What Happens on Fitting Day for Your New Shutters?

We agree the fitting date with you once manufacture is complete. British-made Express usually takes 2 to 3 weeks. Plan & Save is made overseas to the same specification and usually takes 8 to 9 weeks.

Both lead times begin once your 50% deposit is paid and your order is placed. Shaped work and complex tracked systems can take longer. If timing is essential, tell us before you order.

Your shutters are made to the dimensions confirmed at the home survey, and the specification is fixed once your order is confirmed. Tell us before manufacture begins if a window will be replaced or renovated. Changes after the order is confirmed may affect the price, the lead time and our ability to fulfil the order.

If severe weather or major transport disruption delays the appointment, we tell you and agree a new date as soon as practicable.

Clear the windowsill and give the fitter clear access to each window. Move fragile items and furniture that blocks the panel swing or working area.

If curtains, blinds or other window coverings need removing, agree who will remove them before fitting day. Keep pets and children away from the immediate working area while tools are in use.

Plan access to every room being fitted. You, or an adult you authorise, should be at home for the fitting and the final walkthrough, so someone can check the finished shutters and ask questions before we leave.

Fitting involves tools and fixings at the window. If a room needs particular preparation, ask when the date is confirmed.

The same small family team that surveyed your windows fits your shutters. We do not subcontract the fitting to third parties, so the person who measured your windows is the person who fits the finished shutters.

That keeps the details agreed at the survey with the people doing the work, including the frame position, the panel layout, the louvre size and the clearance around each handle.

The fitter checks the manufactured frame against the opening before fixing it. They then hang the panels and adjust the alignment, catches and louvre operation.

Each panel should open and close without catching the frame or nearby handles. The louvres should move together and hold their position across the panel.

Some orders need extra setting up. Each section of a bay is measured individually at the survey, and the panel layout is planned around the real angles and clearances. Tracked door shutters run on a top track and a bottom track, and their panels either fold into a side stack or slide past one another.

If your order includes an integrated blackout blind, it sits at the rear of the same made-to-measure frame, with the shutter panels hinged on the front. Once every panel and louvre works as it should, we tidy up before leaving.

For new shutters from Shutters Design, a normal fitting takes 1.5 to 4 hours. Most whole houses take half a day to a day, and large projects can take longer or run over several days.

Bays, shaped windows and tracked door systems need more alignment work and can take longer. We confirm the expected appointment length from the final specification.

Open and close each panel. Check that it clears the frame, handles and sill, then test the visible or hidden tilt mechanism.

Louvres are the horizontal slats that control light and privacy. Bar tilt uses a visible rod to move a set of louvres together, while hidden tilt moves the linkage inside the louvres. Whichever your order uses, tilt each set and check that it stays where you leave it.

Then check the parts that are specific to your order. Slide or fold tracked panels along the full track, open the panels on each face of a bay, and lower and raise any blackout blind.

Know what to expect from the finished shutters. Fully closed plantation shutters provide up to 98% darkness, while a blackout blind provides 100% light blocking when lowered. Hardwood is natural timber, so its colour and grain can differ slightly from the sample you saw at the survey.

Ask about anything that looks or feels wrong before the fitter leaves. The written specification and aftercare information remain the reference for the finished order.

The balance is due on fitting day, after a walkthrough of the completed work and once you have confirmed that you are satisfied. The payment schedule is 50% when you confirm the order and 50% after fitting.

We accept payment by bank transfer, and other payment methods may be available by arrangement. Under our terms of sale, risk in the shutters passes to you when the fitting is complete, and ownership passes once we have received payment in full.

Tell us as soon as you can. Raise it before the fitter leaves if possible, or contact us afterwards, and we will work with you to put it right.

Your statutory rights still apply. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the shutters must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described, and the fitting must be carried out with reasonable care and skill.

Follow the written aftercare supplied with your order. Wipe Polycomposite gently with a damp cloth. Gently dust Hardwood with a soft brush and keep it dry, because Hardwood is real wood for dry rooms, not a waterproof material.

Avoid unspecified chemically treated wet wipes, harsh cleaners, solvents and abrasives. Ask us before using a product that the written aftercare does not name.

Move the louvres with the tilt rod or the hidden-tilt control, and open each panel from its edge rather than pulling on a louvre. Do not hang objects from the louvres or tilt rod.

Do not force a panel or louvre that catches. Repeated force can make a small alignment problem worse, so contact us instead.

Hardwood has a 5-year manufacturer guarantee and Polycomposite has a 10-year manufacturer guarantee. Your written order terms confirm the start date, scope and conditions that apply to your shutters.

Our separate 10-year personal guarantee is non-transferable. It covers components, finishes, replacement parts and return visits for faults attributable to our work. Customer-caused damage may cost extra.

The manufacturer guarantee does not cover misuse, accidental damage, normal wear and tear, or damage caused by using Hardwood in a wet room. Neither guarantee replaces your statutory rights.

After fitting, we remain available for adjustments, care advice and warranty questions. To report a fault, send your address, your order reference if you have it, a description and clear photographs. Our warranty guide explains how a claim is assessed.

Yes, when the shutter frame and panel layout leave enough clearance for the window handles, hinges and opening direction. Some inward-opening windows require the shutter panel to be opened first.

We take the final manufacturing measurements at the home survey, which usually takes 30 to 45 minutes. The survey checks these movements and the frame position before the shutters are made, so the written specification reflects how the window and shutter need to operate together.

Our measuring guide explains what you can record before the survey.