Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Richmond
Homes in Richmond
Richmond's 114,293 homes are a mix: 44% detached houses, 47% apartments or units in buildings of two or more homes and 8% townhouses and other attached houses.
More homes here were built before 1950 than in any later period we count: 38%. Only 17% date from 2000 or later. The median home dates from 1959. Most homes are rented: owners live in only 44%.
Of the 16 Virginia cities we have census figures for, Richmond has the second-highest share of older homes. In nearby Newport News, 61 miles away, 51% of homes were built before 1980, so Richmond's windows are on the whole older. Nationally, Richmond's homes are older than those in 78% 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
38% 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 71% 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
47% 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.
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 Richmond
The most common home in Richmond has two bedrooms: 32% of homes. Three-bedroom homes make up another 30%. The median home has 4.9 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 0.4% of the median home value here, $353,000 (owners’ estimates, 2020–2024).
Homes here are smaller than in 79% 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 windowsWorking from home
20% 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.
Richmond weather and your shutters
At Richmond Intl AP, VA (9 mi away), July averages a high of 89.5°F and January a low of 28.8°F. Average highs reach 85°F from June to August and average lows sit at or below freezing from January to February.
About 45 days a year reach 90°F, 74 nights fall to freezing and 47.2 inches of precipitation falls, spread fairly evenly through the year.
Among the Virginia cities we have climate normals for, Richmond has the second-most hot days.
That's more 90°F days than in 52% of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.
Daylight runs from 14 h 45 min on the longest day to 9 h 34 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 76° above the horizon in June and 29° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Richmond Intl AP, VA (temperature) and Laurel 0.8 N, VA (precipitation, 8 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47.8°F | 28.8°F | 3.5 in |
| Feb | 51.6°F | 30.4°F | 2.9 in |
| Mar | 59.6°F | 37.2°F | 4 in |
| Apr | 70.4°F | 46.4°F | 3.5 in |
| May | 77.8°F | 55.7°F | 4.3 in |
| Jun | 85.6°F | 64.5°F | 4.5 in |
| Jul | 89.5°F | 69.2°F | 4.4 in |
| Aug | 87.5°F | 67.6°F | 4.6 in |
| Sep | 81.2°F | 61.1°F | 4.7 in |
| Oct | 70.9°F | 49°F | 3.7 in |
| Nov | 60.4°F | 38.8°F | 3.3 in |
| Dec | 51.5°F | 32.1°F | 3.8 in |
Humid summers
Hot days and 47.2 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 Richmond
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 Richmond
- Newport News 61 mi
- Hampton 73 mi
- Suffolk 74 mi
- Portsmouth 76 mi
- Dale City 78 mi
- Norfolk 80 mi
More about shutters in Richmond
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Richmond’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Richmond
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Richmond 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.