Traditional shutters are traditionally made from wood, but there are other alternatives that we should know about. It is important to be aware that wood isn’t the most viable option, due to a few of its characteristics. With the availability of alternative materials for external shutters, we should be able to choose different models. Depending on the type of material, we could determine budget, degree of maintenance and ease of installation. Other than wood, alternative materials for external shutters include vinyl, aluminium, urethane, composite fibreglass and composite extira. Vinyl is the cheapest and simplest material when it comes to external shutter. Because there are different color options for vinyl shutters, they should be able to provide excellent decorative touches to our home. However, vinyl shutters are often affixed when installed, so it means that we can’t close or open them. It also means that it is unlikely that we will get operable and controllable vinyl shutters.

However, vinyl shutters should be quite affordable and we will save money installing them. Another alternative that we should consider is urethane shutters. During the production process, a type of resin is molded out into a foam form. An adhesive compound is needed to attach urethane shutters to a surface. It means that urethane shutters only work well when installed on a smooth surface. Just like vinyl shutters, the urethane type also can’t be closed or opened, so they are useful only for decorative purposes. One benefit of using urethane shutter is that it can be made to look visually like wood. Aluminum shutters are also quite common that they can be chosen due to its various advantages. As a type of metal, aluminium doesn’t break and it will bend when struck by a high speed object. It means that aluminium shutters could provide us with a degree of storm protection capability. There are aluminium shutters that are intended for decorative purposes, while others have actual storm protection capability.

If your home is located in the coastal area, it is a good idea to choose shutters made from powder coated aluminium. In this case, aluminium shutters should be fully functional, because they are installed on controllable hinges. Extire composite shutters are another option that is available in the market. Just like wood, extira is a renewable material and it’s quite durable against the elements. Extira is essential fiber that is bound together at medium density with weather-resistant resin. It means that the external surface of extira should be able to withstand the elements. It means that rainwater will still unable to penetrate the surface of the extira shutters. They can be used as either functional or decorative shutters. Unlike typical wood shutters, extira has smooth finish and there’s no wood grain that’s shown through the finish. Composite fibreglass is often the most expensive type of shutter. They can be a combination of metal, fibreglass and extira at different proportion. In this case, it should be able to withstand very harsh environment.