3-pane window with three tilt and turn sashes, made to measure

Of the four 3-pane windows, this is the form with the most hardware: three complete sets of hinges, tilt mechanism and handle. In return, every pane can be ventilated separately and cleaned from inside, with no fixed glass anywhere that has to be done from outside. That makes this form a good fit for a room that needs a lot of air, or where none of the panes can be reached from outside.

The standard size is 2,400 × 1,500 mm, split equally between the three panes. If you'd rather have one unbroken stretch of view and less ventilation is enough, the 3-pane window with one tilt and turn sash and the 3-pane window with two tilt and turn sashes are the cheaper steps in between in the same width.

You can reach each of the three panes from inside, which makes a difference on a tall or hard-to-reach elevation where you can't get to the glass from outside anywhere — this is then the only 3-pane window that lets you get to all the glass without a ladder. That also makes it the honest choice for glass you want to clean regularly yourself rather than leave to someone else.

Of the four 3-pane windows this is the most expensive in hardware, but not necessarily the most expensive overall: three smaller tilt and turn panes can sometimes cost less than one wide fixed pane with thick, heavy glass, depending on the size and the profile. The configurator works that out for you as soon as you have filled in one of the four — feel free to compare more than one layout before you go further.

With three tilt and turn panes side by side, you allow for three swing zones at once; measure up the room across the full width of the window, not just straight in front of it. With a wide window of this kind it pays to decide beforehand which panes you'll use most — put those where there is the most clear space, so you don't always have to work round an obstacle to open them.

Maintenance on this window is the most involved of the four 3-pane forms: three complete sets of hardware that each deserve a check now and then. Colour and finish follow the same chart as any other pane, and with three identical tilt and turn panes side by side one continuous colour is the usual choice — that keeps the window calm as a whole, even though all three parts move independently of each other.

In a renovation, people choose this layout when the old arrangement already had three separate opening windows and that function has to be kept. In a new build this form is often chosen for a room with no other source of ventilation, which therefore relies entirely on this one wide window both for air and for access to clean the glass.

For break-in resistance, you have three tilt and turn panes here, each with its own hardware — more points of attack than on the other 3-pane windows, but also more places where a stronger locking cylinder makes a difference. Ask about it for a ground-floor window.

In all three tilt and turn panes the weight of the glass counts for the hardware, on each side separately. The configurator checks per pane whether the chosen glass suits the size you enter.

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