Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Norfolk
Homes in Norfolk
Norfolk's 103,524 homes are a mix: 49% detached houses, 43% apartments or units in buildings of two or more homes and 8% townhouses and other attached houses.
The biggest building period was 1950 to 1979, which accounts for 42% of homes standing today; 16% are from 2000 or later. The median home dates from 1964. 46% of homes are lived in by their owners.
In Portsmouth, 7 miles away, 29% of homes are apartments, fewer than here. Nationally, Norfolk's homes are older than those in 73% 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.
Out-of-square openings
With 67% 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.
Plaster walls and deep casings
25% 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.
Apartments and condos
43% 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.
Replacement windows
42% of homes went up between 1950 and 1979, and most of them have had their original windows replaced since. A replacement window often sits further into or out of the wall than the old one, so the depth you have for an inside mount may differ from window to window in the same house. Measure every opening rather than copying one.
A whole house in Norfolk
The most common home in Norfolk has three bedrooms: 34% of homes. 20% have four bedrooms or more, and 17% 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 1.6% of the median home value here, $289,900 (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 windowsYoung children at home
6.4% of people in Norfolk are under five, more than in 73% 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.
One room at a time
Homes here cost less than in 71% 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.
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.
Norfolk weather and your shutters
At Norfolk Nas, VA (3 mi away), July averages a high of 88.7°F and January a low of 34°F. Average highs reach 85°F from July to August.
About 42 days a year reach 90°F, 32 nights fall to freezing and 45.7 inches of precipitation falls, spread fairly evenly through the year.
That's more 90°F days than in 50% of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.
Daylight runs from 14 h 42 min on the longest day to 9 h 37 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 77° above the horizon in June and 30° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Norfolk Nas, VA (temperature) and Norfolk Nas, VA (precipitation, 3 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 50°F | 34°F | 2.9 in |
| Feb | 52.8°F | 35.4°F | 2.6 in |
| Mar | 59.4°F | 41.3°F | 3.5 in |
| Apr | 69.5°F | 50.3°F | 3.3 in |
| May | 77°F | 59.5°F | 3.6 in |
| Jun | 84.4°F | 68°F | 4.6 in |
| Jul | 88.7°F | 72.6°F | 5.2 in |
| Aug | 86.3°F | 71.5°F | 5.3 in |
| Sep | 80.8°F | 66.7°F | 5.1 in |
| Oct | 71.7°F | 55.5°F | 3.6 in |
| Nov | 61.4°F | 44.7°F | 3.1 in |
| Dec | 53.9°F | 37.9°F | 2.9 in |
Humid summers
Hot days and 45.7 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 Norfolk
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 Norfolk
- Portsmouth 7 mi
- Hampton 9 mi
- Virginia Beach 16 mi
- Chesapeake 17 mi
- Newport News 19 mi
- Suffolk 27 mi
More about shutters in Norfolk
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Norfolk’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Norfolk
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Norfolk 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.