Roller Shutters 101: Which Type of Profile Actually Suits Your Home or Business?

“Roller shutter” sounds like one product, but it’s really a family of them — different profile thicknesses, different constructions, different jobs. Picking the wrong one is a common (and expensive) mistake, so here’s a plain-English guide to the main types, what they’re built from, and where each one actually earns its keep.

The Short Version

Now let’s break down why the differences matter.

1. Standard Aluminium Shutters (42mm Double Line)

These are the everyday, most-installed shutters — the ones you’d put on a standard home window, a bedroom, or a small doorway. It is roll-formed from aluminium alloy with a polyurethane foam-filled profile, which is what gives them their strength without adding much weight. It can support width upto 3200mm.

Suited to: domestic windows and doorways, light commercial shopfronts, servery countertops — basically any standard-sized opening where the priority is light control and insulation at a sensible price point.

2. Widespan Shutters (55mm)

Once an opening gets wider than a standard window — think garage doors, double doorways, or a small shopfront — a standard 42mm profile isn’t built for the span. The 55mm Widespan profile is reinforced for openings up to 4,500mm, so you’re not forced to split a wide opening into two shutters side by side.

Suited to: garage doors, double doorways, and light commercial entry-level security for cafes, restaurants, pharmacies, and similar small businesses.

3. High-Security Extruded Shutters (36mm)

This is a step up in construction rather than just width. Where the 42mm and 55mm shutters are roll-formed, the 36mm Extruded shutter uses a commercial-grade double-wall extruded profile — a fundamentally stronger build aimed at protecting against vandalism and forced entry rather than just weather and light. It’s paired with a heavy-duty steel axle, sealed bearings, and optional winged slat locks and a restrained guide system for extra resistance to being levered or lifted.

Despite being rated for widespan openings up to 5,800mm with winged slat locks fitted, it keeps a roll-tight design — so you’re not sacrificing a compact, tidy roll-up for the sake of covering a wide opening, which is a common trade-off with other heavy-duty widespan products.

Suited to: high-security commercial applications — factories, warehouses, storage lockers, and shopfronts in areas where vandalism or forced entry is a real risk, more than a theoretical one.

4. Other Types We Offer

We also offer 55mm extruded for wide span with extra height, 37mm stainless steel shutters for BAL-FZ rated shutters (bushfire flame zone), cyclone rated and BAL-40 rated shutters for special applications, 50mm perforated/Vision shutters to increase air flow when the shutter is closed; or see through slats to allow lights in when the shutter is closed. Please feel free to enquire through contact form or simply call us, our friendly team members will be able to assist you further.

How to Actually Choose

A few practical questions cut through most of the decision:

• How wide is the opening?
  This alone rules products in or out — there’s no point comparing a 42mm shutter against a 55mm Widespan if your opening is 4,000mm wide.
• Is this residential or commercial-grade daily use?
  Extruded profiles are built for higher cycle counts and heavier duty than roll-formed ones.
• Do you need to see or breathe through it while closed?
  If yes, you’re looking at a perforated/vision profile, not a solid one.
• Are you in a bushfire zone?
  If so, this overrides most other considerations — check your BAL rating before choosing anything else.

Most of these are aluminium alloy, made in Australia, and available manual or motorised — so the decision usually comes down to opening size, duty cycle, and any site-specific compliance requirement, not the base material.

Not sure which shutter suits your property? Get in touch for a free on-site measure and quote — we’ll match the shutter to your opening, not the other way around.