Shutter Terminology

shutter component diagram

Schedule a Free In-Showroom or In-Home Design Consultation

Shop in the Washington Metro Area’s largest shutter showroom or in the comfort of your own home.

    Parts of a Shutter Panel

    1. Stile
      The Shutter stiles are the upright, vertical sections of solid wood. The shutter louvers rotate between the shutter stiles.
    2. Top Rail
      Horizontal bar at the top of a shutter panel gives it’s form, structure and stability (with a notch for the tilt bar).
    3. Bottom Rail
      Horizontal bar at the bottom of a shutter panel provides form, structure and stability.
    4. Push Rod/Tilt Bar
      The tilt rod is the horizontal piece of wood or metal which links the shutters louvers together and allows all louvers linked by that particular rod to open and close in unison.
    5. Slats/ Louver
      Movable horizontal pieces of wood which form the major part of the shutter panel.
    6. Hanging Hinge
      A hinge that connects a shutter panel to the window jamb or hanging strip.
    7. Mid Rail
      A horizontal bar that creates top and bottom louver sections.
    8. Mouse Hole
      A small indentation on the top and bottom rails where the tilt rod rests

      Other Shutter Terms

      • Cafe Type
        A shutter unit that only covers the lower portion of a window.
      • Double Tier
        A shutter unit that has one set of shutters on the top and one on the bottom. Each set of shutters opens independently of the other.
      • Frame
        Used for mounting full height shutter units to the outside of a window opening
      • Panel
        A single shutter. Most shutter units consist of more than one shutter panel.
      • Shutter Unit
        Shutter panels and components that work together to cover a window opening.
      • Single Tier
        A shutter unit that has one set of shutters from top to bottom. A single tier shutter may contain a divider rail, or may be a cafe type shutter unit that covers only the lower portion of a window.
      • Tilt Bar/Push Rod
        The vertical bar used for adjusting the louver position.
      • Window Jamb
        Your window opening vertical sides. This area is used to attach a shutter unit using mountings.

      What our customers are saying about us