If you’re seriously considering installing roller shutters on the windows and doors of your home or business, you probably already know all of the great benefits they provide.
But, unfortunately, all roller shutters aren’t created equal! If you want to make sure that the set you install are the very best for your specific situation, you need to think about these 4 things first:
1. The size
Roller shutters are only a great way to keep bad guys out if they fit properly. That means they need to completely cover your window and door openings. If they’re not the right size, they could have trouble rolling up and down — in addition to giving bad guys a way to try and wiggle their way in.
In addition to the security boost, proper-fitting roller shutters will also prevent air from leaking out of your windows and doors. As a result, you’ll wind up spending less money on your heating and cooling bills! However, it is still important to give your hvac unit the proper maintenance by getting air conditioning cleaning or something like a furnace repair whenever the system malfunctions.
2. The look
If you’re installing window roller shutters on your commercial facility, you probably don’t care all that much about aesthetics. After all, you’ve already got an industrial look, and your window shutters will simply add to it!
But if you’re installing roller shutters on your home’s windows, you may want to take a closer look at them first. Most roller shutters are made out of aluminum (some are made out of galvanized steel, while others are made out of other types of metal), so you won’t be able to completely shed that industrial look, but you should be able to choose between window shutters that are either white or brown. That way, you can try to match them to the rest of your home’s décor.
3. The logistics
Manual roller shutters are easy to get up and down. In fact, you can have your shutters wide open or completely closed in a matter of seconds with very little physical effort. However, if you’ve got a bunch of windows and doors that need to be covered — or you simply don’t want to bother rolling them up and down yourself — look for automatic roller shutters. Yes, they’ll cost you a little bit more than their manual counterparts, but you’ll be able to set all of your shutters to the same frequency and put them all up or down with the touch of a button!
4. The maintenance
Every now and then, you’ll need to have a professional test the balance of your window shutters. That way, you won’t have to worry about them rolling up and down the tracks awkwardly, or coming off the tracks altogether.
You’ll also need to lubricate the track and the rollers themselves every now and then. (If you have a garage door, you’re probably already used to this!) You can use either silicon spray or petroleum lubricant.
If you have remote-controlled window shutters, you should set them to “manual” once or twice a year and put the shutters up and down yourself, just to make sure that everything looks, sounds, and feels OK. After all, when all you do is hit a button to activate them, you probably don’t pay any attention to how they’re actually functioning! By taking a few minutes to make sure everything is in working order, you can prevent small issues from turning into big, expensive problems.
Joanne Lemke is a final year creative writing student at UOW, who is looking to break into the corporate copywriting space once she graduates and hopefully go on to eventually some day write a book around her other passions, namely home improvement, fashion, cooking and travel.
