Lighting Plays an Important Role in Establishing Mood

Slouching is close to a sin in my family. I remember walking alongside my mother while shopping.  Several times she would stop what she was doing, turn, and command me to “Stand up straight!” I’ve grown to agree with her.  Standing tall communicates a confident presence.  Slouching isn’t the best way to visually gain credibility.

The same thing goes for plantation shutters.  One of the reasons people prefer interior shutters over other window treatments is their ability to offer variable light control.  When you set your louvers at a specific tilt, you determine how much light enters into the room and at what angle.  As lighting plays a large role in setting the mood of a room, it’s imperative that shutter slats stay where you set them to provide that effect.

Thus there is a high level of frustration that comes with slouching shutter slats.  It can be very irritating to set your louvers at a certain pitch, only to have them droop downward.

So how do shutter companies avoid slouching slat syndrome?

• Tension Screws

Tension screws are the first line of defense against slouching slat syndrome on every shutter.  It’s plantation shutters 101.  If your provider doesn’t offer a shutter with a tension screw, send him packing because he probably doesn’t know what a louver is either.

A tension screw is roughly 2 1/2″ long and connects the stile to a louver.  When tightened, the screw pulls the louver closer to stile, and the resulting friction helps prevent the slat from sagging.  The size of the shutter panel will determine how many tension screws are needed.

• Tension Pins

Wheras most louver pins are smoothe and simply permit the slat to spin on them, tension pins “drag” in the stile, making it more difficult for the louver to turn.  The ratio of tension pins to louver pins in a shutter stile is dependant on the size of the louver itself.  The bigger the louver, the more tension pins you should have.

Tension pins come in two forms.

• • Single Piece

These pins look similar to a regular louver pin, but the end that inserts into the shutter stile has a groove cut into it.  Every time the louver turns, the groove catches against the wood and causes drag, thus helping maintain louver tension.

• • Two Piece

These pins come in two parts and are ideal for synthetic shutters.  One part is a bushing with grooves all around it.  This end fits into the poly stile, and the grooves latch onto the soft polymer.  The other part is a pin that fits snugly inside the bushing.  When the louver turns, the pin turns within the bushing.  The tight fitting pin causes friction in the bushing and helps hold the tension.

Since tension pins are more expensive and more difficult to insert, some shutter companies avoid using them.  Beware! The price savings you receive up front will pale in comparison to the frustration of slouching slat syndrome.

• Off-Setting the Louvers

Did you know your plantation shutter louvers may be losing tension while they’re not even being moved?  It’s true!  The tilt rod that spans the louvers is constantly being pulled downward by gravity.  As infinitesimal a thing as that may seem, over time the pressure of gravity will cause the louvers to lose tension.  Because of this, some shutter companies choose to install the louvers ever so slightly toward the rear of the shutter panel.  Doing so off-sets gravity’s pull on the tilt rod and reduces the tension on the slat pins.  Just another way quality plantation shutter companies strive to provide you with long lasting quality!

Nobody likes a slouch – either in person or in product.  When purchasing plantation shutters, be sure and ask your provider what measures he or she is taking to prevent slouching shutter syndrome!