Types of uPVC windows
Every opening sash we supply opens inwards. If you are looking for a window that opens outwards, a flush casement or a sliding sash window, you won't find it in our range; this page sets out what we do supply, and how each type opens.
The types of uPVC window we supply
In the configurator, each pane of a window is one of four types: fixed glass, a fixed sash, tilt and turn (hinged left or right) or a hopper, hinged at the bottom. In a window of two panes or more, one pane can also be a full-opening window, a side-hung sash that only turns. On top of that there are two layouts built on side-hung sashes: the inward-opening casement and the French casement.
Tilt and turn windows
One sash, two positions from the same handle: tilted in at the top for ventilation, or turned fully open on its side hinges. Turned open, you clean the outside of the glass from inside the room. Our single tilt and turn window has a standard size of 1,200 × 1,400 mm, and most of our other layouts combine this sash with a fixed pane or a second sash.
Fixed windows and fixed sashes
A fixed window is glass set straight into the frame, with no hardware; our single fixed window is 1,500 × 1,500 mm as standard. A fixed sash looks like a tilt and turn sash, with the same sash outline in the frame, but has no hinge and no handle. Use it where a row of windows should look the same although only some of them open.
Hopper windows
Hinged at the bottom, the top of the sash drops inwards to one fixed gap. It suits a spot high in a wall, above a basin or a worktop, where a sash swinging into the room would be in the way. The standard size is 1,100 × 800 mm. It also comes as a top light above a fixed pane or above a tilt and turn window.
Types of casement windows
If you know a casement as a window that opens outwards, note that ours don't: we supply no outward-opening windows. Our casements are side-hung and open inwards: the inward-opening casement, one sash that turns fully open but doesn't tilt, standard 1,000 × 1,400 mm; and the French casement, two sashes that close against each other with no mullion between them, standard 1,600 × 1,500 mm.
If you are replacing windows that open outwards, the difference to plan for is the room in front of the window. An inward sash swings into the room, so a sofa, a desk or a bed in its path decides which side it should be hinged on. The upside is that you reach the outside of the glass from indoors.
Flush windows vs casement windows
The two words describe different things. Casement is about how a sash opens: on hinges at its side. Flush, as we use it for our profiles, is about the face of the window: frame and sash in one plane on the outside. We don't make a flush casement, and none of our windows opens outwards.
What we do supply are flush profiles for inward-opening windows: frame and sash in one plane on the outside. Four of our uPVC window profiles are built that way: the Aluplast Ideal 4000 (70 mm deep), the K-vision Classic (76 mm), the Schüco LivIng Vlak (82 mm) and the Gealan S 9000 NL Slim (82.5 mm). They give a level, calm face on the elevation, and the sash is a tilt and turn sash that opens inwards.
Other profile shapes: recessed, square and bevelled
Besides flush, our uPVC window profiles come in three shapes. A recessed sash sits back in the outer frame: the Aluplast Ideal 7000 NL, the K-vision Trend and the Schüco LivIng Verdiept 6° and 15°, all 120 mm deep. Square-edged, with a straight rectangular face: the K-vision Cube, the Gealan S 9000 NL Haax and the Schüco LivIng City. Bevelled: the Gealan S 9000 NL Base, with a sash that slopes away at 15°, and the Gealan S 9000 NL Styl, which combines a small 4° bevel with that 15° bevel. For the Rehau Synego and Geneo, see their own pages. The profile pages show the cross-sections.
Types we don't supply
Windows that open outwards, whether hinged at the side or at the top, and flush casements. Sliding sash windows. If your house needs one of those, for example because of a conservation area or a listed building, we are not the right supplier, and your local planning authority can tell you what is allowed.
Doors in the same systems
In uPVC we also supply front doors, French doors and a glazed back door, which opens outwards. For wide openings to the garden there are uPVC lift-and-slide patio doors, and bifold doors in aluminium. Each has its own page.
Frequently asked questions
What types of uPVC windows are there?
In our range: tilt and turn, fixed, fixed sash, hopper, the inward-opening casement and the French casement, combined into layouts of one to four panes. Windows that open outwards and sliding sash windows we don't supply.
What is the difference between a flush window and a casement window?
Casement describes a sash hinged at its side. Flush, as we use it for our profiles, means frame and sash in one plane on the outside. Our flush profiles (Aluplast Ideal 4000, K-vision Classic, Schüco LivIng Vlak, Gealan S 9000 NL Slim) are tilt and turn and open inwards; we don't make a flush casement.
What are the disadvantages of flush casement windows?
We don't make flush casements, so we don't rate them. When you compare one with our inward-opening windows, look at two points: an inward sash needs free space in the room when it opens, and in return you can clean the outside of the glass from inside.
Can I get outward-opening uPVC windows from you?
No. All the windows we supply open inwards. Of our doors, the glazed back door opens outwards.
Which type should I choose?
Tilt and turn wherever you want to leave a window on a gap, fixed glass where nothing needs to open, and a hopper high in a wall. Put your windows together in the configurator; the quote follows within three working days. We supply, we don't install.
Know what you want? Put it together.
No form first: you watch your window take shape as you choose. The price follows in the quote, within three working days.
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Where we have a guide price, it is on the page, not behind a form — not a quote and not a final price; the amount for your sizes is in the made-to-measure quote.
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