Choosing timber shutters to keep out the midday sun

Are you living in a reasonable distance from Sydney's North shore? Is your house plagued by the strong sunlight during the middle hours of the day? Do you want a permanent solution? Then install timber shutters brought to you by Gotcha Covered Timber Shutters. We did.

Situated near the Northern Sydney shore, Gotcha Covered Timber Shutters have been manufacturing and installing window covering for over 10 years. The proprietor has, in fact, extensive experience well beyond that. He and his wife run a tightly controlled family business. All materials are hand selected and each of their products is custom made to fit the measurement of the windows they are created to dress.

The company, Gotcha Covered Timber Shutters, has a large range of products for all types of application. These cover Fabric Roller Blinds, Aluminium Shutters and screens, Awnings as well as Timber Venetians and Timber Shutters. It is the latter that is the subject of this review.

We live in a pleasant bungalow in one of Sydney's northern suburbs. Not a huge house but nevertheless having large north and west facing windows. During the summer months it almost becomes mandatory to close the curtains from about 11 to 3 to prevent the house becoming a furnace inside, not to mention the damage that the direct sunlight does to our furniture. The trouble is, of course, that closed curtain stops air circulation so the house becomes stuffy and hot anyway.

One of our close neighbours had these timber venetians installed and we asked him about them. He told us of the huge advantages of timber shutters and timber venetians. For a start they are fitted to the house exte
ally and can either be controlled manually or one can motorize them so they can be easily opened and shut without having to walk around on the flower beds.

We noticed that he had installed timber venetians and he remarked that there were certain disadvantages. These were mostly to do with the light penetration. Venetians still allowed a lot of light to shine in the house, especially in the early morning on the eastern side and in the late afte
oon.

So my husband and I decided to go and see Gotcha Covered Timber Shutters showroom in Dee Why. The showroom was impressive with the full range of products on display. They could demonstrate the timber shutters and described the Western Red Cedar that they are made from. This timber, while not being a hard wood, can survive in the harsh Australian Sunlight and is versatile and extremely good looking. The other normal timber used is Basswood which is a hardwood. This timber is better if painted or stained and thus will need maintenance over the years.

We selected timber shutters as an ideal and made an appointment for one of their craftsmen to come and measure up and give us a quote.

This he duly did and he explained that it is he who would actually install the custom made shutters for us. He advised us on the best solutions for our requirements and was at all time professional and fair. After we accepted the comprehensive quote they gave us we had to wait about 6 weeks while our timber shutters were manufactured.