3-pane fixed window, made to measure

This window is the wide version of the 2-pane fixed window: where that one stops at two panes, this one adds a third. All three stay fixed. That suits a modern living-room glazed screen that is mainly there for light and a view out, with ventilation handled by a door or another window in the room.

The standard size is 2,400 × 1,500 mm, split equally between the three panes. If you want to be able to ventilate in the same width, the 3-pane window with one tilt and turn sash, the 3-pane window with two tilt and turn sashes and the 3-pane window with three tilt and turn sashes have the same split with one, two or three tilt and turn panes.

Three panes side by side with no hardware is the widest, cheapest way to make a wall of glass that we offer in this group. It suits an extension or a living-room wall where the view of the garden is the only aim, and where ventilation is already taken care of elsewhere in the house — a door you use anyway, or mechanical ventilation that doesn't depend on this window.

Choosing between the four 3-pane windows (the 3-pane fixed window, the 3-pane window with one tilt and turn sash, the 3-pane window with two tilt and turn sashes, the 3-pane window with three tilt and turn sashes) is really choosing how much hardware you accept against how much unbroken glass you want to keep. This window is one extreme: no hardware, the most glass. The 3-pane window with three tilt and turn sashes is the other: all three panes open, the most hardware. The two in between give you one or two tilt and turn panes without giving up everything.

When you order, measure the full width of the opening in one go; the configurator divides it between the three panes, with the two mullions where you specify. Because there is no hardware anywhere in it, no clear swing space is needed — this window can go right into the corners of a bay or an extension without a sash anywhere needing room to open.

Of the four 3-pane windows, this one needs the least maintenance: no hardware anywhere, just glass and frame across the full width. Colour and finish follow the same chart as any other pane — any RAL colour on aluminium, a foil or through-colour on uPVC — and with three identical fixed panes there is no reason to depart from one continuous colour; that gives the calmest look across the full width of the screen.

When a living-room wall is renovated, this window often replaces a row of separate, older windows with one continuous area of glass, bringing more light straight away without making the opening itself larger. In a new build this wide, fixed form is often chosen for an extension or a rear elevation where the architect puts the view of the garden above ventilation in this particular spot.

For break-in resistance, all three panes are fixed and so harder to force than an opening pane — there is no hardware anywhere to get a grip on. On the ground floor, laminated or safety glass is where you gain any extra resistance.

Because all three panes are fixed, you can use the heaviest, best-insulating glass across the full width with no consequences for hardware. That makes this screen a logical choice if insulation counts for more than ventilation in this spot.

Still not sure? Use the comparison with the other layouts in this group above to see which arrangement suits your situation best.