Welcome to a world of timeless elegance and superior craftsmanship with our premium high-quality exterior wooden louvered shutters. These exquisite architectural accents are designed to enhance the beauty and charm of your home's facade. Discover the perfect blend of aesthetics, durability, and functionality in our exterior wooden louvered shutters in this comprehensive guide.
Unparalleled Craftsmanship: Our exterior wooden louvered shutters are a testament to unparalleled craftsmanship. Meticulously handcrafted by skilled artisans, each shutter is a work of art, showcasing meticulous attention to detail and precision. Crafted from top-tier wood materials, these shutters are built to endure the harshest outdoor elements, ensuring they stand the test of time.
Customization to Suit Your Style: We understand that every home is unique, which is why our exterior wooden louvered shutters offer an array of customization options. Choose from various wood species, finishes, and styles to perfectly match your home's architectural aesthetics. With our made-to-order options, you can create shutters that are a true reflection of your style and taste.
Superior Outdoor Performance: Our exterior wooden louvered shutters are engineered to perform exceptionally well in outdoor conditions. They are resistant to warping, fading, and cracking, ensuring they maintain their beauty and functionality even in the face of extreme weather. Enjoy peace of mind knowing your investment will endure for years to come.
Versatile Light and Privacy Control: Experience the versatility of our exterior wooden louvered shutters when it comes to controlling natural light and privacy. The adjustable louvers allow you to effortlessly regulate light and airflow, offering a perfect balance between interior comfort and aesthetics. Enjoy the benefits of an airy, sunlit space or retreat to a private sanctuary at your convenience.
Energy Efficiency and Cost Savings: Investing in our wooden louvered shutters isn't just about aesthetics; it's also a smart choice for energy efficiency. These shutters act as effective insulators, helping to regulate indoor temperatures and reduce your heating and cooling costs. By enhancing your home's energy efficiency, you're making a sustainable choice that benefits both your comfort and your wallet.
Low Maintenance, High Value: Maintaining the beauty and functionality of our exterior wooden louvered shutters is remarkably easy. Routine cleaning and occasional inspections are all that's needed to keep them looking pristine. Unlike other exterior enhancements, these shutters don't require frequent replacement, making them a cost-effective investment in the long run.
A Timeless Investment: Enhance your home's curb appeal and value with premium exterior wooden louvered shutters. These timeless architectural accents make a lasting impression and contribute to the overall character of your property. When it's time to sell, potential buyers will appreciate the enduring beauty and quality of your home.
Exterior Wooden Louvered Shutters for Lasting Beauty
Exterior Wooden Louvered Shutters epitomize enduring beauty, merging timeless elegance with functional utility. Crafted from high-quality wood, these shutters are meticulously designed to withstand the rigors of outdoor elements while retaining their aesthetic appeal for years to come. Their classic louvered design adds character to any facade, offering a touch of sophistication and charm. Whether adorning a traditional cottage or a modern residence, these shutters seamlessly blend with diverse architectural styles, enhancing the visual appeal of any home. With proper maintenance and care, Exterior Wooden Louvered Shutters become more than just window coverings; they become enduring symbols of craftsmanship and lasting beauty.
Optimal Materials for Superior Results
Our Exterior Wooden Louvered Shutters are meticulously crafted with attention to detail, ensuring lasting beauty and functionality. While our shutters can be crafted from various materials, we highly recommend Spanish Cedar for its exceptional qualities. Spanish Cedar stands out as the only Cedar species classified as a hardwood, renowned for its remarkable durability, strength, and resistance to rot, fungus, and insects. At Estate Millwork, we prioritize sustainability by sourcing domestic and imported hardwoods from responsibly managed forests. Utilizing advanced technology and software, we optimize the yield and quality of our rough Spanish Cedar lumber. Each piece undergoes precise kiln drying to achieve an exact moisture content of 6%, guaranteeing stability and longevity. Our skilled craftsmen meticulously convert rough lumber into finished dimensional stock, ensuring maximum control over the quality of our shutters. From the rail and stile frames to the louvers themselves, every component is crafted with precision and care, offering unparalleled durability and beauty for years to come.
Artisanal Mastery: Handcrafted Excellence
Once the rough Sapele lumber undergoes meticulous processing to achieve precise dimensions for the final shutter, our skilled craftsmen embark on the intricate machining and milling processes integral to our premium construction technique: mortise and tenon joinery. Each rail is expertly machined to feature a robust 2-inch tenon, while the stiles are carefully crafted with mortises designed to receive both the tenons and the deeply set hardwood louvers. Following precise computer-controlled machining, each louvered shutter is meticulously assembled by hand. The tenons are meticulously fitted into the mortises with a remarkable accuracy of 1/64 inch, ensuring seamless integration, while the hardwood louvers are securely placed within the deep louver mortises on the stiles. Premium wood glues, along with our specially crafted, in-house hardwood pegs, firmly hold everything in place. These hardwood cedar pegs not only strengthen the frame but also represent the strongest, most enduring wood joint revered in the art of joinery, promising unmatched longevity and structural integrity.
Welcome to Estate Millwork, your ultimate destination for effortlessly designing and pricing top-of-the-line Sapele louvered shutters. Here, we provide a comprehensive platform where customers can not only specify dimensions, style, and material preferences but also delve into intricate details such as radius tops, operable louvers, custom rail placements, and frame designs to tailor their shutters precisely to their needs.
What sets us apart is our unwavering commitment to delivering premium-quality products at exceptionally affordable prices, consistently undercutting our competitors. This is made possible through our strategic investments in cutting-edge technology, impeccable craftsmanship, and the sheer scale of our operations.
Navigate through our extensive online catalog showcasing an array of shutter designs, or take advantage of our interactive shutter designer tool for instant pricing, complete with available discounts, all at your fingertips.
Beyond traditional use as window coverings, our louvered shutters find versatile applications ranging from room partitions to toilet room doors, closets, awnings, and beyond. Should you have any inquiries or design concepts in mind, we encourage you to reach out to Estate Millwork. We're here to bring your shutter visions to life.
Solid Wood Mortise and Tenons
True Tenons
Our premium quality shutters are carefully constructed using a time consuming and precise operation. Whereas other lower quality shutters are made using screws, nails, dowels or biscuit joints, each of our exterior wooden shutters has a minimum of 4 hardwood tenons. The end of each rail is painstakingly machined to have a 1/2" X 1 7/8" tenon by a custom built tenoning machine that Estate Millwork developed so that we could continue to provide the best quality joinery in the industry, at an attractive price. We gave up the cost, but not the quality.
Deep Pocket Mortises
Each stile is precision machined with a minimum of two deep pocket mortises, and these mortises perfectly fit the associated tenon. Again, Estate Millwork has used precision automation to preserve the quality of our products, while reducing the cost. We have software that connects our website directly to the machines in the plant, and when a customer places an order with us, all of the precision programs for machining the mortises into the stiles are sent to the plant for automatic execution. The mortise tenon joint, is the strongest joint in millwork, and adds tremendous strength, even without the use of glue.
Hardwood Dowels
Once the tenon and mortise have been machined, the parts are put together and a hole is drilled through the mortise and the tenon. A slightly oversized hardwood dowel is driven into the hole, locking the tenon into the mortise for the life of the shutter. Even though glue is not required, Estate Millwork takes the added step of gluing the tenon into the mortise, and gluing the hardwood dowel into the stile.
Hand Assembly
In our commitment to preserving the best of quality millwork traditions in each wood shutter, we have automated much of the drudgery of some of the operations, but assembling a shutter is still something very much in the realm of craftsmanship. After all the parts of each wooden shutter are manufactured, one of our skilled craftsmen fits them together in a specialized jig for dry fitting and final assembly. We do not use pneumatic or hydraulic clamps as they can damage or over-stress the wood. The craftsman uses his innate feel for the materials to set the appropriate clamping pressure prior to drilling and doweling. Each wooden shutter receives the individual attention of craftsmen all along the way, but the final assembly is where the shutter comes together the first time, ready for years of service on your home.
Precision Crafted Louvered Shutters Using State of the Art CNC Machinery
Solid Louvers
Each louver in our louvered shutters is precision machined in a 5 head moulder that can be configured to mould any of our 3 standard production profiles, or custom profiles as specified by the customer. We offer 1/2" X 2 1/4", 3/8" X 1 3/4", and 1/4" X 1 1/4" bullnose profiles, but also have tooling for chevron, beveled, and other louver profiles. Whether the louvered shutter is to use fixed louver or operable louvers, we can even create custom tooling to match existing millwork, or to provide the ultimate in personalization and detailing.
True Louvered Shutter Mortises and Louver Mortises
Each louver in a fixed louvered shutter is seated in a 7/16" deep mortise in the shutter stile. Our CNC machining equipment be instantly programmed to program any variation of louver size, profile, pitch, and spacing, that gives us unlimited flexibility to match historic millwork, or to create custom louvered shutters to a precise specification in terms of louver count, rail placement, and air flow. In the same pass as the louver mortises are being created, our equipment also creates the larger mortises for each rail in the shutter. Unlike many custom shutter manufacturers today, Estate Millwork does not use cheap dowels, veneers, screws, or biscuits. Instead we use old fashioned mortise and tenon joints, even though they are considered by other custom shutter manufacturers as too expensive. Because we have invested heavily in automation, our cost to produce highly custom louvered shutters using solid materials and premium joinery is much lower than other manufacturers, hence: higher quality, lower price.
Solid Tenons
The tenons on both ends of each rail are engineered to give maximum stability to the louvered shutter frame, and when combined with our hardwood dowling, the shutter frame will stay together and be extremely stable, even without glue. But of course we use glue for added strength. For larger louvered shutters, we use a 10 inch baserail that has two tenons and a third feather tenon for additional strength that connects the two main tenons. These tenons are precision machined on a propriety tenon machine that Estate Millwork designed and custom built. Our sophisticated mortise and tenon joinery preserves 100% of the quality of traditional mortise and tenon joinery at a fraction of the cost.
Shutter Options
Thickness, Width, Height
The "slab dimensions" are the size of the actual exterior shutter from top to bottom, left to right, and the thickness. Our default standard thickness is 1 5/16", but that can be varied from 7/8" to 2 1/4" to match existing exterior shutters. The length and height can be specified to the nearest 1/16" inch. Depending upon the style of the shutter, we have made widths up to 20 feet wide, and heights up 30 feet.
Shutter Frame Dimensions
Because all of our exterior wooden shutters are custom built from true rail and stile construction, we have the ability to replicate any component dimension on existing shutters, including rail height, placement, width, thickness, and stile width and thickness. Typically, the bottom rail of our custom shutters is 4. high, and all other rails are 2 1/2" inches. Stile widths are usually 2 1/2" but we have the ability to make them of virtually any width, including different widths for left and right stiles -- sometimes used for pairs of shutters.
Custom Sticking
Out standard products are S4S, or square shoulder sticking, but we have the capability to mould any feasible profile to the inner or outer frame fields. Common choices are ogee, cove and bead, bevel, cove etc. In addition to our stock sticking profiles, we can also custom grind tooling to achieve any desired profile to either match historical wood shutters, or to meet an architects or home owner.s specifications and preferences.
Shiplapping and Beading
For operable shutters, or for decoration, our wood shutters can be machined with a bead on one face of the inside edge of the shutter, and with a ship lap on the other, allowing the shutters to overlap by 3/8" when they are in the closed position - permitting a tighter fit. The left and right shutters are machined as pairs so that in the closed position, each face of the pair has a decorative bead visible.
Panel Profiles
Our raised panel shutters can be raised with our standard scoop profile, but we offer bevels, coves, ogeees and other profiles as well. Additionally, for the extremely discriminating home owner or architect we can create new tooling to match existing historical panel profiles, or to meet with a unique custom requirement.
Louver Styles
Our louvered shutters can be fitted with either our standard bullnose louvers in 3 sizes, or with a chevron or bevel profile as options. And because we are a custom shutter maker, we can also accommodate any special profiles that are specified by the customer.
Cut Outs
Raised Panel and Flat Panel Shutters can have a limitless variety of decorative cut outs machined into the center of the panels. Common shapes are moons, anchors, trees, hearts and we have a large number of stock cut outs which we offer, as well as the ability to match custom patterns that are provided by the customer
Finishes
Estate Millwork can ship our custom wooden shutters in natural, primed, painted or stained finishes. We can match national brand color numbers, pre-tint primers for light or dark finishes, and apply hand rubbed stain finished, even to the time consuming louvered shutters.
Exquisite and Durable Sapele Hardwood: A Hidden Treasure
Sapele lumber, sourced from the sapele tree native to the tropical regions of West Africa, stands as a prized gem in the realm of fine woodworking. Renowned for its stunning appearance, remarkable durability, and versatile nature, sapele wood is cherished by woodworkers and builders alike for its myriad of applications.
Often hailed as the "African mahogany," sapele hardwood boasts a captivating palette ranging from rich reddish-brown to deep mahogany, acquiring a luxurious patina with age that enhances its innate elegance. Its distinctive ribbon-like grain patterns and lustrous finish add an air of sophistication to any project, captivating designers and craftsmen seeking to create visually striking pieces.
Beyond its aesthetic allure, sapele hardwood offers exceptional durability, withstanding wear, decay, and rot with ease. Whether utilized for interior or exterior projects, sapele's stability and strength ensure longevity and functionality for generations to come.
Highly workable and responsive to finishing techniques, sapele hardwood lends itself to a myriad of design possibilities. Whether applying a clear finish to accentuate its rich grain or opting for a darker stain to infuse depth and character, sapele adapts effortlessly to achieve desired aesthetics. From fine furniture and cabinetry to boat building and musical instruments, sapele hardwood proves its versatility time and again, cementing its status as a valuable asset in the world of woodworking and interior design.
Handcrafted with Sustainably Harvested Lumber
At Estate Millwork, we employ a meticulous process to ensure the quality and sustainability of our lumber. Our commitment begins with the careful air drying of much of our lumber, followed by further refinement in low wattage dehumidification kilns to achieve optimal moisture levels.
Every single piece of wood we acquire undergoes thorough utilization in our production processes. Leveraging advanced automated saws and optimization software, we achieve an exceptional yield ratio of 94 percent. This means that nearly all of the wood we purchase is transformed into usable products. The small remainder, comprising mainly sawdust and chips, is utilized efficiently: either utilized as fuel to power our operations, or repurposed by providing bedding and contributing to composting for local cattle farmers.
Our dedication to minimizing waste extends to the sourcing of our materials. A significant portion of the lumber we use hails from Amish farmers within our county. These farmers adhere to traditional practices, utilizing horses for harvesting and operating vintage 1920s sawmills. Such methods not only contribute to the preservation of heritage techniques but also entail lower environmental impact compared to modern industrial approaches.
Furthermore, our commitment to sustainability is evident in the sourcing of our imported lumber. We exclusively procure lumber from plantation-grown sources, thereby ensuring that our operations do not contribute to deforestation or the depletion of natural forests. By prioritizing responsible sourcing and efficient utilization, Estate Millwork strives to uphold environmental stewardship while delivering exceptional craftsmanship.
To learn more about our sustainability practices click here
