Thirteen years ago when Kevin Vaughn purchased Plantation Shutters of Augusta, he knew he was buying a business with an excellent product with which he would enjoy working. Over the years, he became friends with the company’s founder, Jack Hodges, who started the company in 1986. “We met and became friends before he passed,” says Kevin. “He was a super guy and gave me a lot of information about Plantation Shutters of Augusta. It was nice to have someone older and more experienced to talk to.”
A few years later, Kevin acquired Aluminum Products of Augusta from George and Ed Fletcher. At first glance, one might think these two businesses aren’t compatible, but they both deal with sun control and environment. Products from each business make spaces more comfortable and allow for more frequent use of both indoor and outdoor areas.
“We put plantation shutters on an office window of a bank on Wheeler Road and it changed the temperature in the office over twenty degrees,” shares Kevin. “It took an office they couldn’t use and made it where they could use it.”
“You can put some of these patio covers on your back porch and reduce the temperature 15-20 degrees,” he adds. “With the patio cover we use, because it’s aluminum, it’s not something you have to worry about rusting or continually painting. Since the insulation is styrofoam, it’s a sealed insulator so it doesn’t really allow temperature to transfer through it. It’s kind of like sitting under a shade tree.”
When it comes to shutters, in addition to being a Hunter Douglas dealer, Plantation Shutters PLUS works with homeowners for perfect, custom designed and fitted shutters for both inside and outside of the home. “We are a local company, not a franchise. We don’t operate out of boxes,” says Kevin. “The shutters are custom made and can be modified to fit the windows well. We take the time to do it right.”
“We do a custom wood shutter that is made here in Georgia,” explains Kevin. “We’ve got a guy I work closely with who has been making them for me ever since I bought the company. For our outside shutters, we usually use cedar and we build our own Bahama shutter that’s an aluminum shutter we paint whatever color customers want. We also do sunburst and other specialty shutters.”
If you need a sun solution other than shutters, Kevin explains, “We also do an outside solar shade that is motorized and operated by remote. We’ve been doing a lot of those in back porches and places where people want to control the sun, rain, and wind and make it a controlled, but not a closed-in, environment.”
Through Aluminum Products of Augusta, Kevin says, “Besides doing patio covers and screen rooms, we are a Four Seasons sunroom dealer. It’s the largest sunroom company in the world and they have one of the nicest sunroom products that you’ll find anywhere. It’s adaptable with a lifetime warranty that will pass on to the second owner of the home. It’s a glass system – it’s as much glass as you can get in an area. It has one of the best glass energy ratings of any glass in the business.”
Kevin takes pride in the products he offers and the fact that he and his crew do most of the work in-house from start to finish. “We do our own painting,” says Kevin. “So we can match just about any color trim that somebody wants, and we try to match the stains as much as we can. My daughter, Savannah, does all of our staining for us. My son, Lee, leads a team of our own installers.” Additionally, the recently redesigned showroom provides clients the ability to see the variety of products and options offered.
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You can find out more about the products offered through Plantations Shutters PLUS and Aluminum Products of Augusta by visiting their Facebook page, www.plantationshuttersplus.com, and www.aluminumproductsofaugusta.com or by calling 706-738-4196. You can also stop by their newly redesigned showroom at 120 N. Belair Road.