How to measure for window shutters - What to deduct to ensure they fit

In this video, I am going to show you how to prepare, measure and make fitting deductions so you’ll be all set for ordering your shutters.
The preparation is an important part to ensuring your shutters fit neatly and easily, so take your time, know where you're going to fit the shutters so you can measure in the appropriate place.
All your measuring should be done at the front edge of where the shutter is going in case the recess is angled or tapered slightly and you need to look out for any protruding objects like plastic trim, air vents, alarm points or handles.
With really wide trim you can fit your shutters inside, if its too thick, fit the shutters in front of the trim, if its fairly thin, you could incorporate it into the shadow gap, sometimes it means making the shadow gap slightly larger and you may need to position the shadow tape forward slightly so it covers the trim.
If you have air vents or alarm points, with a deep recess, just bring the shutter frame forward allowing enough space to get your fingers in to open the vent.
With a shallow recess, you could remove the vent or request a cut out in the top of the frame, this option would be done on the trade order form.
Handles will normally protrude 35mm-40mm from the face of your window. With a deep recess you can choose to fit the shutter frame just in front of the handles.
To create more space and limit the gap behind the shutter frame and window you could replace the handle with a low profile design, these will typically only protrude about 10-15mm and are very easy to replace, we have a video showing you how.
If you only have straight vertical handles and you're using Tposts, the handle will sit behind the stile of the shutter so the louvres tilt just to the side, so you can install the shutter closer to the window.
Draw the layout of the window, including any mullions and rails.
Shutters are ordered in mm, so we suggest measuring in mm
1st check your handle protrusion so you know where to take the width and height measurements from, I am measuring from the opening part of the window to the front of the handles and also the window recess depth in case I choose to fit low profile handles.
Measure at the front of where your frame will fit, measure the width first at the bottom, middle and top and write the sizes down at the right-hand side of your window and label them as width.
Do the same with the height, measuring on the left, centre and right side of the window. If you have Tposts, measure the height at these points too, again all at the front of where your frame will fit.
Measure the diagonal so you know how square the window is, this is easiest done with a laser measure and is more important to do if you don’t have a spirit level.
Measure from the left to the centre of any mullions, if the centre point is not clear on the mullion, measure and mark the centre. Use a square to come out at right angles and measure the width the right distance away from the window. If you have a second or third Tpost, keep the tape measure in the same place and continue your measurements so they all go from the left.
If you're ordering a middle rail or splitting the hidden tilt mechanism on your shutter, measure from the window sill up to the centre of where you would like the rail or split to be.
Check the top, bottom and each side of the window for level, and highlight on your drawing if the window is out of level and by how much to help you work out the deductions.
When you place your order, the sizes you enter need to be the exact size of the frame you require, i.e. the outer dimensions of the shutter frame.
The easiest and neatest way to install shutters is to use a shadow gap, this way you show off the shutters within the recess and avoid using messy filler and you’ll have plenty of room to adjust your shutters to ensure they fit perfectly.
The shadow gap should be about 6mm, so all you need to do is deduct 12mm from the smallest width and height sizes you took.
If you're using Tposts, you need to remember to deduct 6mm from all the Tpost sizes and if your ordering rails or split tilts, deduct 6mm from these sizes too.
If the window is out of level, but the diagonals sizes you took are within 5mm of each other, you should be fine to deduct the standard 12mm.
If just one side runs out of level, I would suggest deducting 11mm from the width and 13mm from the height this will help balance up the shadow gap.
If the bottom or top runs out of level, I would suggest deducting 11mm from the height and 13mm from the width this will help balance up the shadow gap.
If the left side runs out of level at the bottom, adjust the Tpost deductions to suit, i.e if side runs out by 3mm, deduct 9mm from your Tpost sizes.
Unfortunately, it's normal for windows to be out of square and not level, so having a bigger shadow gap will disguise this more.

[@jonathansanchez7260]

Hi. This looks easy and fast. Thanks. I’m trying to install shutters in California , Ca. But I don’t know where to buy the material, where did you get your box’s mail from. Thanks

[@opennshut]

Hi Jonathan, we use scraft shutters in the UK, regards Sam.

[@stevensmithjr1646]

Where do you have the sheets for measuring?

[@opennshut]

Hi Steven, You can find the measuring PDF's here - www.opennshut.co.uk/trade-shutters/tech-hub/#measure