Premium High Quality Sapele Louvered Stained Exterior Shutters

Stained Exterior Shutters

A handsomely painted set of wood exterior shutters can add a gorgeous accent to the appearance of a home. Paint can also bring a splash of color to a otherwise sedate home decorating scheme, can match or contrast the color of brick or stonework, or can complement the color of a roof. In addition, paint protects your wood shutters from the elements by keeping moisture out of the wood, thus extending the life as well as the beauty of your exterior shutters.

We normally recommend choosing a simple but effective color scheme for your wooden shutters, because timeless colors are easier to find in hardware and big-box stores. Sedate colors are also helpful if you don't want to draw too much attention from neighbors. (Of course, if you own a Victorian "Painted Lady"-style house, going wild when painting your shutters . for historical accuracy only, of course . can be a lot of fun. On the other hand, a color that looks good one year can go out of fashion the next. Or, that color might not match the new color you have chosen for your home . and when that out-of-character paint job begins to crack and fade, it will look very strange.

Despite the advantages of painting shutters, we often suggest forgoing painting your exterior shutters. Consider staining them, instead.

Why You Should Stain Wooden Exterior Shutters

Wood stain is an appealing option for our exterior shutters. Our hardwood exterior shutters are hand-crafted from top-grade hardwoods, and the wood grain looks great when accented with stain. The right stain will match the colors of the exterior of your home, while preserving your shutters' natural beauty. Stained wood is a classic look that will serve you well for years.

If you do choose to stain your exterior shutters, we recommend using a stain designed for exterior use. Exterior stains provide protection from UV damage and mildew. Most exterior stains do not provide as much coverage as stains for indoor use, so take price and number of cans necessary to finish the job into account when planning your project. A good sealant will also help protect your exterior shutters, making them last longer.

If you do choose to stain your exterior shutters, we recommend using a stain designed for exterior use. Exterior stains provide protection from UV damage and mildew. Most exterior stains do not provide as much coverage as stains for indoor use, so take price and number of cans necessary to finish the job into account when planning your project. A good sealant will also help protect your exterior shutters, making them last longer.

How to choose a stain color for your wooden shutters

Stains can vary greatly in opacity, tone, and sheen. Choosing the right one is dependent on many factors, and the final arbiter will be whether you like the color.

Here are a few tips for choosing quality exterior shutter stains:

• If the natural color of the wood complements the exterior of your home, then choosing a clear stain will highlight the grainy beauty of the long wooden panels from which our exterior shutters are constructed.
• More opaque stains will hide the grain and color of the wood, so if you wish to showcase the wood grain, these might not be a good choice. Be aware that opaque stains can change the original color of the wood to match the rest of the trim on your house. This is an effect you might or might not wish to achieve.
• If environmentally friendly products are important to you, choose stains with low-VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) emissions.
• Protect your face and eyes with a work mask and goggles. Many brands of stain can cause eye and nose irritation.

No matter what type and color of stain you choose, you will find that Estate Millwork's exterior shutters, made of quality hardwoods, provide beauty and dignity when accentuated with a stain.

Any questions? Call [an error occurred while processing this directive] . our expert customer service representatives are glad to help.

To learn more about staining wood shutters, call or e-mail our customer service team today.

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