The Journey of your Shutters

Inspiration

The start of your shutter journey begins with that spark of inspiration telling you that shutters would be a great addition to your home and windows. This inspiration could come anywhere, maybe staring at your bare windows thinking about how they could be covered or seeing a beautiful set of shutters and wanting to replicate that luxury in your own home. You might start researching into what is available to you to get a good idea of what shutters you would like to opt for and the quality of products available in the market.

Reaching out

At this stage, we will have the pleasure of hearing from you for the first time from a selection of the different avenues available. It is understandable that you would browse around before committing to your shutters, in fact we encourage it! By searching around different companies and products, you can be confident that you have opened yourself up to the highest quality shutter product and best company to provide them for you.

Many of our clients come through our Online Quote Calculator where sizes can be entered for material costs. Submitting details will pass this material quote through to our friendly office team who will be able to discuss the quote with you and advise on any other costs such as service charges or custom bay posts. Alternatively, you can contact the team directly via phone or email and we would love to run through costs with you.

Site Survey

Once you and your windows are ready to meet with one of our experts in person, we will book you in for a full survey. Our site surveys are an all in one appointment covering everything needed to order your shutters – we take full detailed measurements to provide accurate costing and also have a full design consultation using samples of all of our materials and finishes on offer. This is your opportunity to ask any questions that you may have and also get a clear idea of what your finished shutters will look like. You can proceed with your order on the day of your measure appointment or any time following at your convenience.

Placing your order (“3,2,1…GO”)

To place your order, we take a 50% deposit which hits ‘GO’ on your order. At this stage your surveyor sends over the detailed dimensions and specifications to our supplier who start the expert manufacturing process of your shutters. You will receive a confirmation of order which details all the chosen specifications of your soon to come shutters.  

Manufacturing

Our manufacturers are based in China and we are exceptionally proud to offer the highest quality product in the UK. 70% of the UK shutter market offers this top-quality product because it is the very best and this is one of the reasons we can offer an impressive 5 years’ warranty on shutters made by Nien Made (our main manufacturer). Further detail on our manufacturing process can be found on our dedicated ‘Our Manufacturer’ page – a preview of which can be found below; 

“The manufacture process starts from the raw materials. Our manufacturers have formed a joint venture with the Solomon Island Government with the mission for the practice of responsible and sustainable forest management. The forest is 14,330 hectares and is planted with mixed indigenous and exotic commercial species which grows well in these conditions.

Once harvested these logs get sent to China and go through several processes like cutting and drying till they eventually become beautiful shutters. All of the other raw materials are carefully sourced from well managed forests and go through rigorous quality control checks before they are considered to be made into a shutter.

The process is fairly manual but there is also state-of-the-art accurate machinery which are gauges to tiny tolerances enabling them to make shutter panel after shutter panel to the quality they do.”

Waiting game / Shipping

Our lead time is approximately 8-12 weeks from placement of order, which we understand can feel like a long time when you’re so excited about your new shutters. The majority of this lead time comes from shipping time frames and import logistics so this lead time can be shortened by flying the shutters in at an additional cost if preferred. When placing your order, there’s a couple of things that can help with the long waiting period for you to keep in mind;

• Order promptly – We don’t recommend ordering your shutters until the windows and cills are complete but once all is ready you can order as soon as our experts have taken your full measurements. We see many clients wait for months before proceeding with their order because of slight design details and whilst we of course want the shutters to be the perfect design for you, postponing an order for too long could leave you in a position where shutters would have arrived in the time you’ve waited to proceed.  
• Have a temporary solution lined up – Having no covering on your windows can leave you feeling looked in on can even effect your sleeping pattern if in located in bedrooms etc. If you have existing window dressings you will be able to leave these up until just before your installation appointment however if your windows are currently bare, then we can also supply a temporary blind which could be used in the interim. Temporary blinds stick the window and can concertina or be clipped up to cover the window when required – this is a great solution in the interim whilst waiting for your shutters.
• Pencil it in the diary – With such a long lead time, you can get a few weeks into your lead time and think it MUST be time for the shutters to arrive already when in fact there is a fair bit of time left to go. A good tactic to avoid the disappointment of realising you still have weeks to go is to mark your diary with the latter end of the approximate lead time as a rough idea of installation. If the shutters arrive earlier it will be a bonus!

Shutters ho!

We receive tentative shutter delivery dates when the ship docking dates into UK ports are confirmed and this is when we have the lovely job of getting in touch with our clients to discuss possible installation dates. Our shutters arrive by ship to Southampton and then get delivered to our warehouse in Battersea where your experts are on hand to fit them for you. We always book installation appointments around our customers requirements and at their convenience so you can fit your installation around any commitments that you have without concern.

Installation

Our installation team is entirely made up of an all in-house team of experts who are on hand to professionally fit your shutters with the care they deserve. When your shutters have a confirmed arrival date for the UK, our installations team will get in touch to book to arrange a suitable date for the team to fit your shutters for you. We will always look to be accommodating for any dates or times that best suit you. Installation times vary depending on job complexity and size but we will always be able to give you a rough estimate of times so you have an idea of how long the team will need for your fitting. Whilst for many of our customers installation is the final step of their journey, we also have an excellent post-installations team who are on hand to assist you should you need anything at all following your installation. 

To start your own shutter journey, simply get in touch with the team on 020 8871 9222 and we will be happy to assist.