Frequently Asked Questions

Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Delaware, and portions of North Carolina. However, we have installed shutters for previous customers as far south as Naples, Florida and at multiple locations along the east coast all the way to Connecticut. We have gone as far west as Montana!

Yes. We build our shutters at our woodshop in Richmond, Virginia.

Although we sell, manufacture and install a high quality wood plantation shutter and our patented Softedge is an unparalleled innovation in the marketplace; our true strength lies in our people. Each employee embraces the responsibility of ensuring each customer’s entire experience with Shenandoah Shutters from answering the first inquiring phone call to installing the last shutter is exceptional. The team will not stop until you are fully satisfied. That is why over 70% of our business is either repeat or referred.

Yes. Our sales consultants will gladly come to your home with their sample panels to discuss design options and provide a free estimate.

Shenandoah Shutters provides a 100-year limited warranty transferable with the home on each shutter and a 25-year warranty on the finish.

We typically use yellow poplar and basswood. Specialty woods such as mahogany, walnut, cherry, or oak are available upon request.

Yes. If one of our standards does not work, we can match from a provided wet sample. If you have a stain to match, we would need a small piece of trim or similar sample which would be returned when we install your shutters.

We price our shutters based on the size of your window opening. Measuring, manufacturing, installation, and our 100-year limited warranty are included in the window price. Virginia customers are exempt from sales tax because we pay ‘use’ tax instead. All design options are included in that price except for stain, hidden tilt rods, and custom colors or woods. Larger orders may qualify for a volume discount.

We require a 50% down payment with the balance due at installation. We accept checks, cash, VISA, MasterCard, and Discover.

Softedge™ is our patented concealed hinge design. Softedge™ provides a harmonious appearance with its hidden hinge and a sculptured edge profile that gently blends with your window moulding. It mounts on your moulding which is perfect for casement and tilt-in windows. Softedge™ is exclusive to Shenandoah Shutters.

No. We do not use ‘faux wood’, ‘poly’, ‘composite’ or ‘plastics.’ We believe a truly exceptional custom plantation shutter can only be constructed from high quality wood.

Production time varies based on our backlog at the time the order is placed. In general, your shutters can be installed four to seven weeks from order placement. Specialty shutters such as sunbursts may take slightly longer. Please let your salesperson know if you need to meet a critical date, and we will do our best to accommodate.

Yes. Similar to wood cabinets, wood shutters will do fine in bathrooms as long as they are not subjected to direct water contact.

No. We only use the smallest frame elements possible to ensure the louvers have full range and the shutter design, whether inside or outside mount, meets with the customer’s desired look. We do not use ‘one-size fits all’ frame styles to eliminate the need to precisely measure each window. At Shenandoah, we believe there is simple elegance in taking a minimalist approach with our designs and only installing the amount of wood absolutely necessary to provide light control and exceed the customer’s appearance expectations. When we must use frame, it is of such a small nature that it almost ‘disappears’ in the final presentation.

Our product is comparable in price to custom draperies. However, custom wood plantation shutters will not wear out over time nor will the design or color go out of style. They truly add value to your home. Shenandoah Shutters provides a 100-year limited warranty transferable with the home.

Yes. Our Softedge shutter is a perfect treatment for casement windows.

Yes. Our Softedge shutter mounts on your existing moulding to allow tilt-in windows to fully function. As we are a custom shop, we can also produce unique shutter solutions using traditional hinging methods and still allow your windows to tilt-in.

Yes. We call them shadowboxes. We use a unique method to mount our shadowboxes over a French door or sidelight allowing you to ‘finish’ off all windows in a room with plantation shutters. We can also customize the shadowbox to fit around door handles.

No. We do not use a tensioning system. Our louver pins are specially designed and our construction tolerances are so precise that your louver ‘tree’ will hold position over the life of the shutter. Shenandoah Shutters provides a 100-year limited warranty transferable with the home.

We have found that only lacquers, similar to what is used on fine furniture, in combination with hand-finished louvers is the best method to provide a silken finish that is absolutely exquisite to the touch.

Custom wood plantation shutters are similar to fine furniture. Only hand crafted wood products of this nature provide the quality, character, value, and warmth necessary to blend with your fine furnishings and window mouldings which are almost certainly wood.

Our shutters have a furniture quality furnish, just like your dining room table. It is important to use only a barely damp cloth to clean your shutters. Do not use any cleaning agents or wet cloths. The louvers are much easier to clean from the backside of the panels, as the tilt rods are no longer an obstruction. Use a soft cloth, preferably cotton, for cleaning. A lamb’s wool wand also works well. The use of paper towels or rough fabrics may produce fine scratches on the lacquer finish.

No. It is a more matter of personal preference. Home style, window sizes, and landscaping can impact your desire to have shutters on some or all windows. Equally important is the beauty and light control shutters provide the inside of the home and certain rooms may be prioritized over others. Some customers elect to do the front, others do the whole house at once, and still others do one room a year. Our experienced sales consultants will be glad to provide pricing based on a number of volume scenarios.

No, but… We stock interior woods and finishes to focus on interior shutters. However, we are a custom wood shop with many skilled craftsmen possessing decades of experience.

From time to time, our previous customers have asked us to undertake various special projects such as replicating antique shutters, making louvered doors, creating custom cabinets and tables, etc.