Premium High Quality Poplar Louvered Poplar Shutters
Poplar Shutters by Estate Millwork
Estate Millwork is a company that manufactures wooden shutters and has a mission to promote green living and sustainable harvesting. The wood used to make our poplar exterior shutter sets is harvested using techniques that emphasize renewable forest growth.
Our company is also very conscious of the carbon footprint we leave on the Earth. No poplar wood scraps go to waste here. If we can.t use scraps in other projects, we burn them to heat our plant the natural way.
We won't sell poplar wood shutters made with artificial or plastic compounds, either. Only real wood endures all kinds of weather, and lasts longer over time. We refuse to sell our customers products unless they.re durable. Our shutters are made by expert craftsmen who have keen eyes for detail. With proper care, our poplar wood exterior shutters can last a lifetime.
Poplar Wood: A Handsome, Economical Choice
Versatile material: Poplar wood is a class of hardwood that is medium-to-soft in density. Poplar is domestically harvested, chiefly in the Eastern United States. Poplar shutters are a good value; the highly workable wood can be shaped into a variety of pleasing designs.
Customized finishing: Poplar shutters finish beautifully. This type of wood can easily be stained to mimic very expensive woods like mahogany. If you require a custom exterior shutter color to complement your home paint job, poplar is a great choice.
Poplar wood's excellent workability and staining properties make your exterior shutter options endless.
All of the poplar wooden shutters in our collection have been created using only top-quality, sustainable harvest hardwoods.
Choose from Several Distinctive Poplar Wood Shutter Sets, Including:
Bahama Poplar Wooden Shutters:
Bahama poplar shutters feature top-hinged window panels that can be swung up and away from the house on a pleasant day. Bahama shutters are sometimes called .Bermuda shutters,. and their unique, top-hinged design makes them a favorite in tropical and temperate climates alike. These exterior shutter sets can be fastened tightly against windows to protect them from snow, ice, winds, and rain.
Raised Panel Poplar Shutters:
Because poplar is easily shaped, the handsome center rectangles on our raised panel poplar shutters can be customized with intricate detailing or carvings. Depending upon how they.re finished and stained, raised panel shutters can suit homes built during many different architectural periods.
Flat Panel Poplar Shutters:
Like their raised panel cousins, flat panel shutters can be customized to suit customer tastes. We recommend highlighting the lovely recessed centers of our flat panel poplar shutters with a light golden or rich maple-colored stain.
Board and Batten Poplar Wood Shutter Sets:
This rugged, sturdy exterior shutter style combines Western prairie durability with classic construction and modern, green-milled design. The board and batten poplar wood shutter sets look great stained or painted, and can be customized with various details or carvings.
Louvered Poplar Exterior Shutter Sets:
Oil prices have been climbing steadily over the past several years. Louvered poplar wood shutters are investments that will benefit you over time. These shutters have bodies made of intricate wooden slats that allow for good climate control, whether they.re open or closed. Choose louvered shutters, and save on your air conditioning bills.
Our poplar wooden shutters are crafted to withstand the elements and to insulate your windows. Whether you live in a mild, temperate, or tropical climate, Estate Millwork shutter experts can help you select an exterior shutter style to suit your needs.
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.
Poplar: The Versatile Alternative
Often overshadowed by its more illustrious counterparts, poplar hardwood is an unsung hero in the world of woodworking. While lacking the bold coloration and striking grain patterns of its peers, poplar possesses its own understated charm, with a pale olive-yellow brown heartwood and lighter off-white or gray sapwood tinged with subtle greenish hues.
Widely distributed across North America and Europe, the poplar tree boasts rapid growth and abundant availability, making it a sustainable choice for various applications. Its propensity for large, clear sections makes it particularly sought after for secondary uses or applications where visibility is not a concern.
Though considered relatively soft, poplar is classified as a hardwood, ensuring durability and stability despite its softer texture. Its ease of workability is a boon for craftsmen, readily yielding to machining, sanding, and finishing processes. While often relegated to painted or secondary roles, poplar shines as a stain-grade species, gradually deepening in color over time to a richer shade of brown, earning it the affectionate moniker of "poor man's Cherry."
Versatile and affordable, poplar hardwood opens doors to a myriad of possibilities in woodworking and interior design. Its neutral color palette provides a versatile canvas for a range of finishes, from traditional to contemporary, allowing for seamless integration into diverse aesthetic schemes. Whether crafting custom cabinets, intricate moldings, or sleek furniture pieces, poplar's easy workability and consistent texture ensure a smooth and enjoyable woodworking experience.
Moreover, poplar hardwood is an environmentally conscious choice, with its sustainable growth and renewable nature aligning with eco-friendly practices. As a readily available and rapidly growing resource, poplar offers a responsible option for those mindful of environmental impact. Embrace the versatility and affordability of poplar hardwood in your next project and discover the endless possibilities it brings to the table.
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
