High-end roller shutters, made to measure

A roller shutter is a simple object that goes wrong in predictable ways, and choosing one comes down to three decisions: how the box is fitted, what the slats are made of, and how it is operated. Everything else follows. We manufacture all three families in our workshop at La Gaude, in aluminium and PVC, to the size of your opening.

Three ways to fit a roller shutter

Built-in tunnel box

The box sits inside the wall above the window and stays out of sight. This is the neatest result and the standard choice in new build, because the opening is designed around it. In renovation it means opening up the wall, which is why we rarely recommend it for a replacement.

Monoblock, fitted with the window

The shutter and its box come as one unit and are installed at the same time as the window frame. If you are replacing your windows anyway, this is the moment to deal with the shutters: one intervention instead of two, and a clean junction between the two products.

Renovation model

The box is part of the product and is fixed to the outside face of the wall or under the lintel. No masonry is opened. The box remains visible, and that visible box is precisely the trade-off that saves you the building work. On most replacements this is the right answer.

Aluminium or PVC

PVC is the more economical option and performs perfectly well on standard openings in sheltered positions. Aluminium is stiffer, which matters as soon as the opening gets wide (for very wide bays, see Vision+), and it holds up far better in exposed positions.

On this coast the deciding factor is usually not price but exposure. Facing the sea, aluminium with a properly applied powder coating will outlast PVC, and the difference shows on the fixings and guide rails before it shows on the slats. Inland, on a sheltered elevation, PVC is often the sensible choice and we will tell you so.

Manual, wired, radio or solar

The obstacle to motorising an existing shutter has never been the motor. It is the cable. Running a supply to a wall switch means cutting a channel, sleeving it, filling it, and then repainting a strip that never quite matches.

A radio motor removes half of that problem: the control point becomes wireless and can go wherever suits you. A solar motor removes the cable altogether — a small panel feeds a battery housed with the motor, orders arrive by radio, and the installation stays entirely dry. It is the option we suggest for an isolated opening, an outbuilding with no supply, or a flat where drilling the façade would need a vote at the owners’ meeting.

Solar does have a real limit, and we would rather state it: the panel needs a decent exposure. On a north elevation closed in by a neighbouring building we will steer you back to a mains-fed motor.

We work with Somfy — io-homecontrol, RTS, RS 100, Oximo and Altus — and with CAME radio motors. Which one suits you depends less on the brochure than on your existing installation and how you actually use the shutter.

What we check before manufacturing

• The condition of the existing box: cracks, damp, sagging, and whether the inspection hatch actually opens.
• The reveal and lintel: sound substrate, square angles, a reliable fixing.
• The guide rails: side play, torn brush seals, corroded tracks.
• The real measurements, taken at the top, the middle and the bottom — older local buildings are almost never regular.
• Obstructions: railings, window handles, retained shutters, an existing awning.
• Appearance constraints: building regulations, owners’ association rules, conservation areas.
• Exposure: salt air, wind, full afternoon sun on west-facing elevations.

This survey also exists so that we can say no. We would rather tell you a light solution will not hold than force a product into an opening that will not take it.

Common questions

Can a shutter be replaced without building work?

In most homes, yes — by changing the curtain of slats alone, by re-equipping the existing box, or with a renovation model fixed to the outside. Which of the three applies is decided with the inspection hatch open, not from a brochure.

Will I lose daylight?

Only with a box fitted under the lintel, and only slightly if the box is sized to the actual requirement rather than oversized for convenience.

Do you install the shutters yourselves?

No. We manufacture and supply, and we put you in touch with an approved fitter in your area who already orders from our workshop.

Is the owners’ association’s permission needed?

As soon as the external appearance changes, the owners’ meeting has to approve it, even if no masonry is touched. If you keep the existing colour and model, the case is far simpler to make.

Get a price for your openings

Send us the opening sizes, or simply a photograph and your town. We will tell you which of the three solutions applies to your case, and which one we are ruling out.