Guides
Repair or replace your shutters? How to tell the difference
When a shutter is damaged or looking tired, the first question is always the same: is this worth fixing, or is it time for a new set? Plenty of companies answer that with whatever earns them the bigger sale. Here is how to work it out honestly.
By the Shutter Installation team · Updated 10 July 2026
Start with the frames
Almost everything hinges on the frames. If the frames and panels are structurally sound, and they usually are, then broken slats, worn tilt rods, seized hinges and dropped panels are all repairable, often in a single visit. The shutters you have can be as good as new for a fraction of replacement cost.
Replacement only really makes sense when the frames themselves are beyond saving: rotten, badly warped, or damaged past the point where a repair would hold.
The rough 60% rule
Our own rule of thumb: if putting the shutters right comes to less than about 60% of the cost of a new set, and the frames are solid, repairing or restoring is the better value. We will always show you the two options side by side with honest costs so you can see it for yourself.
When restoration is the middle path
There is an option between a quick repair and a full replacement: restoration. If shutters are sound but tired, chipped paint, discoloured finish, a few damaged slats, refinishing and repairing them keeps the originals (which matters in period and conservation-area homes) at well under the price of new.
When new really is the answer
Sometimes replacement is genuinely right: frames past saving, or a room where you want a different style entirely. If that is the case we will tell you plainly, and we can supply and fit a new made-to-measure set. For the full made-to-measure range, our sister company Shutters Design is the place to start.