AlumaCore® is the plantation shutter material we recommend for 90% of Florida homes — and it's the spec we install on most new orders. The construction combines real hardwood (for the look) with an aluminum reinforcement core (for the engineering), giving you the warmth of wood with the dimensional stability of metal.
An AlumaCore® stile (the vertical edge of a shutter panel) is built like an engineered beam — aluminum extrusion at the core, hardwood layers bonded to the front and back, all pressure-laminated and finished as a single unit. The result is a stile that stays perfectly straight forever, even in Florida humidity, but has the visual depth and tactile warmth of solid wood. Blades are made the same way, with aluminum-reinforced spines.
Solid hardwood plantation shutters are beautiful — and on a low-humidity, well-conditioned interior, they last decades. But Florida isn't low-humidity. Even with kiln-drying and proper finish, solid hardwood moves with the seasons here. AlumaCore® was engineered specifically for Florida-grade humidity, salt-air, and heat. For a home east of the Mississippi and south of Atlanta, AlumaCore® is the technical right answer 9 times out of 10.
From across the room, no — AlumaCore® and hardwood look identical. Up close, the surface texture and weight feel slightly different. AlumaCore® is consistently smoother (no grain inconsistencies), slightly lighter, and the joints are crisper. If wood-grain authenticity is the most important thing, hardwood wins. If long-term performance matters more, AlumaCore® wins.
Every plantation shutter we sell is built in our Fort Myers, FL factory by craftsmen on our payroll, then installed by our W-2 install team. The same company that built it is the company that installs it and the company that warranties it. That's why our lifetime warranty is genuinely lifetime.
Lifetime warranty on every plantation shutter we install. Naples, Fort Myers, Sarasota, Cape Coral, and the entire Florida coast.