooms: 33% of homes. 20% have four bedrooms or more, and 18% have one or none. The median home has 5.3 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 0.9% of the median home value here, $509,700 (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
19% of workers here worked from home in the 2020–2024 survey years, more than in 73% 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.
Charleston weather and your shutters
At Charleston City, SC (4 mi away), July averages a high of 87.5°F and January a low of 43.6°F. Average highs reach 85°F from July to August.
About 25 days a year reach 90°F, 6 nights fall to freezing and 52.2 inches of precipitation falls, most of it around July and least in November.
Daylight runs from 14 h 19 min on the longest day to 9 h 59 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 81° above the horizon in June and 34° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Charleston City, SC (temperature) and Charleston 3.0 N, SC (precipitation, 1 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 58°F | 43.6°F | 3.1 in |
| Feb | 60.3°F | 46.1°F | 3.2 in |
| Mar | 65.6°F | 52°F | 3.4 in |
| Apr | 72.3°F | 59.7°F | 3.6 in |
| May | 79°F | 68°F | 3.3 in |
| Jun | 84.3°F | 74.2°F | 5.3 in |
| Jul | 87.5°F | 77.1°F | 7.6 in |
| Aug | 86.4°F | 76.5°F | 5.9 in |
| Sep | 82.6°F | 72.5°F | 5.4 in |
| Oct | 75.6°F | 63.2°F | 4.2 in |
| Nov | 67.1°F | 53.1°F | 2.8 in |
| Dec | 60.9°F | 46.8°F | 4.4 in |
Wet months
52.2 inches 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.
Fitting them in Charleston
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 Charleston
- Mount Pleasant 6 mi
- North Charleston 8 mi
- Summerville 17 mi
- Savannah 91 mi
More about shutters in Charleston
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Charleston’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Charleston
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Charleston 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.