Shutter Hinges - Hardware Definitions & Terminology

Shutter Hardware Terminology & Measurements

Standoff - Virtually all commercially available shutter hardware is provided with matching standoff on the shutter hinges and pintel. This assumes that the face of the shutter will lie on the same plane as the casement with the shutter in the closed position. This seldom happens in contemporary construction - incorrect hardware is installed and the homeowner is told, "well, you'll never close them anyway". However, with today's increased hurricane and tropical storm activity, functional shutters serve a very important need.

Window Frame or Casement - The wood or brick surrounding the window where the pintel is typically mounted or fastened. Surface mounted hinges mount directly to the face of the shutter and the window casement. Some examples of these would include strap hinges or New York L-Style hinges.

Offset - This is the total measurement from the window casement to the outermost surface of the shutter. Our hinges and pintels are available in several different offsets for you to choose from.

The offset is developed in hardware by selection a pintel made to "stand off" the casement a given distance. The hinge has a sharp bend which moves the hinge barrel away from the face of the shutter at a distance to match the pintel standoff. In some special situations, however, a hinge and pintel with varying offsets may be a better fit, particularly if you have a sunken casement that is not flush with the side of your house.

When measuring offset, it is critical to allow for irregularities in construction. Brick and stone openings are rarely plumb and never perfectly flat - look for the greatest dimension and allow about ½" cushion. If the offset is too small the shutters will not open fully - if the offset is too great, the shutter will function well and sit off of the wall a bit. I feel its good practice to set the shutters at least 1" off the face of the structure to allow air circulation across the back of the shutter.
Standoff - The pintel standoff is the distance from the face of the casement to the mid-line of the pintel pin. The hinge standoff is the distance from the face of the shutter to the center-line of the hinge barrel. Adding the pintel standoff to the hinge standoff results in the total offset.

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