Louver (slat)One of the wide strips that tilt open and shut.
PanelSwings on its hinges like a door.
FrameFixed around the window opening; the panels hang from it.
HingeJoins the panel's stile to the frame.
Tilt rod (tilt bar)Links the louvers so they all tilt together.
StileThe upright on each side of a panel.
Top railThe horizontal piece across the top of the panel.
Bottom railThe horizontal piece across the foot of the panel.
Divider rail (mid rail)Splits the louvers so top and bottom tilt separately.
The whole pair in its frame 2
MagnetScrewed to the frame or sill; holds the panel shut.
Magnet plate (catch plate)Metal plate on the panel's back that meets the magnet.
Hinge corner, close up 5
Hinge pinDropped in last, it locks the hung panel to the frame.
Louver pin (shutter pin)One at each end holds the louver and lets it turn.
Button plug (button cap)Caps a screw hole in the frame once the screws are in.
Corner key (corner joint)Pushes into two frame pieces to lock a mitered corner.
Tension screwTighten it when the louvers will not stay where you tilt them.
Tilt rod, close up 2
Mouse holeThe top of the tilt rod tucks in here when louvers close.
Tilt rod staple (shutter staple)One in the rod hooks one in each louver's front edge.
How this list was compiled: Part names and every detail line were checked, for facts only and with nothing copied, against pages and guides read on 2026-09-20. Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_shutter (a frame of upright stiles and level rails: top, centre and bottom; louvers, louvres in British usage, also called slats, moved by a tilt bar or rod; a horizontal divider rail separates the upper and lower portions so the louvers above work independently of those below; shutters with operable louvers are called traditional or plantation shutters, typically two per window with wide louver blades; cafe and tier arrangements). A UK shutter seller's glossary: https://www.diyshutters.co.uk/information/shutters-glossary/ (shutter panel, operating like a hinged door; shutter frame, into which the panels are attached; front tilt rod, the upright piece that joins the louvres; a hidden rod on the back of the slats, offset to one side; mouse hole, the little notch the front tilt rod closes upward into; top rail, bottom rail, midrail or divide rail, stiles). A shutter repair-parts seller, read on seven pages under https://www.shuttermedic.com/ : plantation_shutter_tilt_rod.htm, tilt-rod-louver-connection.htm (shutter staples sit in the louver and in the tilt rod), louver_pins.htm (a pin at each end supports the louver and lets it rotate), shutter-tension-screw-adjustment.htm (tension screws are recessed into the stile on the edge the hinges are on, take the place of a pin, draw the louver into the stile and back off over time), plantation_shutter_magnets.htm (the magnet is screwed to the windowsill or the shutter frame and the catch plate to the panel), rail-stile-joinery.htm (two stiles, upper and lower rails, three ways of joining them), confirm_tilt_rod_location_blog (two kinds of hidden tilt rod), shutter_button_caps_white.htm (button plugs and caps). Four installation guides, read as PDF text: https://cdn.blindster.com/site/uploads/products/shutters/faux-wood-shutters/documents/Norman%20Z-L%20Frame-blindster.pdf (top, bottom and side frame pieces joined by a key pushed into each corner; panels set in the frame and secured with hinge pins; hinge spacers; reveal), https://cdn.blindster.com/site/uploads/products/shutters/faux-wood-shutters/documents/CBG%20SHUTTER%20INSTALLATION-design-20232-03-23.pdf (plastic corner keys pushed into the ends of the frame pieces at a mitered corner; all screw holes capped with button plugs; T-post; light block), https://cdn.blindster.com/site/product/ssavusp/documents/Deluxe%20Faux%20Wood%20Plantation%20Shutters.pdf (frame legs and corner joints; hinge pins; magnets on the top and bottom frames and a magnet plate on the back of the panel; light stop on the sill of a three-sided frame; louvers opened and closed with the tilt rod), https://cdn.blindster.com/site/uploads/products/shutters/Berkely%20Instructions/Super%20Value%20Faux%20Wood%20Plantation%20Shutters.pdf (bow tie joiners, hinge pins, louver repair pins). No maker or seller is named on the page. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-28: a composite teaching drawing, not any product; nothing traced or copied. Licence: own work
How it works
A plantation shutter is a hinged panel of wide louvers, hung in a frame on the room side of a window. The drawing shows a pair with one panel open, then a hinge corner and the tilt rod up close.
Read the full guide
What are the parts of a plantation shutter called?
Each panel has two upright stiles joined by a top rail and a bottom rail. The louvers turn between the stiles, and a tilt rod links them so one push moves them all. A divider rail splits the louvers into two sets. Start here: 9 main parts asks these, the hinges and the frame.
Pins, screws, staples and magnets
One close-up cuts a stile open. A louver pin at each end holds a louver and lets it turn. A tension screw runs in from the stile's hinge edge. Wire staples hook the tilt rod to each louver, and a magnet on the frame meets a plate on the panel's back.
If louvers will not stay where you tilt them, tighten the tension screws in the hinge edge of the stile a little.
Not every shutter has tension screws. Others hide a small spring behind a louver pin inside the stile.
Questions and answers
What is the rod on plantation shutters called?
It is the tilt rod, also called a tilt bar. Small wire staples join it to every louver in its section, so pushing it up or down tilts all of them together.
Why do some plantation shutters have no tilt rod?
They have a hidden tilt rod. One kind is a thin strip on the back of the panel, fixed to the ends of the louvers. Another is a mechanism inside one stile. This drawing shows the traditional rod in front.
What is the mouse hole on a shutter?
A small arched notch in the panel above a front tilt rod, named for its shape. When the louvers close upward, the top of the rod tucks into it.
What holds a plantation shutter closed?
A magnet. It is screwed to the frame or the windowsill, and a metal plate on the back of the panel meets it. Where two panels share a frame, the magnets sit on its top and bottom pieces.