Can a Roller Shutter Be Cut Down or Made Smaller?

Maybe you have bought a unit with a shutter that is too big for a new opening, you are reusing a good second hand shutter, or an opening has been bricked in partly during a refit. Whatever the reason, it is a common question: can a roller shutter be cut down to fit? The answer depends on whether you need it shorter, narrower or both.

Reducing the height

A roller shutter curtain is made of interlocking laths. Making the curtain shorter is usually a case of removing a number of laths and refitting the bottom bar. Because the curtain then weighs less, the shutter needs adjusting:

• Spring-balanced manual shutters need their spring tension reduced, otherwise the lighter curtain will fly up or refuse to stay down.
• Electric shutters need their upper and lower limits reset so the motor stops in the right place.

Shortening a shutter is usually the simpler and cheaper of the two jobs.

Reducing the width

Making a shutter narrower is a much bigger job. It typically means:

• cutting every lath to the new width;
• refitting the end locks or end clips that hold the laths in line and in the guide rails;
• cutting the bottom bar and refitting its rubber and, on electric shutters, any safety edge;
• shortening the barrel the curtain rolls around, or replacing it;
• repositioning or replacing the box, brackets and guide rails;
• rebalancing the springs or checking the motor is still suitable.

On some designs, particularly insulated laths and integrated tubular motors, the cost and labour of narrowing a shutter can approach the price of a new made to measure one.

Why it is not a DIY job

Roller shutters can look simple, but they are heavy and many are under spring tension. Releasing springs, removing the curtain or cutting the barrel without the right knowledge and tools can cause serious injury. Online forums are full of near misses. Cutting laths also removes their protective coating at the cut ends, which needs treating to stop corrosion.

There is also the question of safety devices. On electric shutters the safety edge, photocells and limits must all work correctly after the alteration. If the shutter is at a workplace, it must be left in a safe, maintained condition.

When a new shutter is the better option

• the shutter needs to be much narrower, not just shorter;
• the curtain is worn, dented or corroded;
• the motor is undersized or near the end of its life;
• you need a different lath type, such as perforated or insulated;
• the guide rails and box would all need replacing anyway.

Because every shutter we supply is made to measure at our own premises in Glasgow, a new shutter is built to fit your opening exactly, with a correctly sized motor and a full warranty.

What about making a shutter bigger?

Adding height is sometimes possible by adding laths, as long as the box, barrel and motor can cope with the extra coil size and weight. Making a shutter wider is rarely practical. In most cases a new shutter is the right answer.

What you need to tell us

• the current width and height of the curtain and the size of the guide rails;
• the new opening size, measured in a few places;
• whether the shutter is manual, spring assisted or electric;
• the make of motor, if it is electric;
• photos of the curtain, box and guide rails.

Ask us for an honest opinion

Send us the current size of the shutter, the new opening size and a few photos. We will tell you whether altering it makes sense or whether a new shutter will give you a better result for the money.