Shutters are versatile, practical, and multi-purpose window coverings. The varied range of designs gives you the opportunity to choose the most suitable one for each room in a home or business premises. Here is a guide to security window shutters and roller shutters and which to select.
Security shutters
Louvre shutters have been around for decades and are used in most home styles, from French country to minimalist. In the past these shutters were purely decorative and often fitted externally.
But in more recent times they have had to be designed as security shutters to protect people inside their homes from intruders and are more often fitted internally.
Security shutters are made in different types of material, including aluminium, wood, MDF (medium-density fibreboard) and composites.
Most louvre shutters consist of an outer frame and adjustable horizontal slats. Some designs have a mid-rail halfway up the shutter. Others have no mid-rail and a more pleasing, uniform row of slats from top to bottom.
The louvres are operated in different ways to open and close them. Some have a rod to change the angle of the louvres and some louvres are simply tilted by hand.
Aluminium window louvre shutters are one of the most popular choices of material because:
- They can be designed with hidden, internal strengthening mechanisms to create a strong security shutter.
- They are low maintenance and easy to clean.
- They are lockable for added security.
- They can be manufactured for just about any window style.
- They replace blinds, burglar bars and curtains in one product.
- They allow you to adjust the light in a room by tilting the louvres.
- They provide the level of privacy you need in each room.
- They can be installed in coastal as well as inland homes.
Trellidor manufacture two types of louvre security shutter. One is a premium, high security window shutter with in-built strengthening features and a patented locking system. It is ideal for free-standing homes, business premises or any other location where crime is a constant threat.
These louvre shutters can be closed and locked to stop intruders from getting inside through the windows. One of their greatest benefits is that by tilting the louvres of the locked shutters, fresh air and light stream into the room and there is a view of the outside.
The Trellidor Estate shutter looks very similar to the premium version, but at a lower price point. It also has in-built strength and a patented lock but does not provide the same level of strength as the premium security shutter.
This louvre shutter is an excellent option for windows in homes in gated communities or secure housing complexes and upper storey windows in houses or apartments.
Both these designs are beautifully streamlined with no external clutter like rods or mid-rails because the louvres are easily tilted by hand. They can be powder coated to complement any décor colour palette, with the most popular colours being white and charcoal.
Why you should select louvre shutters:
- It’s a cost effective, all in one replacement for curtains, blinds, and burglar bars on windows.
- They’re perfect for windows in estate homes with strict rules prohibiting burglar bars and other visible security measures.
- Using them on entertainment area doors and windows allows you can tilt the louvres to control light, airflow, and visibility.
- To create excellent ‘street appeal’ for your home and increase its value.
- Suitable for low to high security risk locations.
Roller shutters
Roller shutter doors can be fitted to windows or doors. In countries like America they are fitted to the outside of homes to protect them against heavy storms and are called storm shutters. As the name ‘roller shutter’ suggests, these shutters roll down when you need to use them and roll up when you don’t.
In other countries like South Africa, this type of product is used as security roller shutters. They are made from either steel or aluminium. The steel versions are often used to protect shop fronts on streets and in shopping centres.
Aluminium is the material of choice for homes because it is lighter in weight and less noisy when it is moving up or down. These sliding door rollers roll up into a shutter box at the top of the window or door, out of sight until you need them.
Roller shutter doors are popular because:
- Aluminium security roller shutters can be fitted to coastal homes as well as inland ones.
- The shutters can be fully automated and controlled using hand-held remotes or a control panel fixed to the wall.
- Automated shutters can be integrated into a Smart Home central control system.
- They roll up into a neat, compact shutter box when not in use.
- They can be retrofitted.
- With forward planning for a new build or alteration, the shutter box can be concealed in a wall or ceiling cavity so that the shutter is completely out of sight when rolled up into the shutter box.
- The shutters don’t require much space as they slide up and down inside narrow side guide channels that can be recessed into the wall.
Trellidor manufactures a variety of roller shutter door sizes and designs. The choice of security roller shutters includes a Lockdown Shutter that has a unique, non-mechanical way of locking down so that it is secure even during power outages.
There are other design options and Trellidor has installed both internally and externally to doors and windows of all types.
The strength of these shutters makes them ideal to create a ‘safe zone’ in your home. To do this, a roller shutter is installed in the passage or stairway to stop anyone getting into the bedroom area.
The same roller shutters can be fitted to any other external doors in your safe zone as well as to all the windows. Roller shutters on windows block out intruders, but they also open to provide an escape route in an emergency like a fire or a break-in.
Why you should select roller shutters:
- To protect your family against intruders in medium to high crime risk neighbourhoods and cities.
- They’re a good choice to protect windows, patios, and doors that lead from the garage directly into the home.
- They add an additional layer of security to front and back doors.
- Install these shutters on all doors and windows to lock down permanent or holiday homes when unoccupied.
- Used around patios, they create great flow between your living and entertainment area, and they shut out bad so that you can use it more often.
Still unsure whether to use security shutters or roller shutters? Visit your nearest Trellidor outlet to see both types and ask questions to help you make up your mind. Or ask a Trellidor consultant to visit you, do an assessment of your home and give you expert advice as to which type of shutter will work best in each room of your home.