Introduction to Shutter Hardware - The Basics

Whether you have exterior shutters on your home and need to replace the hardware or want a new look by installing wood shutters, this guide will help.  You will learn the vocabulary of shutter hardware, different styles and an explanation about the installation considerations.

Even if you are using a contractor to hang the shutters, take the time to read this.  You will still be making the decisions and picking a style of hardware.  An understanding of the installation process will help control the budget also.

Talk the talk

Barrel: The hollow cylindrical end of the hinge that fits over the pintle pin.  On a notched hinge, the design is reversed.  The barrel is on the pintle and the pin is on the hinge.

Brick Mould: Brick trim moulding applied to the outside of a window frame.

Casement: The trim (usually wood) that goes around a window sash.

Lag or Expansion Shield: A soft metal insert for a fastener that goes into masonry. 

Hinge:  The hardware mounted to the shutter.  Describing factors are style, length, offset, throw, and barrel (or pin) size.

Jamb:  The vertical or sides of a window frame.

Left: The left(duh) side when looking at the window from the outside of the house,

Mortise: Cutting a profile of the hinge mounting surface into the jamb or shutter.  This is used on some hardware so the hinge can be flush with a wood surface.  One of the more challenging and time consuming tasks associated with some mounting designs.

Offset: The distance between the mounting surface of a hinge or pintle and the center of the pin or barrel.

Pin:  The solid cylindrical end of a pintle that fits inside the barrel of the hinge.  On a notched hinge, the design is reversed.  The pin is on the hinge and the barrel is on the pintle.

Pintle, Pintel: The hardware that is mounted to the structure.  Describing factors are mounting style, offset and pin (or barrel) size.

Rail: Horizontal frame of a shutter.

Rake: The angle of the shutter relative to the house viewed from above.

Reveal: The visible portion of the structure(window molding) around the window when the shutter is in the open position. 

Right: The right (duh) side when looking at the window from the outside of the house,

Sill: The horizontal surface at the bottom of the window frame.

Stile: Vertical frame of a shutter.

Throw: The distance between the barrel and the mounting surface of an offset hinge.

Window Jamb: The vertical or sides of a window frame.

Make up your mind

Some times making decisions can be the toughest part of a project.  For example picking color for a house based on a two inch square piece of paper.  These decisions will be much easier, so let us start asking the questions.

• Are the shutters ever going to be closed?
• Do I want the shutters to close within the window frame or against the house?
• Do I have any historic appearance requirements?
• What is my house made of?
• What hardware “look” do I want?

Are the shutters ever going to be closed?  Do I want the shutters to close within the window frame or against the house?

• Shutter hardware is used to hang shutters for a number of reasons.  Obviously, if they intend to be used functionally is the first.  Historically, shutters were used to protect expensive glass windows, reduce drafts and for protection.  Today glass is not as expensive, windows are built better and we have alarm systems.  The second most obvious reason is to have a certain appearance.  Whether you have a historic home or new construction, shutters on hardware are much more impressive than the “lick and stick” vinyl ones.  Another reason that is important but not always considered is to allow air to circulate behind wood shutters.  If there was no space for this circulation, the shutter would prematurely rot. 

If you picked functional, should the shutters close within the frame or proud of the house surface?

• Having them close within the frame and casing adds another group of issues to consider.  The most critical issue is how square the opening is.  If you have any doubt, cut a square shape just smaller than the opening. Push it into one corner and measure the other two sides to see if gap is consistent.  Now do this for every window.  Obviously having the shutters close outside or proud of the opening is much easier.  From a wind damage view this is preferred also.  Any forces against the shutter are transmitted to the side of the house.  For functional shutters, hardware selection is also critical.  The hinge and pintle must be selected so they do not interfere with window casing when closed.  Shutter bolts become mandatory to hold the shutter in the closed position. 

Do I have any historic appearance requirements?

• I could include pages and pages of history here, what period used what styles of hardware and what area preferred what tie back.  However, back then there were no historic development zones with rules so these generalizations could be wrong.  The best answer here is asking the local expert.  If you are in a historic district, ask the board about requirements.  Look at what others did.  If you see something you like but we don’t show it, send us a picture.  We probably have made it at one time and can do it again.

What is my house made of?

• Not exactly what is it made of, but what the exterior surface is and where is the frame below it.  The weight of the shutters should be carried by a stud or suitable material.  The mounting style of the pintle needs to both fit in the space and provide sufficient strength.  Another concern is the material between the studs and the pintle mount.  Vinyl siding, Styrofoam insulation panels and stucco can compress and be damaged.
• In summary, consider this issue seriously and discuss the situation with an expert before the installation if you have any doubts. 

What “look” do I want?

Hinges

• Tapered Strap – Straight hinge that tapers in width and has a round feature or bean at the end.
• Hand Forged Strap – Same shape as the tapered, but the edges have been hammered thinner and the bean is flattened.
• Rectangular or storm strap – Hinge with no change in width, a bar of steel with the barrel on one end.
• Notched – Normally the hinge has a barrel and the pintle has a pin.  On a notched hinge, the pin is on the hinge and the barrel on the pintle.  Hinge is now specific to a side of the window.  Very clean look when closed.
• L Hinge – Looks like a tapered strap with two 90 degree turns. 
• Cast - Normally they are referred to as ACME or Lull and Porter.  Both pintle and hinge are mortised in.  Made from a very brittle material, they are inexpensive but time consuming to install and prone to breakage.

Pintles

• Plate Mount - Mounts to structure using 2, 3 or 4 screws.  Available in various offsets and plate sizes.
• Lag Mount - Pintle pin attached to a large lag or wood thread.  Offset is controlled by how far the lag is screwed in.  Can be combined with a plate to look like a plate mount pintle if desired
• Jamb Mount - Designed to be mounted to the window jamb.  Normally it is mortised in.
• Drive - Like a Lag mount, but with a spike end instead of threads.  Designed to be hammered in or placed in mortar during the building of a wall.
• Female Plate - To be used with the notched hinge. 

Tie Backs

• Hand Forged - These are the most artistic part of shutter hardware.  The craftsmanship in the details of these is obvious and a good blacksmith takes much pride in their fabrication.  Several styles have historic history, and some are artistic interpretations of an earlier design.
• Contemporary – More one dimensional, these are usually cut from flat steel with some minor surface detail possibly. 
• Hook – An addition or substitution to Tie Backs. 

© Guthrie Hill Hardware Company, Inc.