Panel Quantity
When it comes to deciding on the number of shutter panels, the golden rule is you should follow the design style of your window. If your window is divided into two sections by a vertical glazing bar in the middle, it's best to choose either 2 or 4 panels as the verticle solid pieces of your shutter panel (the stiles) will align with your window glazing bars. So should you opt for 2 or 4 panels? Well firstly you should ask yourself how often you will fold the panels back off your window. If you are more inclined to leave them in place and just tilt the louvres, you may be better with two panels. This not only gives a cleaner,simpler appearance, it will also allow more light enter the room. If on the other hand you think you may fold them back onto the adjacent wall quite often, you could go with four panels so that they bi-fold back onto each other against the adjacent wall space. The amount of wall space you have beside your window may also dictate how many panels you choose.
Folding Configuration
Each shutter panel is hinged to either a surrounding frame or to an adjacent panel. The normal folding configuration is for an equal number of panels to fold in opposite directions. For example if you opt for two shutter panels, one would fold left and one to the right; with four panels, two would fold left, two right and so on. If you would like your shutters to fold back 180 degrees onto an adjacent wall, the amount of wall space availabe may dictate the folding configuration. For example a 600mm window in your bedroom has a wardrobe just 100mm from the reveal on the left but lots of wall space on the right. You can choose one 600mm shutter which folds right and occupies approx. 600mm of wall space or alternatively you could bi-fold two 300mm shutters to the right and these will take up approx. 300mm of wall space when folded back-to-back.
If you choose three panels in a window, two will bi-fold one way and just one the opposite way.
T Posts
A T post is a vertical post which is inserted into the shutter frame. It is generally used in larger openings where several windows are divided by glazing bars. T posts enable you to design your shutters to match the existing window design. T posts provide added strength to wide shutter frames. For example if you window is 3000mm wide and is divided into 6 sections, it is too wide to hinge 3 panels together on each side. By inserting a T post 500mm from the left and right, we can now hinge shutters 1 & 6 to their adjacent frame while the centre 4 panels will hinge from T posts . This reduces the number of panels hinged together and the resulting strain on the hinges but maintains the style of the shutters with the window. The configuration for this example in our shutter designer would read LTLLRRTR. In our shutter designer, you will be given the option of adding a T post if your window width is 2200mm or more. T post locations are recorded by measuring from the left. In our example above, the first T post (T1) location is 500mm while the measurement for the second T post (T2) is 2500mm assuming our window is divided into equal sections.
If you need any help when it comes to T posts, please be sure to contact us with your query.
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