Tilt and Turn Windows

How the two actions work

One handle drives two completely different movements. Turned to the horizontal, the sash tilts inward at the top on a restricted hinge, giving you ventilation through a gap too narrow to climb through. Turned further, the whole sash swings inward on a side hinge like a door, which is what lets you clean the outside face of the glass standing in your own bedroom.

That second position is the reason people buy them. On a Valleys terrace with no rear lane, or a Cardiff flat above the ground floor, there is no safe way to clean outside glass from outside, and paying a cleaner every few weeks for years costs more than the windows.

What we specify and why the hardware matters

A tilt and turn sash is heavier than a casement and it hangs on gearing rather than a simple friction stay, so the specification of the ironmongery is what separates a window that still works in ten years from one that starts dropping in two.

• 70mm or 75mm profile with steel reinforcement sized for the sash weight
• Dual action gearing from a named manufacturer, serviceable rather than sealed
• Heavy duty corner bearing and top stay rated above the actual sash weight
• Mis handling device so the sash cannot be released in both directions at once
• 28mm argon filled A rated unit as standard, triple glazing available in the same frame
• Multi point locking engaging around the full perimeter, not just at the handle
• Restricted tilt opening, which gives night ventilation without an accessible gap

Where they beat a casement, and where they do not

Tilt and turn is the right answer far more often upstairs than downstairs. Upstairs, cleaning access and secure ventilation are the two problems, and this window solves both. Downstairs, the sash swings into the room, which fights with curtains, blinds, radiators under the sill and anything on a windowsill. On a front elevation the flat European sightline can also look wrong on a Victorian stone terrace where a flush sash would sit properly.

We are happy to quote a house with tilt and turn upstairs and casement or flush sash downstairs. It is a common combination and it costs less than doing the whole house in tilt and turn.

Fire escape, child safety and building regulations

A tilt and turn in the full turn position gives a large unobstructed opening, which makes it straightforward to meet escape window requirements on first floor bedrooms. The tilt position with a restrictor covers child safety for everyday ventilation. Both matter to building control, and both are checked and set at fitting rather than left to whoever uses the window first.