HERE ARE SOME OF THE ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
THAT ARE OFTEN ASKED BY CUSTOMERS SELECTING SHUTTERS.
What are Plantation Shutters?
Plantation shutters
are louvred panels fixed either inside or outside
windows and doors. They originated in America and
the West Indies and date back to before the American
Civil War. The term "Ante Bellum" means pre-war
and is used to describe a style of plantation shutters.
The louvre shutters offered by Libra Shutters are
"Ante Bellum". What are solid shutters? These
are panels that have no louvers. They were originally
installed in reveal boxes in pre-Edwardian houses
and were only used a couple of times a year, when
the owners de-camped for the season. They were not
designed to be opened and shut daily like our present
designs and that is why so few remain today.
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What louver size should I
choose?
When making your louvre choice, consider the size
of the window and the desired effect. Generally larger
windows command a larger louvre size.
The larger the louvre, the more light you will have
but less privacy.
In the USA most shutters are made with 3.5 (89mm)
louvres or larger but here in Europe we tend to generally
choose smaller louvres such as 47mm or 64mm. 32mm
(available in cedar Vancouver only) is used a lot
in bathrooms but also looks very good when painted
white and used on café style installations
in living room windows where the street maybe very
close by.
If you have Georgian style windows with small windowpanes
then we would definitely advise using the largest
louver possible or the windows can look very busy.
See Louvre
Styles.
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How many shutter panels do I need
in my window opening?
Our smallest panel width is 200mm and widest is 750mm,
although with larger louver panels we do sometimes
go wider but void warp warranty with your permission.
Generally a window looks best with 4 panels, two opening
as pairs either way. A 3 window bay, however, will
usually have 2 panels on the smaller side windows
and 4 in the centre. All panels will open away from
the middle.
There are as many exceptions as there are norms. For
instance, a long window with 3 panes of glass, i.e.;
1800mm wide and 1000mm high, would have 6 panels;
three folding either way or if you are only going
to open them to clean the windows you could easily
have just 3 panels. The Americans never open the shutters,
only the louvers so design with large panels.
A lot of the time you will have to consider where
the panels are going to fold back to and if there
is enough room for this to happen. This is also true
where you are fitting inside the reveal next to the
window and you will not want the shutters, when open,
to protrude into the room too much.
We would not recommend hanging more than 3 panels
from a single batten hinged together unless they were
not going to be opened apart from window cleaning
and were resting on the sill or door step. As the
maximum recommended width of our panels is 750mm you
may say that this equates to 4500mm maximum width
but it would be asking a lot of the batten to hold
panels of this width and weight without sagging at
a later date. So quite a lot of common sense is needed
to achieve a good installation. Openings over 2200mm
generally need a top track, even if not using a top
track at this width try to use a light panel such
as Vancouver or Phoenix.
For partitioning or for large windows where tracking
is needed at the top to suspend the panels you will
really need an even number of panels or they will
look odd and not hang from the track properly. Ideally
8 panels or 12 panels for very large openings is best
although quite often it is wise to hang even 6 panels
from tracking if they are quite large. With the heavier
Seattle shutter this is clearly an option to be considered.
We do not charge for tracking, it comes in the square
metre price for the opening.
In summary, the window will normally dictate the number
of panels. If the window is split into two halves
you would either have 2 or 4 panels and it follows
that if it is three panes then three or six panels
will suffice. The vertical dividers of the windows
are where the vertical stiles of the shutters should
be ideally.
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What wood do you use and is
it Eco friendly?
"The Vancouver Range" is
made from Western Red Cedar. The timber is very durable
and has a most interesting grain. It is very expensive
timber but does not need to be laminated to retain
stability.
We buy our cedar from The Western Red Cedar Association
in Canada. It is either replanted cedar or taken from
designated forest areas where it is a managed forest.
Cedar is one of the most used timbers in the world,
in the USA a lot of houses are built entirely of cedar
and it is used extensively for roofing shingles and
decking because although a softwood, it is amazingly
long lasting a resistant to wet and rot. As a result
it is farmed in very well managed forests.
"The Phoenix" is made from
a laminated constructed Phoenix wood, sometimes called
Parasol. It grows in sub tropical areas of the southern
states of the USA, China and Japan. It is a very fast
growing tree reaching full height in about 15 years.
Ideal for farming.
It is a hardwood but very light. We treat it with
a special secret process to make it that light but
it still has a very hard skin. It weighs in at almost
the same as Cedar, making it ideal for shutters where
the lighter the better generally applies.
It has an interesting story in that it is written
in ancient Chinese history, that the most famous musician
of the time, lost his beautiful house in a terrible
fire. In the ashes though was his harp like instrument
that had survived although it lost it horns and now
the national instrument of China is the Zither, designed
by fire 3000 years ago. It is said that the Phoenix
bird only will nest in a Phoenix tree and eat the
berries from it. This is because it is the slowest
burning wood on the planet, it needs a secondary heat
source to burn. In Japan it is believed that it has
mystical properties.
After the Hiroshima Atom Bomb blast in 1945 the phoenix
trees that were only 1.3km away from the epicentre
survived and the following year flowered and brought
forth seeds. The Japanese saw this as a sign of re-birth
and sent the seeds to world leaders as a gift and
signal of their intentions to bring in new life from
old.
I hope this isn't too much information but we really
like this timber and hope you will too.
"The Seattle Range" is our
most eco friendly product because no trees at all
have been cut down to make this product at all. Made
from a laminated veneered lumber core (Basswood or
other strong frame materials strips that are off cuts
not usable elsewhere, laminated together with epoxy
making a light, strong core), LDF laid bulk and polymer
sealed outer coating.
Some shutter companies websites whine on about MDF
and the dangers of formaldehyde poisoning. However,
these shutters are sealed with a polymer coating.
The dust from MDF maybe dangerous if you work with
the stuff all day long and don't wear a mask however
MDF is used very expensively all over the world and
is an extremely versatile material. However we don't
recommend you eating your shutters, making sawdust
of them and then breathing in large quantities over
weeks, so please don't as we won't be held responsible!
"The Hollywood Range" is
made of ABS and stiffened with Cedar strips left from
our Vancouver program and then spray painted so it
doesn't look like plastic, which is what it is basically.
We don't know how eco friendly it is so sorry, can't
answer that one however:
LIBRA SHUTTERS ECO STATEMENT
Our supplier uses their most efficient methods to
make the shutters that are known to us. They re-use
whatever wood is from a process somewhere else because
they are in the timber business and know our future
depends on responsible management of the earth's natural
resources.
They even use the sawdust to power generators that
power our plant and provide hot water. The 3 large
turbines they use to do this cost more than the average
shutter companies entire production equipment. This
is what they call investing in conservation. Our competitors
invest mainly in conversation.
Their packaging is made biodegradable cardboard, they
even make the packing inserts from cardboard. All
recycling waste facilities in the UK will accept our
cardboard. They do not use bubblewrap, they do not
use polystyrene and they spend extra money in our
processes that they could turn in to more profits
to avoid mucking up the planet.
Where are Libra Shutters made? They are made
in Southern China, which is a 2 hour drive from Hong
Kong by car.
Many of our competitors go on about the fact that
our supplier's products are made in China, as though
this is a bad thing.
They are amongst the first to make custom products
in China it is true, but they have had to employ the
most modern methods to do this. They actually make
shutters in less than a day from order. They use very
sophisticated and expensive computers and machinery
to do this. They have to make a very good product
as they don't want to have to alter it here or maintain
it. The owners of our facility have invested tens
of millions of US dollars to make our products as
good as they are.
Their workers do work reasonable hours for above average
pay. They have careers and housing and kids at schools
with mobile phones and so on, just like here. China
is not a third world country; they make some of the
highest quality products on offer here, including
our shutters.
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Does wood warp, shrink, change
colour or age in any way?
Yes it does, all of those and so it should. If it
doesn't it is not natural.
Cedar can warp in very rare occurrences like any wood
but is less prone to do so than virtually any other
timber we know of. We do give you a guarantee though
against significant warping. See our terms and conditions.
To date though we have had less than one in 2000 panels
do this. Similarly Cedar can shrink and does but also
very little and we always advise fitting tight in
the first instance. Shutters can quite easily be adjusted
should this occur as it is never that much but it
is probably better to leave them as they can just
as easily swell again should the humidity increase.
Wood is a natural material and with its inconsistencies
delivers pleasure. We do make perfect shutters because
the market today expects perfect manufacture. Rustic
looks are so because they are products made in rustic
environments with basic tools and little technology,
or badly/cheaply made or specifically finished to
look that way. We think buying old Levis is OK if
you don't want to wear them for long. If you want
an aged look then you can add it later, order it specially
or just wait until it happens naturally. In fact within
a week or two they develop a more lived in look and
your decor adds character by proxy too.
And finally on this subject: Valuable antique furniture
looked new 100 years ago and our shutters will be
valuable antiques too, in a 100 years. Your curtains
won't be. The Seattle range is a different animal
altogether. Although from 3 feet (2.7M) away you almost
cannot tell the difference from white painted wood
shutters. If you have young children still in their
destructive period you should definitely consider
this range. If you do break louvers or damage a panel
seriously we can usually remake one exactly from our
records or replace louvers in situ. We use ISO 9002
recorded process manufacture.
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What colours and stains are
available?
View the colours section
of this site for a full list of colours and stains
that are available for each shutter range.
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Can shutters be installed
on any window?
Shutters can be installed on virtually any window,
French doors or patio sliding doors. They can also
be used effectively as room dividers fitted on tracks.
If the window/door opens inwards they can always be
mounted outside of the reveal. Bypass tracking allows
for the shutter to slide pass each other and is used
where there are overhangs preventing the panels from
swinging out.
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How do I measure my windows
and doors?
For a quick quote
just measure the width and height of the opening.
For DIY self measure and install, we offer a 20% discount.
Please contact our office for further details.
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What about maintenance?
Shutters are easily cleaned using a feather duster,
damp sponge/soft cloth or run a vacuum cleaner over
them. The finish product should not need repainting
for many years. Indeed, the Seattle shutters are totally
maintenance free and cannot be re-painted in any event.
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How long from order will
it take to get my shutters?
Shutters are custom manufactured to fit individual
openings and are ready for installation in 6 to 8
weeks from the date of the order and receipt of the
deposit.
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Can I fit the shutters myself?
Of course you can. Some of our customers have fitted
even very complex tracked installations beautifully.
If you know how to scribe, use a planer and possess
a level plus a level of practical common sense then
go for it. We issue comprehensive fitting instructions
and are available on the phone should you get stuck
to help you out. But, if you are anything like me,
a person who has to cut a piece of wood several times
to get the right length, then definitely not.
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Do you offer onsite measuring
and installation services?
Yes, please contact our office whereby a surveyor
will arrange an appointment for you. Alternatively,
forward your details on our "survey request"
form on the website and we shall contact you.
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What if my windows are not
square?
There is virtually no such thing as a window that
is perfectly square. If using battens the side battens
are 25mm thick and can be scribed to square off the
window. You have really about 20mm of play with these.
If the window slants the shutters will emphasise this
as they are square and we do not advise trimming them
lengthwise as when opened will look very odd.
Frames are used a lot now and for reveal edge fixes
and outside fixes, this is really the way to go. Inside
reveal fixes are possible as long as the window is
reasonably square. The new L frames we use are great
and are scribal should that be necessary.
You will always find an optimum position however for
the shutters that looks right.
If they look right, then they are right!
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