By Paul Lisle, Sales Manager
The Stile is the vertical part of the shutter frame. Stiles are routed to accommodate the louvres, and routed at the top to accommodate the mortise and tenon jointery. The stile is the backbone of the shutter. It provides stability to the shutter panel. While unseen, the technology inside of a TWO stile is what makes it the best in the industry.
One of the main issues with building stiles from a single piece of wood is that all of the wood grain is running in the same direction. Wood is always weakest along the grain. When wood expands or contracts due to weather it starts to warp or split along the grain.
Since wood is a natural material there are often other unseen variables that can cause a piece of wood to warp or split without any indication as to why this has happened. In order to prevent this from happening, TWO uses engineered stiles.
An engineered stile is made by placing thin strips of wood on top of each other with the wood grain running in opposite directions. They are then glued together. Finally with high heat and high pressure they are pressed together to make the core of the stile.
Due to this process engineered stiles are substantially stronger than a single piece of wood. As the wood expands and contracts, the opposing wood grain stabilizes the stile and prevents warping. This ensures that all TWO shutters have the highest level of consistency and stability.
Not only does an engineered stile add lifelong stability to the shutter panel, it also allows TWO to stay a green manufacturer. By using pieces of timber that would normally be discarded, TWO eliminates waste while building unparalleled quality into each shutter they make.
