Internal shutters for windows - good idea?

[MM]

There's no one in the rooms to look at them!

Why? It's a matter of a few seconds per.

I don't like curtains.

MM

[Graeme]

In message , CurtainsMadeSimple writes

I cannot imagine using shutters that have to be lifted into and out of the frame on a daily basis. Ours hinge into the window recess. Each window has three parts to the shutter, with one, hinged in the middle, covering two thirds of the window and the other, one third. They disappear into the recess when not in use - when we moved into the house, I did not even realise the windows had shutters for a while.

[MM]

Why not? Other people draw their curtains on a daily basis. And, in fact, why would the shutter need to be removed at all in the winter in an unoccupied bedroom? I could drape a faux net curtain on the outside of the shutter, then it wouldn't be noticed.

MM

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Adrian saying something like:

The houses I stayed in as a kid were of Victorian construction with big wooden internal shutters that folded to the sides of the reveals. As a matter of course they were always shut and stuck fast with paint, so hardly ever used. It wasn't until many years later I came across them again and found that when they were properly maintained and used they were very effective indeed.

[djc]

I remember my grandparents' house in the mid 60s. The shutters were always closed at night and the big thick velvet curtains drawn. And shutters two on the porch, bolted and barred on going to bed.

[djc]

I remember my grandparents' house in the mid 60s. The shutters were always closed at night and the big thick velvet curtains drawn. And shutters two on the porch, bolted and barred on going to bed.

[djc]

I remember my grandparents' house in the mid 60s. The shutters were always closed at night and the big thick velvet curtains drawn. And shutters two on the porch, bolted and barred on going to bed.

[Graeme]

In message , MM writes

There is a huge difference between opening and closing curtains, and lifting shutters in and out. Whether open or closed, curtains just hang there. What would one do with the shutters during the day? Leave them leaning against the wall? Transfer them to and from a large cupboard twice a day? Notta chance. Proper hinged shutters, on the other hand, are effortless, taking no more time to open or close than curtains.

We are discussing rooms that are used daily, as far as I'm aware. Yes, I can see that different rules could be applied to a rarely used bedroom, for example.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember djc saying something like:

Exactly that. I recall some of them had a swivelling cross-bar which locked them solid when they were swung together.

[MM]

Exactly so! What's the problem with leaning a shutter against the wall during the coldest part of the year? It wouldn't bother me for one second.

But then the shutters are there all year round and they are completely unnecessary once the weather gets warmer.

I am on my own. I can only occupy one room at once. In cold weather that tends to be one of three rooms: the kitchen, my workroom or the middle bedroom. None of the other rooms is occupied. I could leave the shutters in place 24/7 while the weather remains cold. (Okay, I didn't count the minutes spent each day in the bathroom.)

MM

[Graeme]

In message , Grimly Curmudgeon writes

Indeed. Perhaps these days we overlook the obvious, in so many things. Most of us are probably old enough to have lived in houses without central heating, and doubtless remember our parents/grandparents using thick curtains, 'sausages' at the bottom of the door, and similar methods to preserve warmth.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Graeme saying something like:

Ho ho. I've been doing just that, the past couple of weeks. One of my long-term projects for this building was to properly insulate it - perhaps not to Passivhaus standard, but as good as I can get it within a reasonable spend. 10" thick solid concrete block walls, so external 100mm Celotex or similar will do nicely. The winters here are typically mild with most daytime temps hovering around 6 - 10degC and nights usually 2 or 4. Not this winter, and it's really brought home to me how much heat is escaping out of the walls, roof, air changes and the like. As a result the project for the next 12 months will be insulation, insulation, insulation. Also, I will look seriously at building a couple or several window shutters.