Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Federal Way
Homes in Federal Way
Federal Way's 37,479 homes are a mix: 49% detached houses, 44% apartments or units in buildings of two or more homes and 3% townhouses and other attached houses.
The 1980s and 1990s built 41% of today's homes, more than any other period we count. 40% are older than that and 19% newer. The median home dates from 1984. 55% of homes are lived in by their owners.
In Auburn, 6 miles away, 36% of homes are apartments, fewer than here. Nationally, Federal Way's homes are newer than those in 63% 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.
Apartments and condos
44% 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
38% 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 Federal Way
The most common home in Federal Way has three bedrooms: 33% of homes. 23% have four bedrooms or more, and 18% have one or none. The median home has 5.1 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, $552,800 (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 Federal Way are under five, more than in 74% 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.
Older homes, high values
Owners here value their homes higher than in 73% of the 881 US cities we have figures for, and 40% 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.
Federal Way weather and your shutters
At Tacoma #1, WA (6 mi away), August averages a high of 76.9°F and December a low of 36.9°F. No month averages a high above 85°F or a low below freezing.
About 1 days a year reach 90°F, 27 nights fall to freezing and 40.6 inches of precipitation falls, most of it around November and least in July.
Daylight runs from 15 h 57 min on the longest day to 8 h 28 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 66° above the horizon in June and 19° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Tacoma #1, WA (temperature) and Federal Way 0.9 W, WA (precipitation, 1 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48.1°F | 37.4°F | 5.7 in |
| Feb | 50.3°F | 37.4°F | 3.7 in |
| Mar | 54.7°F | 40.1°F | 4.9 in |
| Apr | 59.8°F | 43.7°F | 3.3 in |
| May | 66.5°F | 49.1°F | 2.2 in |
| Jun | 71.1°F | 53.4°F | 1.4 in |
| Jul | 76.8°F | 57.2°F | 0.6 in |
| Aug | 76.9°F | 57°F | 0.9 in |
| Sep | 70.7°F | 53°F | 1.9 in |
| Oct | 60.7°F | 46.6°F | 4.2 in |
| Nov | 52.4°F | 40.5°F | 5.9 in |
| Dec | 47.3°F | 36.9°F | 5.9 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 Federal Way
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 Federal Way
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Federal Way’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Federal Way
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Federal Way 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.