..lease note: “DIYShutters” refers to the trading names of Modra International Pty Ltd trading as DIYShutters and Pro-Wood Plantation Shutters

The following Terms and Conditions of Sale apply:

Refunds

The blinds are custom made, and as such, cannot be returned for a refund if the customer decides not to proceed.

Cancellation of Order

The order cannot be cancelled once a deposit or payment is received. If the customer fails to take the shutters within four weeks of them being ready for installation or delivery, unless otherwise by agreement, the final amount becomes due.

Order Specifications

It is the customers responsibility to check all specifications on the quote sheet and any other correspondence that commits DIY Shutters to a course of action. The quote sheet specifies the details of how the shutters will be manufactured, including final finished size which is published on the sheet. It is the customers final responsibility to ensure these specifications are correct, not just the sizes, and are as agreed.

DIY Shutters provides an updated quote sheet each time a change to specification or configuration is made by DIY Shutters, or for a change requested in writing by the customer. It is up to the customer to ensure they receive this updated quote sheet. 

Measurements taken and applied to the quote sheet by DIY Shutters, if in error, are the responsibility of DIY Shutters. If however, the customer has failed to advise or correct a specification which affects the size of the shutters or other aspects  prior to manufacture, and which causes an invalidation of the measured sizes, rectification of the shutters is at the customer’s expense. 

Mid Rail position

Mid Rails are optional with DIYShutters and must be requested for inclusion as normally DIYShutters supplies long drop panels without a mid rail. The function of the mid rail is to tie the Stiles together to help keep the panel square, but instead is achieved by the installation of DIYShutters using their ‘Tie Screw System’. Having no mid rail enhances the beauty of the panel, since louvres flow from top to bottom without the interruption of a mid rail. This beauty is particularly noticeable in the evening when the full length of louvres are closed. This is exclusive to DIYShutters.

A mid rail may be essential if the window frame has a large horizontal mullion which significantly decreases the depth of the opening. If a mid rail is not fitted, the louvres may collide with this mullion. Customers must provide photos and height measurements for DIYShutters to configure the mid Rail position, if the order is a DIY Kit or panel pick up and where the customer is providing measurements. In special cases the bottom and top rails may need custom alteration to their height, meaning these rails become unequal sizes, forcing the mid rail to fall at a more suitable position, to avoid collision between a louvre and a mullion.

A secondary purpose of the Mid Rail might be to block the view of an object in the window such as a mid rail or safety emblem on a sliding glass door. In this case the customer will need to specify what they are trying to achieve, as the standard practice is to have the mid rail block the view from a horizontal line of sight, such as matching up the mid rail with the frame as viewed from the road. Inside a room, if an object is to be blocked, the line of sight will usually be down, unless a person is seated. Therefore the customer must specify exactly where they want the mid rail on the panel, as measured from the bottom of the opening. This requirement is a somewhat subjective one, depending on an assumed line of sight. DIYShutters will supply the mid rail with its centre placed within 10 mm of this written specification.

Note that unless a custom position is requested in writing, the mid rail position will fall wherever a louvre pivot point falls on the panel. This could make the centre of the mid rail fall up to 30 mm different from the centre of the object it is intended to block. At best the centre of a mid rail would be within 10 mm for a custom configuration.

Repairs Maintenance and customisation

Non-warranty claims, alterations, and maintenance can be attended to at DIY Shutters premises at a standard hourly rate of $77. All work is at the customer’s request and with DIY Shutters agreement. On site work is costed at $88 per hour. The hourly rate for work for longer than 4 hours, can be negotiated. Time cost is calculated in 15 minute intervals. Travel distance is costed at $0.6 per kilometre, and travel time cost at $55 per hour. These rates are current at February 2022 and are industry standard.

Payment 

Payment in full becomes due once the blinds are ordered and deposit is paid. A deposit of 50% is paid, then the balance must be paid once the goods are ready for dispatch. If shutters are being installed by DIY Shutters; 40% of the total is to be paid once goods are ready – inspection is welcome at this stage. The final 10% is to be paid on the first day of installation, regardless of any warranty issue which may arise. The warranty is not valid if the final invoiced amount has not been paid. This invoice will include any additional cost incurred by the customer during the installation and within a two one month period afterwards if related to the original installation. 

Payment for check/measure if applicable and as previously agreed, or for on site alterations must be paid for at the end of the work.

Payment for goods picked at DIYShutters premises must be paid in full prior to pick up, or at pick up as agreed.

Warranty

DIY Shutters warranty is covered in a separate document. Please note the following however as it affects terms of sale:

The cost of removal and re-fitment, delivery to and from DIY Shutters manufacturing premises at Arundel on the Gold Coast Queensland, is at the customers expense for warranty claims.

The customer accepts shutters are made to DIY Shutters standards of workmanship as ‘fit for purpose’. DIYShutters standards are guided by but are not limited by or to blind industry standards, such as provided by the Blind Makers Association of Australia (BMAA). Please note, DIYShutters aims for a higher standard for example, with respect to opening and closing of the panel, than is indicated as acceptable by the BMAA.

Installation

If DIY Shutters is installing the shutters, the customer must provide complete access of two (2) metres to the openings and freedom to install the shutters without hindrance.

The customer is to allow DIY Shutters to complete a final inspection of their own before inspection by the customer. Once fully installed, then the shutters can be inspected by the customer. If DIY Shutters is installing the shutters, once all shutter panels are installed, are operating and the customer has been invited to view the product, and the customer has inspected them, the shutters are considered accepted. If any concerns arise from the customer, these are to be noted and will be attended to in due course if they are warranty items, but the shutters are still considered as accepted. 

In a typical installation DIYShutters will define the expected time required to install the shutters. However, this is subject to contingencies such as mounting into or over voids, human error, out-of-square window openings, customisation, and other factors which can extend the installation time by a factor of two to three times. Customers should allow for this eventuality and work in with the supplier to arrange times suitable for both parties to complete the installation.

Clearances between the panels and adjacent objects are typically 3 mm all around for a Pivot Hinge type of fit. DIY Shutters reserves the right to change these clearances for best appearance in their view. The DIY Shutters website gap clearance values are a guide only, not necessarily final values. Current clearance values can be provided by DIY Shutters on request.

‘No Gaps’

DIYShutters ‘No Gaps’ option is a way of mounting shutters which cover the normal side gaps and provide the appearance of  seamlessness between the walls and/or architrave, and the shutter panel. The effect is, when standing back from the panel about three metres and directly in front of it, there not being noticeable gaps. This is achieved by making the panels approximately two to three mm larger than the actual opening on all sides. As openings are not always square or level, some small gaps may be evident in certain installations or in certain lights. Furthermore, panels mounted where there is a sill cannot conceal a direct light gap, as the panel must have clearance, usually 2 to 3 mm, to allow the panel to open. In addition, when a panel is viewed from the side, there is still some gap between the panel and the opening or architrave or wall through which light can filter. It is not possible to completely close the gap and still have the panel open on a hinge, due to physical constraints. What counts is there is minimal appearance of gaps from the front, and considerably less than say if the panel were PVC (always has large gaps to accommodate expansion which is ten times timber) and installed in a frame.

Window openings are often out of square, and as such, whilst DIYShutters may attempt to accommodate this problem by altering the size specification of the shutters, no responsibility can be accepted by DIYShutters for the gap size varying around the shutters, or between the shutters once installed. Examples of this may be if the window opening is ‘out of square or has a dip in the reveal, on a wide window’. Nevertheless, DIYShutters believes their more careful measurement system and practice of slight adjustment of the size of the panels, provides the customer with a more optimum fit than that offered by DIY Shutters competitors for the same type of mounting arrangement. PVC, because of it’s high expansion, being ten times of that of wood, requires gaps two to three times larger. If gap size is a high priority, and to most customers it isn’t an issue, then the customer should consider ordering the ‘No Gaps’ option prior to commencing. This adds a cost of approximately 10%. This system is a proprietary patent pending system which covers the perimeter gaps by sitting the panel slightly over the front edge of the reveal using a hinge custom designed by DIY Shutters. The panels also appear more streamlined as they fit between architraves. Gaps between panels is usually supplied where there are two or more panels, but if not the gap can be covered with a strip supplied on request.

Mounting considerations

DIYShutters offers various types of standard methods to fix shutters to a customers wall or window or door opening, usually using screws driven into timber, or via standard fixings which suit solid masonry. In some instances the wall or surface does not provide a solid means in which to drive screws or standard masonry fixings, and this is not obvious when the opening is measured or from photos. In this case, if a new fixing has to be arranged at the time of installation, then this will be at the customers cost. 

Coating

The surface coating, when Polyurethane ‘2 pack’ is to industry standard for indoor surfaces and being the product DIY Shutters uses, is the same as that used for kitchen benchtops and cupboards. The product is also very similar in durability and properties to automotive level ‘2 pac’ which today, is the most common coating used on automobiles. It can be expected to last about 15 to 20 years before noticeable deterioration. The paint is supplied by an Australian manufacturer. As such, it has a long term endurance under UV degradation that can be expected to outlast ‘no name’ brand 2pacs wood shutters imported from China or polymers such as PVC, by several factors. DIY Shutters warrant the coating’s colour fastness (within one shade) and visible UV degradation for a period of seven (7) years. At the time of writing (2020), no other competitor offers a warranty of this length of time for the colour fastness. A few who paint PVC offer three (3) years only. Companies offering 25 year warranties do not include for surface quality which includes colour fastness.

Please note for shutters being restored and re-coated, if they have not previously been coated by DIY Shutters in 2pac, the warranty is three (3) years for the coating integrity, not seven.

The surface coating is applied in three passes and includes overlap so that the overall coating is about three standard thicknesses or more. The coating is not ‘french polished’ nor buffed, as an automobile might be, as the product is a window furnishing and the economics does not allow for this.

The coating is applied as ‘fit for purpose’ and is noticeably attractive compared to competitor products as the surface finish which may feel slightly rough, produces a soft diffused light, not a sharp line of reflection as with PVC and aluminium. The gloss level used, described as semi-gloss/satin, and the nature of the 2pac is such that it produces a more soft reflective finish than competitor products. This can be confirmed by looking outside through the shutter louvres when open during the day from inside the building. This reflective finish varies very slightly from place to place on the louvres providing a slightly more natural look. Even though DIY Shutters base timber has a thick smooth undercoat, the highly reflective finish may make underlying wood grain effects become slightly evident, especially in strong light and up close. There is also the possibility of some dry overspray as the shutters are three dimensional objects when sprayed and this is impossible to eliminate. It might feel slightly rough to the touch but does not affect the appearance from 1.2 m and is not a warranty issue. Up to 20% overspray is considered acceptable. Again, these are not warranty issues but part of the natural look of a hand spray-painted non-polished or non-buffed painted timber product.  Up close the painted surface has a more grainy appearance than for example, extruded PVC, but this is what helps to generate a higher level of reflected soft light and colour, and makes DIY Shutters panels more natural and appealing. They do not look as ‘clinical’ as PVC or aluminium shutters for example. PVC shutters could arguably be more consistent as far as the surface appearance up close goes, but do not look so natural. Since most have a gloss finish which fades to satin, PVC shutters are not as reflective of colour and light over their life. PVC durability is another issue as the appearance deteriorates much more rapidly, as with cheap 2pac’s, so uniformity becomes irrelevant. DIY Shutters maintains their 2pac coating is superior to competitor products that don’t use Australian made 2pac specified to DIYShutters chosen gloss level. Put simply, in marketing terms, DIY Shutters finish has more “wow” factor when someone walks into a room and this is reflected in DIY Shutters customer 5 star reviews. However, some may differ in opinion on how the surface coating should be. If uniformity at the beginning is the sole criteria, a customer may be better to choose PVC.

DIYShutters uses the BMAA standard for acceptability of small flaws in window furnishings, differing only in that the viewing is to be inside with standard room lighting conditions not outdoors. As no installed internal shutter is ever viewed outdoors except from a substantial distance and to make this the condition of evaluation is unrealistic. The product is ‘fit for purpose’, not for a purpose for which it is not intended, like outdoor use. Wood being a natural product has more opportunity for small flaws. DIY Shutters goes to great lengths to overcome these and has multiple quality checks. If however, a flaw is found, and is visible in normal room lighting when viewing the front of the panel at a distance of 1.2 metres away, it is to be considered unacceptable and DIYShutters will remedy it. If the panels have already been installed and accepted by the customer at installation, however, DIY Shutters is under no obligation to remedy this flaw if the customer has not notified DIY Shutters within two weeks of the installation.  If however, a perceived flaw  is not particularly visible from 1.2 metres away in normal room lighting, then it is to be considered acceptable and is not a warranty item. This is the BMAA standard. Strong overhead lighting up close to the panel may highlight wood grain affects or hand air gun paint ‘flashing’ which is not normally visible in centre-of-the-room lighting, or even outdoors. These do not constitute warranty or acceptability issues. 

Small imperfections on the back of the panel are acceptable, such as a small edge chip less than 3 mm in diameter for example. If this chip was clearly visible from the front at 1.2m for example, then it would be considered not acceptable and would be fixed under warranty or before installation. Any imperfections on the back of the panel or side of the panel not visible from the front in normal indoor centre-of-the-room lighting are acceptable. 

DIYShutters may consider requests for attending to a perceived customer issue at their discretion. DIYShutters aims for perfection but wood being a natural product, has to be considered from a realistic mindset, not a perfectionist mindset. It’s the overall effect that counts. Wood will never be the same as PVC, and PVC will never have the many advantages of 2pac coated wood.

Light block out, closure, and natural product

All shutters regardless of material they are made of, do not have perfect light blocking closure. Their mechanical limitations do not allow this. A natural product will have slightly more variation in the light penetration than a synthetic product or aluminium. They do however, block out a substantial amount of light more so than a roller blind for example, which has large gaps of 15-25 mm typically on the sides. Small amounts of light will penetrate between louvres and this will vary from louvre to louvre but is considered acceptable for a natural product. Best closure on DIY Shutters panels can be achieved by patting down the louvres at the top and bottom of the drop. Control rod screw tension can be increased to improve the tightness of closure if desired, a design feature unique to DIY Shutters. Long drop shutters, say of 1.8m, may not close as well as short drop panels, say 0.9m. If better closure is desired on a long drop shutter, the Control Rod can be cut to divide the panel closure control.

Legalities 

The blinds remain the property of DIY Shutters until paid in full. DIY Shutters reserves the right to remove or retain the shutters if invoice amounts are still outstanding.

In the event of a dispute, and possession of the shutters is with DIYShutters, if the matter is not resolved within three months from the start of the dispute, DIYShutters will have the option of disposing of the shutters permanently without recourse from the customer.

DIY Shutters reserves the right under law to refuse service and take the time to explore it’s legal options should a customer resort to publicly making defamatory comments or posts before DIY Shutters has had opportunity to rectify any warranty fault or even after all warranty items have been attended to and the customer has accepted the shutters. DIY Shutters prides itself on ‘going the extra mile’ should a customer have any special requests that go beyond these sales terms or warranty. DIY Shutters takes very seriously malicious, disrespectful, subjective opinion or irrational behaviour or actions on the part of a customer which are aimed at malevolence, destruction or extortion for financial gain or which cause unfair damage to DIY Shutters reputation.

The customer accepts these terms of sale & any other written or spoken terms by accepting this quote upon their payment of the deposit. DIYShutters accepts no responsibility for changes to specification after the deposit is received unless the customer has acknowledged in writing that they have received these changes as noted on an updated version of the Quote Sheet.

Please note: for Warranty details please see the separate document.