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Plantation Shutters was approached by journalist Jill Morgan from The English Home magazine. Requested to formulate a buyers guide for shutters, here is what we came up with.

Buyers Guide to Shutters

We were the first company in the UK to sell shutters and since then, the market has grown a disproportionate amount. With all expanding markets, there are good companies and bad ones and likewise the quality of products varies too.

The market leaders as far as manufacturing is concerned are a comapny in southern China. They stand apart from other Chinese manufacturers, who continually mimic their products with varying degress of success. Some of their competitors start manufacturing and within a year disappear without a trace, whilst others struggle on. The main difference between our manufacturer and many of the smaller companies is that the smaller ones just don't have the quality control or infrastructure to produce a first rate product time and time again. They don't necessarily have the space to dry the volume of wood that they need for nine months (recommended drying time to ensure wood is completely dry and does not warp), so they have to use the wood after only three months of drying for example. The factory we use professes to be the biggest in the world and they have their own generator systems, whereby they use the sawdust and off-cuts to produce energy. They regularly test their components for the ability to withstand both UV and moisture. The factory also has a labyrinth of extractor pipes making it a safe place for their employees to work. These subtle differences between their manufacturing techniques and those of other factories, make their product, I believe, the best in the world.

Approximately 60% of the UK's shutter retailers sell the products from this particular factory and once you have located a company that can provide these, it is essential to ensure that the company has plenty of experience of working with shutters, both on the measuring and installation sides. On the measuring side, Plantation Shutters pride ourselves with having the most experienced team in the UK for measuring shutters. I have one surveyor who has been measuring shutters for over twelve years and another two who have nine years' experience. This is really important as it means the advice given to clients at the initial measuring stage is correct, in terms of which product will benefit their windows best and also that the measurements taken are accurate as all the shutters are custom-made. I rarely recommend the DIY approach to would-be clients, as this is often not the best course of action bearing in mind that there is zero margin for error - better to allow a company with the right experience do it for you.

Fitting

One might assume that if the shutters have been measured correctly, that the fitting of a shutter would be easy. However don't be mistaken in thinking this as plantation shutters are not like curtains or blinds where there are small tolerances. The majority of windows are not dead straight, particularly in older houses and therefore the shutters are not just fixed onto the windows as is, they often have to be scribed in or adjusted to ensure the perfect fit and this is definitely not something that should be attempted by just anyone. Our fitters have a lot of experience of making these necessary adjustments, particularly in South West London where we are based, where all the houses around us are at least 100 years old. All our vans are supplied with the necessary electric planes and cutters to make this process easier.

In short, it will be the company that you choose to supply your shutters which will make all the difference to the end result. Plantation Shutters is very proactive in our approach - we have spare vans if one breaks down; we have active tracking and diary systems so we can easily re-arrange our days to ensure all the shutter installations in any given day are carried out. We try to exceed expectation both in service and product and if you read our mission statement, this remains very much at the forefront of what we do. There are many seemingly good companies in the market, however the main thing they lack are the experience and the customer service that you should expect when investing in this type of product.