Define decorative or operable use
Decorative shutters are sized for facade proportion and fixed beside the opening. Operable shutters must be able to swing, meet, close, latch, and clear the sill, trim, wall, gutter, light, and neighboring shutter. State the intended use before sizing.
Measure the intended panel footprint
Record the window or door opening, trim outside dimensions, available wall space on both sides, sill projection, head trim, and any arch. For an operable pair, the closed panels must relate to the opening and center meeting condition.
Capture the mounting substrate
Photograph and identify wood, brick, stone, stucco, fiber cement, vinyl siding, EIFS, concrete, or another facade. Note trim thickness, offsets, voids, water-management details, and where structural fastening is possible.
Map hardware and interference
Record hinge or pintle locations, desired throw and offset, holdback position, latch, storm window, window crank, downspout, light, railing, roof, awning, planting, and ground clearance. Existing hardware needs dimensions and close photos.
Save one record per opening
Shutter measurement worksheet
Download the opening worksheet
Use the CSV in a spreadsheet or print the fields below. Record inches consistently and preserve fractions. Measured openings are planning inputs; approved production dimensions and deductions belong in separate fields.
- Identify
- Project, room or elevation, opening ID, date, product model and photograph filenames.
- Measure
- Top, middle and bottom widths; left, center and right heights; both diagonals; usable depth; trim and sill projection.
- Describe the mount
- Mounting plane, substrate, trim offset, adjacent wall space and the full movement path.
- Review before ordering
- Model, panel or slat layout, finish, control or hardware, final manufacturing size, quantity and delivery access.
For exterior louvers, also document the space above the opening, proposed guide locations and any planned control route. The mounting choice must be checked against the selected system drawings.
Match the guide to the product
Our current catalog lists aluminum exterior louvers with Z-90 Zoval and C-80 configurations and Under Mount, Pocket Mount or External Mount options. Traditional side-hinged shutter measurements do not establish the dimensions for that louver system.
View the exterior-louver configurations and mounting options. Exterior shading should not be treated as hurricane protection without approval for the exact system and installation.
Turn the guide into a complete opening schedule.
Keep every finished width and height, mounting surface, jamb depth, panel arrangement, material, finish, hardware part, photo, and delivery note connected to the same opening ID.
Start the configurationQuestions about this topic
Should exterior shutters be half the window width?
That is a starting proportion for a traditional operable pair, not a universal rule. Trim, opening geometry, center meeting, panel style, available wall space, and hardware must be considered.