SHUTTER HARDWARE INSTALLATION DETAILS
STRAP HINGES offer strength and
versatility of mounting. They consist of two parts: a strap with a gudgeon (circular
fitting) that mounts to the shutter and a pintle (pin fitting) that mounts to
the house. A typical installation is shown to the right with the hinge in red
and the pintle in blue. For especially large or heavy shutters, sometimes three
hinges are used per shutter. John Wright’s strap hinges come with a cast iron
pintle that is mounted with screws to a wood surface. An optional lag screw
pintle is available and can be installed in wood or masonry. See “Lag Mounting”
below for more details.
OFFSET is the distance between
where the hinge mounts and where the pivoting action takes place. Both the
hinge and pintle have offset. The offset for the hinge and pintle are usually,
but do not have to be, the same. The offset of 1 inches for a strap hinge is shown
to the right.
THROW is the sum of the offsets of
the hinge and the mounting hardware. Normally, the throw is just twice the
offset of the hinge.
The throw of a strap hinge and pintle mount is shown to
the left. Throw is measured with the hinge in the open position. Throw matters
because it allows shutters to swing clear of an exterior wall or trim that
sticks out past the window casing or other
mounting location. The figure at the
bottom shows a top view of this situation. Here, the throw of the hinge allows
the shutter to swing clear of the trim and allow a gap for air flow and
ventilation between the house wall and the shutter in the open position. A
ventilation gap of at least ½ an inch is recommended. Throw concepts apply to
all types of hinges.
To find your minimum required throw,
measure the distance from where the hinge will mount to the house to the
outermost face of any trim or casing. Remember to add at least ½ an inch for a
ventilation gap.
NEW YORK STYLE HINGES are similar
in function to strap hinges but work as a right- and left-handed pair, as shown
to the right. Offset and throw are determined for these hinges in the same way
they are determined for strap hinges. Unlike strap hinges, New York hinges are
offered with different offset options. A “new construction” version uses a
pintle with 2
1/
8 inches of offset and a hinge with nearly
zero offset.
LAG MOUNTING is available as an
option for strap and New York style hinges. The lag mount replaces the standard
pintle. Lags can be installed directly in wood with a pilot hole or in brick
and other masonry using readily-available “lag shield” anchors, as shown below.
The offset of a lag mount is not fixed and will vary
depending on how deeply
the threads are installed. It is recommended that between 60 and 90 percent of
the total thread length be installed in the mounting surface. Offset is
measured from the mounting surface to the center of the pintle, as shown to the
right with a 1½-inch offset.
ACME, LULL&PORTER HINGES are
mortised into the
edge of the shutter and window casing. They use
a once-patented design that helps to lock the hinge in the open position. The
shutter is lifted up slightly to disengage the hinge and allow closure. The
shutter can also be removed completely without tools. Acme hinges work in left-
and right-handed pairs and are marked for handedness. Each hinge has two
halves: one with a pintle and another with a gudgeon. The pintle half is
mounted to the window with the pintle pointing up. Offset is measured from the
casing or shutter edge to the center of the pin. An offset of 2
1/
8
inches and a throw of 4¼ are shown above with the hinge in the open position.
The throw is twice the offset.
The areas that mount into the mortised spaces
are shown with dotted yellow lines.
CLARK’S TIP HINGES are nearly
identical in operation to Acme, Lull & Porter hinges but are
surface-mounted. They are commonly used when there is not adequate wood exposed
to use an edge-mount hinge. Throw is measured for this hinge in the same way it
is measured for a strap hinge. To the left, a throw measurement of 3¼ inches is
shown with the hinge in the open position. The pintle half is mounted to the
window with the pintle pointing up.
BERMUDA HINGES are surface-mounted
but are mounted at the top of the shutter. They work in left- and right-handed
pairs, but John Wright’s unique design allows a single hinge to be used in either
left- or right-hand applications.
Bermuda-hinged shutters are held open with a
shutter stay that consists of a long hook-and-eye assembly. The base of the
hook is usually mounted at or near the bottom of the window, and the eye is
mounted on the inside of the shutter near the bottom. Stays can be mounted in
the middle of the shutter or toward the outside edge. Mounting in the middle is
stronger, but mounting at the edge allows the hook to be more easily stowed
when not in use. Additional eyes are available to stow the hook when the
shutter is closed. Considerable flexibility in mounting the stay is possible,
but it is recommended that the shutter be held open at an angle no greater than
sixty degrees from the building. For very large shutters, two stays may be
required.
SHUTTER DOGS are traditionally
used to hold shutters in the open position. Shutter dogs have a through-hole
and are mounted so that they can be rotated to move out of the way of the
shutter
when it opens. The dog is then rotated in
front of the open shutter to keep it open. Dogs are installed at the far edge
of the shutter when it is open.
Dogs are weighted so that gravity prevents them
from rotating freely on their own. John Wright also produces a unique magnetic
shutter dog holder (#88-439) that further helps keep the dog from rotating when
holding the shutter open. Shutter dogs are commonly mounted in one of three
ways. A special lag screw with a washer and hairpin clip can be used for
mounting in wood and masonry surfaces. A lag shield (see “Lag Mounting” above)
is required for masonry. Lags provide some adjustment range depending on
how far the threads are engaged. Dogs can
also be mounted with a round or square post mount.
Post mounts have a base with screw holes
and a post that extends and engages the hole in the
dog. Post mounts are designed for wood
surfaces. Finally, some dogs (#88-265 through -268)
can be mounted using a sill mount. This
attaches to a wood window sill and extends below the
bottom of the open shutter.
As an
alternative to shutter dogs, bullet catches (#88-470, -475) can also be used to
hold shutters open. As shown to the right, bullet catches consist of a spring
keeper (green) that mounts to the bottom outside of the shutter and a
bullet-shaped post with a screw (blue) that mounts to a wood building surface
behind the open shutter. When the shutter is opened, the spring keeper engages
the post and locks in place to hold the shutter open. Yet another alternative
to shutter dogs, also shown to the right, is a hook and eye (red). The hook is
attached to the wood window sill and the eye mounts on the inside of the
shutter near the bottom. The shutter is opened and the hook is inserted into
the eye.
SLIDE BOLTS are traditionally used
to hold pairs of shutters in the closed position. As shown to the right, they
are mounted on the inside of the shutters (red). Mounting position must allow
the bolt to be reached from inside the home through the window opening. This
will usually require mounting the bolt on the lower one half of the shutter.
Slide bolts have two halves: the bolt and the catch. The bolt mounts to one
shutter and the catch mounts to the other. Pull rings are helpful to make using
slide bolts much easier. Pull rings allow the shutters to be easily pulled and
held closed so the slide bolt can be slid into the catch and latched. Pull
rings are usually mounted somewhere below the slide bolt (blue).
A shutter
fastener (#88-303) can also be used to hold a shutter closed. A small latch
with a pivoting hook attaches to the bottom inside of the shutter and engages a
keeper that is screwed to a wood window sill.
FAUX HARDWARE is also available
for use with non-functional shutters and other decorative applications. It
provides a traditional look for merely decorative shutters at a fraction of the
cost of functional hardware. Faux hinges (#88-395) and faux scroll shutter dogs
(#88-270, -271) are commonly used with stationary vinyl or wood shutters. Faux
spade and strap hinges are not usually used on shutters because they are not visible,
but are instead used on doors, garage doors, and gates.