canobielake, I will follow up on the other thread with info from our GC as I get it. I know there are several people planning to use the product that are interested. If you want a bit more information and some pictures, you should check out stanza30's lovely house on this thread (Alternative to cedar shake shingles). This is where I originally learned about the product a little over a year ago and there is quite a bit of good information there. I think it varies by the part of the country, but I will warn you you might have a bit of a challenge "talking" a builder into using the product. We ran into resistance with everyone we talked to (except the wonderful builder we choose), mostly because no on had any experience with it and didn't quite understand the "look" we were going for. However, I will tell you that I'm SO happy we stuck to our guns and tracked down a supplier, a flexible GC and installation team. When the product was delivered to our job site, our GC was extremely impressed with it's thickness and apparent durability and the few boards we have up look exactly as we hoped they would. Best of luck! I'd love to see pictures of your house (or plans?). Lake houses are so interesting to me these days. :)

In your area, cypress would be the very best choice. I know there once was a factory in NO for these, they were featured on TOH or some similar program. They may still be in business, and it may be worthwhile finding a source as nearby as possible, because shipping on large delicate items is most certainly a $ factor. Other good woods, considering you have extreme climate issues: south american mahogany (hard wood) spanish cedar (very soft wood) tiger wood (medium-hard, wish I could remember the other name for it) . these are all decent for rot resistance, and are paintable. True heart cypress will last forever. Cypress sapwood is no better than pine, unfortunately. It's somewhat correct about the B&B construction vs. louvers, but the other issue is that louvered shutters have a mortise and tenon frame, and those joints collect water. If the wood cannot withstand staying wet without beginning to decay, the shutters are doomed. Even B&B shutters would benefit greatly by painting the components separately before assembly so the overlap area is "waterproofed". Casey

Paneled shutters were also used back in colonial times. Many of the old stone homes in PA have those or a combination of the two types. I have included a link to their site. We ordered our shutters from them and they even added a cut-out that my husband designed. The shutters are extrememly well-made. We painted ours ourselves (actually, DH painted them!). I think the most important thing is to be sure that they are the right size, whether they are decorative or not. They need to look as if they could actually close over the window, so each shutter should be half the width of your window. Otherwise, they just won't look right, IMO. Here is a link that might be useful: Timberlane Shutters

Please research about shutters and shutter sizing. Two articles to get you started in your research below. Many, many people use the wrong size shutters on the wrong size windows for a home not designed for shutters. This is because builders took, and still take, short cuts on shutter sizing, shutter hardware and shutter style starting more than 60 years ago so consumers don't know what is appropriate or not without researching shutters first. Without seeing your home like Patricia mentions, it is impossible to know if shutters would work for your home. Shutters vs Shudders More about Shutters