Our new-homeowner timeline covers escrow through move-in week. This guide is what comes after: the 90-day budget-and-order plan for finishing every window in the house without blowing the new-home budget in a single month. It's built on one fact that makes phasing practical — factory-built shutters arrive in days, not months, so each phase is a weekend project, not a season.
Step zero: the whole-house window inventory
Before you spend a dollar, walk the house with a tape measure and a notepad and list every window: room, rough width × height, and inside-mount depth. You don't need final precision yet — rough square footage is enough for budgeting. Multiply each window's square footage by $18.98/sq. ft. and add it up. That total is your whole-house number; the delivery is a flat $200 per order on top.
Example: twelve windows averaging about 15 sq. ft. each is roughly 180 sq. ft. — about $3,416 in shutters plus one $200 delivery. That's the entire house. Compare that to a custom-shop quote for a single room and you'll see why the phasing plan below exists: even spread over three months, this is a different price universe.
The batching math: why order count matters
Delivery is flat $200 per order — not per window. So the number of orders you place is the number of delivery charges you pay. One big order: one $200 charge. Three phased orders: three $200 charges. Neither is wrong — it's a cash-flow decision — but go in with eyes open:
- One order, whole house: lowest total cost, one delivery, one install push — best if the budget allows
- Two orders (privacy rooms first, living areas second): spreads the spend over ~60 days, costs one extra $200 delivery
- Three monthly orders: gentlest on cash flow, three delivery charges — still far below custom pricing
- Never split a single room across two orders to 'save' — you'll pay the extra delivery and gain nothing
- Rule of thumb: batch by floor or by wing, never by individual window
Days 1–30: bedrooms and bathrooms
Month one is privacy. Bedrooms and bathrooms are where bare windows cost you sleep and comfort, and they're also the cheapest rooms to finish — bath windows are small (many match the smaller RS sizes from $94.90) and bedrooms tend to repeat the same few sizes. Measure precisely now using the measuring guide, match each window on the size chart, and place order one. Most shutters delivered in as little as 48 hours — install the first weekend and month one ends with every private room finished.
Days 31–60: street-facing living areas and kitchen
Month two is the public face of the house. Street-facing living room windows are the ones the whole neighborhood sees after dark, and the kitchen is where you live every morning. These windows are bigger — living rooms run to the largest RS sizes — so this is typically the most expensive phase. Budget for it accordingly, and remember the 50/50 split control: open top louvers for daylight, closed bottom for street privacy.
By now you've installed a few windows, so month two's install goes faster. Keep the same order flow: build it on the shop page, your order is emailed to us, we confirm by email, then we call you and send a payment link. Full payment upfront, ships within 48 hours of the paid order.
Days 61–90: everything left
Month three is the finish line: guest rooms, the home office, laundry, any window you deferred. By now you know your sizes, your install rhythm, and exactly what the finished rooms look like — ordering the remainder is a fifteen-minute job. One more $200 delivery if you phased, and the house is done inside of a season.
The home office deserves a callout here: if you work from home, consider pulling it into month one or two. One window, done right, changes the workday — our home-office guide covers the glare-killing louver angles and the video-call split-control trick.
Keeping the plan on the rails
- Keep one running list — room, window, RS size, order date — so phase two and three don't require re-measuring
- Re-measure before each phase anyway: ten minutes to confirm beats reordering a wrong size
- Save every confirmation email: your order history is your warranty and reorder record in one
- Install phase by phase — don't let boxes stack up unopened while you 'get to it'; an uninstalled shutter is just expensive cardboard
- If a window falls between sizes, re-measure first — most 'between' cases are measuring errors, not sizing gaps
And the warranty note for the whole plan: every shutter carries the manufacturer's limited lifetime warranty, with claims handled by the installer — that's you, the DIY installer, which is exactly how the price stays where it is. Delivery details
90-day plan questions, answered
It depends on your cash flow. One order means one $200 flat delivery and the lowest per-window cost — if the budget allows, that's the move. Phasing over 90 days costs an extra $200 delivery per additional order, but it spreads the spend and lets you live with the first rooms before committing to the rest. The plan below lays out both.
Day one starts with a tape measure.
Inventory every window, budget at $18.98/sq. ft., and order phase one — from $18.95/sq. ft. with a flat $200 delivery per order. Most shutters delivered in as little as 48 hours.