Choosing The Correct Exterior Shutter Hardware

The beauty and functionality of exterior Shutters can transform your home, but if you don’t choose the correct Exterior Shutter Hardware, you won’t be able to open and close the shutters over your windows. You likely have the same style trim on all your windows, but even still, some of the measurements can be slightly different.

There are a number of types of shutter hinges available, each of which offers a unique look and different installation.

Types of Exterior Shutter Hinges

• Straight Strap
• L Strap
• Plate
• Mortised

There are two groups of exterior shutter hinges: surface mounted and edge mounted. Surface mounted shutter hinges are typically installed on the back of the shutters and will likely be a straight strap, L strap, or plate shutter hardware.

Surface hinges can mount onto your house with either a plate pintle or with a lag bolt pintle. Edge mounted hinges, or mortised hinges, look like a door hinge because they’re placed on the exterior shutter closest to the window.

How Should Shutters Close?

Before deciding on the shutter hardware for your home, you first need to choose how you want the shutters to close over the windows. Exterior shutters can either:

• Fit within the window frame (inside mount)
• Completely cover the window frame (outside mount)

An inside mount is most common, especially in regions prone to high winds or storms. The inside mounts make the shutters less likely to be lifted by high winds. You may opt for an outside mount with your exterior shutters if there isn’t enough depth for the shutters to sit within your window frame.

Inside Mount for Exterior Shutters

You need to know what the material is that will be around your closed shutters. If the window is framed in wood that offers the depth needed to hold your shutters, you can use surface mounted hinges or edge mounted hinges. If your home is brick, vinyl, or stone, stick with surface mounted hinges.

Overlap Mount for Exterior Shutters

If you’re opting to use exterior shutters that will show no window frame when closed, using a surface mounted hinge is more effective. Most of these hinges will be strap or plate hinges.

Hinge Mounting Method

If you will mount the hinge pintle directly to the surface of the wood trim or wood frame around your window, you can use a plate pintle. However, if you have to mount the hinge pintle to brick or stone, you’ll use a lag bolt pintle.

While your home’s appearance may motivate you to add exterior shutters and hardware to your house, you also have to know which shutter hardware is best suited for your home’s material.