British Winter isn’t dramatic. We don’t get the sort of weather that makes international news, what we get is months of cold, damp misery that seeps into absolutely everything.
Including your commercial shutters.
The 7am Phone Call
It always starts the same way, your shutters have been a bit stiff lately, nothing major, just taking longer to open in the mornings. You meant to get someone to look at them but you’ve been busy.
Then one January morning they won’t budge at all. The metal’s contracted, there’s ice somewhere in the mechanism or maybe it’s just finally given up. Either way, you’re locked out of your own premises with deliveries due and staff arriving.
We get these calls constantly through Winter. Shutters that worked fine for years suddenly pack in when the temperature drops. Because here’s the thing: shutters that cope in October can be completely unreliable by February.
Damp Does the Real Damage
Cold is annoying but damp is what actually kills shutters.
British winters mean moisture everywhere. It gets into every gap and every join, sits there doing its work while you’re none the wiser. Steel shutters are particularly vulnerable, rust doesn’t need long when conditions are right, and once it starts it spreads fast.
We’ve seen shutters that look absolutely fine from outside, open them up and the internals are corroded to bits. All that moisture sitting in the tracks and mechanisms over Winter, quietly destroying them.
Aluminium helps here, it doesn’t rust like steel. But even aluminium shutters suffer if they’re not designed for persistent damp. Water sits in tracks, drainage gets blocked and then you’ve got ice forming where it definitely shouldn’t be.
Your Energy Bills Are Bad Enough
Heating costs are painful enough without your shutters making them worse.
Single layer shutters with no insulation are basically useless in Winter. You might as well leave the windows open. All that money on heating, straight out through a massive opening in your building.
Insulated shutters actually do something about this. The SecurityShield 77 or 150 have foam filled slats that create a barrier. It’s not just about keeping staff comfortable, it’s about not throwing money away all winter.
Some businesses have cut their heating costs noticeably just from upgrading shutters. When you tot up what you spend over five months of Winter, decent shutters pay for themselves pretty quickly.
Weather That Actually Breaks Things
We get wind, lots of it. And shutters take a hammering.
Cheap ones (or anything not installed with weather in mind) can get damaged surprisingly easily. Bent slats, shutters ripped off tracks, twisted guide channel – one decent storm and you’re looking at expensive repairs or complete replacement.
This isn’t about surviving once in a decade of disasters. It’s about standing up to a normal British winter, year after year. Heavy duty profiles, reinforced slats, solid fixings – the stuff that seems excessive in July becomes essential by December.
Security Problems in the Dark
Winter means long nights, dark mornings and dark evenings. More time for people to try breaking in.
If your shutters aren’t reliable in cold weather, that’s a security issue. A shutter that won’t close completely because something’s seized leaves you vulnerable. It’s the same with shutters that become easier to force when metal’s brittle from cold or weakened by damp.
The SecurityShield 75 and 60 are designed to maintain strength whatever the weather does. The galvanised steel doesn’t compromise when it’s freezing and is just as secure in January as any other month.
The Condensation Issue
When it’s cold outside and warm inside, you get condensation… absolutely loads of it.
In warehouses this becomes a real problem. Moisture forms on shutters, drips onto stock, creates slip hazards and encourages mould. If your shutters can’t handle this, you end up with damaged products and a workplace that’s genuinely unpleasant.
Insulated shutters help because they maintain more consistent temperature across the surface. Less temperature difference, less condensation. One of those things you don’t think about until you’ve dealt with it.
What Makes Them Actually Work in Winter
It’s the quality materials that don’t go brittle in the cold. Seals that keep moisture away from mechanisms, insulation where needed and components that keep working when it’s miserable outside.
And maintenance – even good shutters need looking after, especially before Winter hits. Clear drainage, lubricate mechanisms correctly and check for wear that could become a failure when it’s minus five.
The SecurityShield range handles British winters because that’s what it’s designed for. Not Antarctic expeditions, just the relentless damp cold we actually get. Shutters that open on frosty mornings, maintain their insulation and don’t corrode after one wet season.
When It Goes Wrong
A failed shutter in Winter isn’t just annoying. It can mean lost business, emergency callouts at premium rates, possibly spoiled stock if you can’t secure things and staff waiting around while you sort it.
Compare that to the cost of Winter ready shutters from the start? Not even close.
Your Roller Shutters protect your business. Making sure they handle British winters isn’t being paranoid, because when they fail at 7am on a Monday in February and you’re stood outside in the rain with customers arriving, nobody cares that they were fine last Summer.
The businesses that do well invest in equipment that works when they need it, not just when conditions are perfect. Winter is coming, it always does. The question is whether your shutters are ready for it?
