To think that houses in the UK should have window shutters on the outside?

[FinanceLPlates]

These are standard in many countries and so useful. Keep the heat out, provide extra safety and protection against burglary, help with sleep as it’s easier to have the bedroom properly dark…

Why aren’t they a thing in the UK?

And yes I understand it would be difficult to retrofit them to Victorian houses etc but why aren’t they standard for new builds?

Traditionally Britain had shutters in the inside opening inwards, probably to protect from the rain. Early medieval / timber framed houses often had them before glass was widespread, but people removed the shutters when glass was added. If you look at Georgian box sash windows the shutters are usually still there - folded away inside the frame. The Georgians rarely used curtains so they performed the function curtains have now. The rising popularity of curtains caused them to go out of fashion. You do occasionally see external slatted shutters and you can add them retrospectively.

So in a new build you design them like that!

Internal ones don’t do as good a job of keeping the heat out as external - once the heat’s in the room it’s in the room.

As a child every house I drew and built with Lego had shutters. I think they would look out of place on my end of terrace ex council house but I would still love to have them.

We have looked at getting them. You can get them. They are hugely expensive.

But I do think new builds should start having them as standard.

I think shutters at windows like French houses are really pretty

I discussed this with a builder and he suggested solar control glass (it's a Pilkington product). It looks exactly like regular glass but prevents most of the heat coming through.

It's helped a bit (west facing).

Nothing stopping home owners doing it. The op seems to give the impression they want it to be some kind of requirement.

You must be in Scotland. I needed my jacket on yesterday!

Shutters on the outside aren't going to be of use in the UK more than a couple of times a year, and those awful internal plantation shutters just make the windows smaller and shut out too much light.
I think the only solution is blinds, and suffering for a couple of days and nights! (Other than air conditioning).

Or built with air conditioning

Depends where you are. We’re in London and even without a heatwave (though those are become more common) the temp in our bedrooms is high - 29 degrees last night. External shutters would help with that.

That is hot! I live in Yorkshire, so external wooden shutters would need a lot of care as it's a very wet part of the UK, and I wouldn't fancy metal ones.
We're very high up, so even on Sunday and Monday, the bedrooms only got to about 19°c.
So yes, you're right, the regional differences are significant.

Yes, I thought the same, it's a home owners choice, surely? Also, as we've seen, very regional dependent.

Home owners choice ? Don’t new builds have to meet certain energy standards? Shouldn’t they also meet climate change standards? Surely making them default on new builds would help people understand what they can do to protect themselves?

I had the external shutters when I lived in Germany and I loved them. We could choose to open the window fulling inwards or on a tilt from the top inwards. They were great when it was hot and also kept the heat in when it was very cold. They were also good for security. I would love to have them now.

They cost money and require maintenance - for a few days a year where temperatures are hot enough to make them useful there’s no point. I prefer my triple glazing which means my energy bills are low!

@hattie43. Yes the wooden ones do look pretty but those of us near the coast already have rotting decks and balconies from the salt in the air

People are more than welcome to put shutters on their own houses if they want though… why does it have to be a standard? Not everything can be paid for by other people and other companies. For the one week of the year that it’s hot, I just put up with it to be honest.

Internal solid shutters are great. We had them made and fitted by a local carpenter and they’re one of the best things we’ve ever invested in.

@FinanceLPlates Why don't you get internal (colonial-style) shutters? I bought ours years ago and even then I knew they were one of the best home improvements I'd made. They look smart, are fairly inexpensive and a doddle to fit (we fitted them ourselves). Our house is east-facing, so in these heatwaves we keep the shutters at the front of the house closed in the mornings while the sun's rising and as the sun goes over the house we open the front ones and close the back ones until the sun starts to set. They've been an absolute God-send in keeping the house cool. They also provide additional security - we even got a small reduction in our house insurance premium for having them.
I don't know if MN allows me to mention where we got ours from, but I can PM anyone who wants to know. 😊

i would think you might have to get planning permission? We’re on the edge of a conservation area and for a long time they didn’t allow certain loft extensions.
I am so over living in a period house!

The shutters we installed in our French house fifteen years ago were Upvc. Lighter and maintenance free.

It wouldn't work in the UK because so many people have blinds. Unless you've got really deep walls, you can't have blinds with inward opening windows.

We're in France with shutters and have had them - and the windows and curtains- shut upstairs during the day since the heat dome arrived. It's helped so much.

External are more efficient at keeping heat out, but internal shutters help a lot. In winter it's the opposite, the internal shutters keep more heat in. Either are way better than blinds if properly fitted, even our special lined blinds you can feel the heat near them in a way you don't near the shutters.

Funny to think how much cooler it is in Yorkshire and Scotland. Definitely more than a few days each year down here. We've alrready had 4-5 hot periods (2 scorching reaching 32/33). A quick check shows 25 days in the last 3 months in my area that were over 25 degrees. July-September being traditionally hotter, you can see it's a bit different than your 19 degrees yesterday!!