Now is a great time to replace those rotten exterior shutters on your home with composite wood shutters that are rot, moisture and insect resistant.

There is still time to get it done before the Holidays. How about a style change, or replacing what you have? Get your house ready for the Christmas decorations.

All our shutters are custom made in our local facility here in Alpharetta, GA. Contact us today to set up a personal, no obligation consultation. You can call us at 678 – 662 4815, or click the “Contact Us” on this page.

Shutters can make or break the curb appeal of a house and it is important to consider the different materials that shutters are made of.  Prices will vary considerably between the different materials and each will have its own positives and negatives.  Let’s take a look at the 4 main ones.

Wood:  

Very traditional and good looking.  Could be pricey depending in the wood species that is used.  Stay away from cheaper woods like Pine or Poplar that will rot, twist and split within a short period of time.  Good species are Western Red Cedar and Cypress.  Make sure you add some sort of a cap to the top of the shutter to prevent splitting and make sure your provider seals the wood effectively to prevent rot.  Easy to customize size and styles.  Will need repainting in a few years, but generally easy to do.

Vinyl:

Cheapest option you can get, but then it will also look like that.  The summer heat can play a trick on these where the shutters became brittle with color fading over time.  These shutters are typically hollow and not very strong.  Its recommended that they are mounted flush against the wall, although some service providers sell hardware kits to mount them on hinges.  Vinyl shutters are typically 3 times cheaper than wood or composites, but remember you’ll have to pay for installation 3 times.  Limited options available for size, style and color.  Difficult to repaint effectively.

Composite Wood:

Pricing is comparable to wood, and although you get the look and feel of wood, you don’t have the issues that comes using wood.   No rotting, swelling, twisting and if it is the right material, no insect damage.  There are different composite materials available and not all are rated for extended exterior use, so make sure your provider uses the right stuff (and can prove it).  Very long lasting and in some cases you even have environmentally friendly/safe options available.  Easy to customize and a good provider should be able to create unique designs and styles perfect for your home.  Similar to wood it will need repainting in a few years, but generally easy to do.  Can be mounted on hinges or direct to the wall.

PVC:

Pricey, so shop around.  This stuff will last almost forever and moisture have no effect on it.  Heat does play a role and it’s prone to cupping, bending and warping, so make sure your provider adds some form of additional strengthening.  Seems that the industry standard is to add metal bracing on the back to prevent some of the issues.  Difficult to paint and typically comes in standard colors.  Make sure from you provider what steps you’ll have to take when it comes to repainting.  Can be mounted flush or on hinges.

Dupbel Millworks Inc. manufactures exteriors shutters using only weather resistant materials.  Our core business is shutters made from a composite wood material that is rot, insect and weather resistant.  This is especially important in Georgia’s hot, humid conditions.  Although we carry a series of shutters styles, we are fully equipped to help you design the specific look you desire, and every shutter is custom made based on your house, windows and design.

Exterior Shutters can really make or break the exterior of your home and plays a vital role in the overall curb appeal.  One of the items to consider is the STYLE of shutter that will look good on your home and give that final touch to complete the picture.

Dupbel Millworks Inc. is set up to create unique custom styles while offering a variety of standard styles to choose from.  Let’s discuss some of the standard styles most commonly used.

Board and Batten Shutters

A shutter typically composed of three to five vertical boards that are connected using two or three horizontal battens.  These shutters inspire a country or cottage look and have grown in popularity in the last few years.  The latest trend is to have multiple narrow boards to create a cleaner, more sophisticated look.  This style lends itself to adding additional interest by adding diagonal pieces or even strap hinges.

Paneled Shutters

This traditional style consists of panels within a frame.   This shutter style’s popularity during the last number of decades has firmly entrenched it as the “traditional look.”  Especially with the panels you can select a number of styles based on your preference.  We can start off with a Flat panel, giving a very smooth and minimalistic look.  Or you can do the very traditional Raised panel, providing a more three-dimensional appearance.  Our Shaker Raised panels gives you even more depth while keeping it very classic and stylish.  The Mission style panel is another option, where it is incorporating design elements from the Board and Batten style, but with a much more sophisticated look.

The size and placement of the panels will typically follow the window design, but lately we’ve seen a lot of deviation from the traditional to jazz it up a little bit.  We can incorporate a small panel in the center, make them single panels, or even 3 equal panels, all depending on the look the home owner wants to create.

Louvered Shutters.

Louvered styled shutters are the original “classic standard,” found on period buildings such as Antebellum, Colonial, Williamsburg, Georgian and Federal styled houses.  Louvered shutters create an additional architectural element to enhance the house’s façade.  Louvered shutters can also be the right choice for Contemporary styled buildings wishing to create a more traditional appearance.  For a slightly more modern look you can make the slats wider to give a cleaner, less busy appearance.

Dupbel Millworks Inc. manufactures exteriors shutters using only weather resistant materials.  This is especially important in Georgia’s hot, humid conditions.  We have a series of standard shutters styles, while fully equipped to help you design a custom style specifically for your house.

We are a full service company, and can help you from the design phase to installation.

Our business is located in Alpharetta, GA and we are proud to serve the residential and commercial market of North Georgia.  We are small enough to provide you with personal attention, yet strong enough to handle complex designs

Exterior Shutters plays an important part in the overall look and feel of your home.  Let’s explore some of the popular trends we see for 2018.

Simplicity:

Try using simple shutters for a pure, uncluttered effect to allow other beautiful features on the outside of your home to shine.  It is in line with minimalism, where you incorporate clean, refreshing looks, while adding a nice touch to your decor.

To follow this trend, use shutters with sharp lines, minimal details and neutral colors.  Here we will propose something like a flat panel shutter, and/or a shutter with one large single panel, or even a board and batten style with no battens (horizontal pieces).

Lighten up:

Color plays a big role in the overall appearance of your home, and while exterior shutters are typically dark colored, we’ve seen an uptick in lighter colored shutters.  This works especially well when trying to modernize the look of an older building.  Light colored walls, combined with shutters in a slightly darker hue seems to be the norm.  Whites and grays works very well and is a trend that will be with us for a while.

Stick with the basics:

Exterior shutters should never overpower the look of your house and not all homes lend itself to the exotic.  There’s nothing wrong with some traditional Raised Panel style shutters or even Louvered shutters to give a traditional, formal house a neat and tidy look.  Board and Batten shutters works well on a house with a mix of exterior surfaces (brick and stone, or siding and shingles).  For Raised Panel style shutters, make sure the panels mimic the windows, for Louvers you can try a wider slat, and with Board and Batten shutters we see a trend to use more, but narrower Boards (vertical pieces).

Add flair and personality:

Another subtle way of giving you home a one-of-a-kind appearance is to add custom cutouts to your shutters.  Let your home’s personality shine with just about any shape you can imagine, from stars and crescent moons to palm trees and hearts.  Go bold and traditional with a full cutout, or subtle and interesting with only a small relief cut on the outside corner.  This obviously only works on paneled or Board and Batten style shutters.

The exterior of your home is the first impression for people coming up to your house.  Shutters play a crucial role in making or breaking that first impression.  It makes sense to ensure you incorporate the shutters to form a pleasant and unified appearance.

Dupbel Millworks Inc. manufactures exteriors shutters using only weather resistant materials. Our core business is shutters made from a composite wood material that is rot, insect and weather resistant. We manufacture a series of shutters styles and are fully equipped to help you design the specific look you desire, and every shutter is custom made based on your house, windows and design.

Exiting new offering from Dupbel Millworks Inc, where we now also offer custom cutouts on exterior shutters.

Give your home a more unique look with a custom cutout on a panel.  We expanded our capabilities and can now create exterior shutters with custom cutouts.  We have a few designs ready to go, but in most cases can take your design and create a totally unique look.

Contact us to discuss your options and let see how we can help you.

Let’s discuss our Closed Louver shutter style.

Thinking of replacing or adding traditional louvered shutters?  How about considering our closed Louver design that provides greater strength, looks and feels like the traditional louver, and made completely from our rot, insect and moisture resistant composite wood material.

What is a closed louver?

In place of the open individual slats that is traditionally used, we cut solid pieces that fits together to form a uniform construction.  There are no openings between the louvers, and you get a solid shutter that looks like traditional louvers.

What are the advantages?

Unlike open louvers where you have open slots between each slat, you get a solid shutter.  That prevents leaves, pine straw and other debris to get stuck between the slats.

Insects don’t nest between the slats.

It’s easier to clean.  Because of the closed design you can easily hose them off.

It uses less paint.  With less surface area it is easier to paint them in a few years.

It is a much stronger design.  Since the individual pieces fits together tightly, you get an almost solid shutter with strength points all around, versus an open louver design where you have strength points only at the corners.

Price:

We are able to offer the closed louvers at a lower price point, since they are easier to make and we do not have to cut and fit each individual slat.  It comes down to less man hours, with the resulting less cost.

The closed louver design has been out in the market for some time, but not many people realize that it’s available.  It is cheaper to produce and it’s a much stronger product.  Combine that with the easy maintenance, its longevity and the fact that it looks like the real thing, and you end uf with a shutter that will enhance the look of your house for years to come without the hassle.

Contact us today if you are in the market for louvered style shutters, and we’ll set up an appointment to show you our product at your house.

In this photo we have our closed louver design hanging on the left side of the window, with the original open louver on the right.  

Here you can see a close-up of

the closed louver design

Board and Batten style shutters are actually one of the oldest styles of shutters.  Originally shutters were much more functional and provided privacy and security to window openings.  Even prior to glass windows you would see a single board or a Board and Batten shutter that can cover the window opening.

These days Board and Batten style shutters are again in favor, especially where the home owner wants to create a rustic or a relaxed appearance.

A Board and Batten shutter consist of 2 main components.  The vertical slats are called Boards and traditionally will be tight against each other (remember the security and privacy thing…).  The horizontal pieces are called Battens and traditionally would be used to hold the boards in place.  With today’s designs and building methods the homeowner can typically choose how many Boards, how wide the Boards should be, the number of Battens and the placement of the Battens.

Wider boards tend to create a more rustic look.  Typical arrangement will be 3 Boards and 2 Battens, with or without a diagonal piece.  If the windows are very tall or you want to add additional visual interest, you could add a third Batten in the center.

Another option would be to have more Boards but with a narrower configuration.  Examples would be 4 Boards and 2 Battens for a more sophisticated look with lots of visual interest without being too busy.  We see this configuration a lot these days on more formal type houses where the homeowner wants to create a cheerful, relaxed look with Board and Batten shutters.  A third batten in the center adds to the look, but care should be taken that it does not become too busy.  Remember your shutters should enhance the look of your house, never overpowering it.

It is easy to add additional features like decorative straps to Board and Batten shutters.  Again, make sure the design doesn’t become too busy, but contrasting metal hardware can definitely add to the look.  Especially if they are the same design/style that is found somewhere else on the house (like on the garage doors).

Board and Batten styled shutters are usually found on Cape Cod, Salt Box, Mission or French Country styled homes having a rock, stucco or siding façade. Board and Batten also work effectively in dressing down a traditional brick home, giving the building a more relaxed look. When attempting to tie together a houses façade with a mix of different construction materials such as rock and stucco, or siding and stucco, Board and Batten styled shutters make an excellent choice.

Dupbel Millworks Inc. manufactures exteriors shutters using only weather resistant materials. Our core business is shutters made from a composite wood material that is rot, insect and weather resistant. This is especially important in Georgia’s hot, humid conditions. Although we carry a series of shutters styles, we are fully equipped to help you design the specific look you desire, and every shutter is custom made based on your house, windows and design.

We use your house as our showroom, knowing very well how difficult it can be to see what a specific style of shutter will do the look of your home. We come to your house with samples and will help you to choose the perfect style of shutter for your house.

Our business is located in Alpharetta, GA and we are proud to serve the residential and commercial market of North Georgia. We are small enough to provide you with personal attention, yet strong enough to handle complex designs.

We are happy to announce that Dupbel Millworks Inc have joined the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI)/ http://nariatlanta.org/

“NARI’s focus is to advance and promote the remodeling industry’s professionalism, product and vital public purpose.  NARI members must adhere to a Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice to become and remain members of the the association.”

Joining NARI meant a lot to us, providing our customers with another level of comfort, while adding our name to a network of industry specialist.  We will be able to benefit from the vast array of industry experience of NARI and it’s members and help us with our continued commitment to deliver the best possible product to the Atlanta market.

One of the easiest but often overlooked enhancement to a house to improve the curb appeal is to add or update your exterior shutters.  Historically exterior shutters served a purpose by offering light control, ventilation and protection from the elements.   Today exterior shutters are mostly decorative.

Styles

Dupbel Millworks Inc. is set up to create unique custom styles while offering a variety of standard styles to choose from.

Board and Batten Shutters

A shutter composed of three to five vertical boards that are connected using two or three horizontal battens.  These shutters inspire a country or cottage look and have grown in popularity in the last few years.  The latest trend is to have multiple narrow boards to create a cleaner, more sophisticated look.

Raised Panel

A Raised Panel shutter is made of panels that fit into a frame.  The panels have raised sides to create depth and interest.  Raised Panel styled shutters are the new “traditional” over louvered. Found on many Colonial, Georgian, Federal, or Manor style homes with brick or siding being the primary face material. Raised Panel shutters on homes of this type create a classic appearance. The shutter style’s popularity during the last number of decades has firmly entrenched the raised panel style as the “traditional look.”  The solid three dimensional characteristics of the raised panel shutters provide a substantial presence on homes.

Shaker Raised

Shaker Raised shutters generate a sharp, crisp appearance versus the classical raised panel style. This shutter style acquired its name from the no frills, yet functional design standards of the Shaker religious community.  The shutters rails, stiles and panels are fabricated square with no ornate profiles added. This shutter type is an excellent choice for brick or stucco faced homes where you want to ensure the lines and features of the shutters are clearly visible from a distance.

Louvered

Louvered styled shutters are the original “classic standard,” found on period buildings such as Antebellum, Colonial, Williamsburg, Georgian and Federal styled houses.  Louvered shutters create an additional architectural element to enhance the house’s façade.  Louvered shutters can also be the right choice for Contemporary styled buildings wishing to create a more traditional appearance.

Mission

A combination of a Board and Batten shutter and a paneled design, providing a fresh approach to exterior shutters.  The clean, well defined vertical lines will compliment your house and windows, while breaking the monotonous horizontal lines that you get on a traditional brick or siding house.  Definitely something to consider if you don’t like the robust look of a Board and Batten shutter, but were put off by the sometimes “flat” look   of a Raised Panel.  The Mission Panel style provides a very elegant look, breaking away from traditional shutter designs.

Other factors to consider

Size:  One of the biggest mistakes people make with shutters is the size.  It is important that the shutters are sized correctly for your windows, while taking into account the features of the house, obstacles that could be present, and the look you are trying to achieve.   Your shutters are going to be mostly decorative, but make sure they are sized as if they would be functional and as if they belong there.

Hardware:  Traditionally shutters were attached to the window frames with hinges.  Today hardware plays an important role in the appearance of your shutters.  Options will vary depending on the type of siding and the windows.  Adding hardware adds to the curb appeal and the authentic look.  It also put the shutter at a slight angle, adding visual interest and creating better shadow lines that brings out the design features of the shutter style.

Installation:  Whether you or a pro handles the installation, make sure there is a suitable mounting surface and that the window frames are in good shape.   Installation prices are in addition to the price of shutters and hardware.

Dupbel Millworks Inc. manufactures exteriors shutters using only weather resistant materials.  Our core business is shutters made from a composite wood material that is rot, insect and weather resistant.  This is especially important in Georgia’s hot, humid conditions.  Although we carry a series of shutters styles, we are fully equipped to help you design the specific look you desire, and every shutters is custom made based on your house, windows and design.

We use your house as our showroom, knowing very well how difficult it can be to see what a specific style of shutter will do the look of your home.  We come to your house with samples and will help you to choose the perfect style of shutter for your house.

Our business is located in Alpharetta, GA and we are proud to serve the residential and commercial market of North Georgia.  We are small enough to provide you with personal attention, yet strong enough to handle complex designs

Our latest style of exterior shutter combines the traditional look of a Board and Batten shutter with a frame and panel, providing a fresh approach to exterior shutters.  The clean, well defined vertical lines will compliment your house and windows, while breaking the monotonous horizontal lines that you get on a traditional brick or siding house.

Definitely something to consider if you don’t like the robust look of a  Board and Batten shutter, but were put off by the sometimes “flat” look   of a Raised Panel.  The Mission Panel style provides a very elegant look, breaking away from traditional shutter designs.

Depending on your windows, it comes in one, two or three panel design, and obviously we are still using our proven composite wood material that will not rot, swell, pull apart or get attached by those pesky insects.

Contact us today to make an appointment.  We’ll bring a sample to put next to your window to make it easier to envision how it will look on your house.