Shutter Terminology

To really make the best decisions on shutter style and installation, it helps to speak the language.

Applied Moulding:

Moulding added to the front and or back of the shutter as an accent or to hide joints.

Arch Top:

A curved top on a shutter.

Batten:

The horizontal cross piece of a board and batten shutter.

Beading Detail:

A half-round edge that parallels the stile; sometimes used in conjunction with rabbeting.

Bermuda / Bahama Shutter:

A shutter providing shade and some storm protection. Bermuda shutters typically are hinged from the top and tilt out from the bottom.

Bifold:

Two shutters that are connected, often using a butt hinge.

Bleed Through:

When tannin acid leaks out of the wood onto the painted surface leaving an unsightly mark.

Brick Mould:

Moulding used around the exterior of a window frame to add an extra decorative touch. A good location to mount the plate pintel portion of a shutter hinge.

Bullet Catch:

Installed on the back of the shutter and used as a hold back.

Butt Hinge:

A hinge secured to the butting surfaces rather than to the adjacent sides of a frame. Used in bifold shutters.

Cap:

A formed strip of copper placed over the exposed top of the shutter to prevent moisture from entering joints and destroying paint.

Casement:

The frame around a window sash.

Cottage Style:

A two-paneled shutter in which the top is a bit smaller than the bottom. Usually a 40/60 split.

Cut-outs:

Special shapes or patterns cut out of a panel of a raised panel shutter (most often the top panel) or the center boards of a board and batten shutter mainly for accent purposes.

Dowel:

A rounded wooden piece fitting into adjacent pieces to secure a mortise and tenon.

Joint:

can also be called a peg.

Expansion Shield:

Used for securing a screw or bolt in a hole in masonry, concrete or stone.

Fine Grain:

High quality type of wood most often occurring in slow growth lumber. It's stronger and better resists twisting and other changes.

Fixed Louver:

A louvered shutter whose louvers are not operable.

Galvanization:

The application of zinc to steel to stave off rust and deterioration.

Hammered Bevel:

Shutter hardware whose edges have been hammered to get a rough-hewn look.

Hand-Forged:

Working metal by hand with heat and hammering tools. Primitive way to make shutter hardware.

Hook Latch & Eye:

One kind of shutter hold back.

Jamb Mount Hinge:

Hinge secured to the interior edge of a window casement.

Louver Direction:

The direction in which movable louvers pivot or fixed louvers are angled.

Louver Pitch:

The angle of the louvers on a fixed louvered shutter.

Mortise:

A notch, groove or hole in the stile to receive a tenon on the cross rail of the same size.

Mouse hole:

A notched hole on the cross rail where the tilt rod of a movable louvered shutters rests.

Offset:

The distance a working shutter will have to move between the mounting surface of a hinge and building's surface to close.

Overlap Rabbeting:

A shutter with the wood removed on the edge of one stile and the opposite edge on the opposing stile so the closed shutters completely interlock.

Ship-Lap:

Same as Overlap Rabbeting.

Pair Width:

The total width of the two shutters when together in the closed position.

Panel Configuration:

The way in which shutter center rails are situated.

Peg:

Same as Dowel.

Pintel:

The "male" part of the shutter hinge that the strap mounts on and can pivot.

Rail:

The top, bottom and center horizontal portion of a shutter that separates the panels or sections of slats.

Reveal:

The window casement or moulding portion that can still be seen once a shutter is installed.

Slide Bolt:

Shutter hardware used on the exterior to secure the shutter when it is closed.

Shutter Dog:

Piece of hardware that holds the shutter in the open position but also enables additional decorating options.

Shutter Field:

The distance between rails in any shutter that contain either louvers or a panel.

Stile:

The joinery pieces that make up the vertical side frame of a shutter.

Strap Hinge:

A shutter hinge secured to a shutter where the female end is placed over a Pintel resulting in the hinge's swivel movement.

Tannin:

A resin found in many types of wood.

Tenon:

A projection at the terminus of a rail designed to be inserted into a mortise, resulting in a joint.

Tilt-rod:

The upright strip of wood used to operate working louvers.

Window Seat:

The place where a shutter sits when closed.