Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 27, 2013 10:10 am Hi all, I have always despised the look of roller shutters but am now I'm finding myself considering them purely for: 1. Security - have always felt safe before, but do no longer 2. being able to leave windows open at night if we decide to have ducted evaporative A/C installed 3. keeping the home cooler in summer and warmer in winter 4. would save on window coverings - was going to do day/night rollers and possibly sheers to soften the look, but with roller shutters I can get away with sheers only I would like to know if any other fellow H1 members have had past experience with roller shutters, or maybe some friends or family have them? What do you think of them? Pros and cons? Cost? I imagine they are expensive?. Do you know or can recommend a reputable company that does without any pushy sales tactics? - have read reviews on product.review.com and 1 company stands out on there, and not in a good way. . Should we go for Battery/power operated or manual?. I personally prefer manual in case of fire or someone cutting our electricity, with the shutters potentially becoming a death trap. I look forward to your views on this. Re: Roller shutters - not attractive but good for security? 2Jan 27, 2013 2:50 pm interesting subject! would be good to know if they provide any noise isolation as well Re: Roller shutters - not attractive but good for security? 3Jan 27, 2013 3:32 pm I'm still looking around myself, I really like the benefits of the security shutters but I don't want to ruin the front of my house. Seeing as I only have 3 windows at the front and my window design (open outwards) dictates that the flyscreens on these windows are actually mounted inside behind the glass, I'm opting to go with a stainless steel security mesh screen for those windows. The rest of the house will get shutters with mesh roller blinds inside for window covering seeing as the shutter will provide full privacy. I'm umming and arring about the electric vs manual thing myself, too. The manual winder looks uglier and it is fussier to use but at least it will operate regardless of there being electricity available. This being said, our house isn't huge and there are multiple exit avenues in case of emergency. Well placed smoke detectors and a household fire extinguisher are always a good idea - you'd hope that you'll never have to resort to jumping out of windows in a well planned modern home. They definitely provide good noise and heat insulation - similar to double-glazed windows in respect to noise and significant improvements in keeping out the heat. Re: Roller shutters - not attractive but good for security? 4Jan 27, 2013 5:13 pm We also don't want to ruin the look at the front of the house which luckily faces east and won't have to much of an issue with heat. On the western side however they should be very effective for heat, and on the southern side the idea is to have them for added security as the dogs and us will be on the other side of the house at night. Unfortunately there is no neighbour to the south yet and that's making me a touch nervous. I also think the winders are ugly but I'm really paranoid of power outages, deliberate or not. Please keep comments coming and I've anyone is happy to give me any idea of costs, please pm me. Re: Roller shutters - not attractive but good for security? 5Jan 27, 2013 5:39 pm Hi SB, we had manual roller shutters in our old house, mainly to block out noise. You will have a box and ribbon running on the wall though, some people don't like the look. Will PM you the company we used, they did a great job and price was reasonable. We had crimsafe mesh on other windows and sliding doors, they're great if your main concern is security because they don't ruin the look of your house. We also had tinted window film on all windows to keep the house cool, very effective We'd probably have crimsafe mesh and window film rather than shutters in our new build. Re: Roller shutters - not attractive but good for security? 6Jan 28, 2013 11:27 am Hi SB, We also had Manuel roller shutters for our kids rooms that were at the back of the house. If your going to do your whole house your better off going for the power ones. Though good point about if there's a fire, not sure if there's a way around that. The Manuel ones are a bit ugly, but the roller shutter guy we went through recommended the Manuel for us as we only required them for two windows. If I was doing the whole house, def would of gone with the power ones. I'm not sure what area your in, but the company we went through was a local company around the Rockingham area. He was great and not pushy at all. He gave me a rough quote over the phone. I can PM the details if your interested. janicec, can I ask how much the crimsafe mesh is? Was thinking about this for our next house. Re: Roller shutters - not attractive but good for security? 7Jan 28, 2013 11:43 am Had them in a rental and found them excellent for noise, keeping the room dark for sleeping, can open them a crack for a breeze without losing privacy and security. I would definitely have them, but our front windows are awnings so will probably go tint with heavy curtains (Media room) - I have heard that you can have them incorporated in your build they can recess the box into the brickwork Re: Roller shutters - not attractive but good for security? 8Jan 28, 2013 12:56 pm Thanks everyone. I'm looking at them for heat and noise reduction but also for added security. Not sure what to do at front of house, shutters just don't look right, but maybe the dogs will be enough security wise, seeing they will most likely be sleeping near the front windows anyhow Belle22 Hi SB, We also had Manuel roller shutters for our kids rooms that were at the back of the house. If your going to do your whole house your better off going for the power ones. Though good point about if there's a fire, not sure if there's a way around that. The Manuel ones are a bit ugly, but the roller shutter guy we went through recommended the Manuel for us as we only required them for two windows. If I was doing the whole house, def would of gone with the power ones. I'm not sure what area your in, but the company we went through was a local company around the Rockingham area. He was great and not pushy at all. He gave me a rough quote over the phone. I can PM the details if your interested. janicec, can I ask how much the crimsafe mesh is? Was thinking about this for our next house. Belle I'd really appreciate if you could pm the details. Thanks Re: Roller shutters - not attractive but good for security? 9Jan 28, 2013 2:08 pm Oh man yet another thing I never thought about... Personally I don't like the look of them - our west facing wall is the front so we double lose out but hopefully I can put some heavy tinting or reflective glass on them... Maybe convince the other half to finally let me get a protective pup to bite the bad people away!! Re: Roller shutters - not attractive but good for security? 10Jan 28, 2013 2:22 pm Haha HT. Good luck winning that one. Our pups are huge but one has no teeth anymore, might chew the nasties to death instead? Another option you could look into with your rep is double glazing for the front? I believe that also help with heat but especially security. Re: Roller shutters - not attractive but good for security? 11Jan 28, 2013 3:43 pm Belle22, have pm'ed you some details 1) I had requested R6 ceiling insualtion batts, however I noticed that on some areas there are huge gaps which will allow hot air to sweep in, and also noticed black/grey… 0 3585 waste of time for us having both, living only need one or the other. Bedroom only needs blockouts in our experience. Somfy RTS seems to be the way to go, speak to… 1 4537 |