Window with a dummy sash, made to measure

Side by side, a real tilt and turn window and a window with a dummy sash are hard to tell apart: both show a sash inside the frame. The difference is in what you can't see — there is no hinge, no tilt position and no handle in it. That makes this pane right for the spot where you want to keep the look of a tilt and turn window but don't need another opening: for example the one pane in a row of windows where the others really do open.

The standard size is 1,500 × 1,500 mm, the same as the single fixed window; in the configurator you set it to match the tilt and turn window next to it, so a real tilt and turn window and a dummy sash can sit side by side in one elevation without the sightlines jumping. If you actually want to show that a pane doesn't open — for a calmer look, or to leave a would-be burglar less to try on a vulnerable spot — the plain fixed window without a drawn sash line is the simpler choice.

This layout makes most sense in an elevation with a repeat of windows next to or above each other, for example a row of three where only one needs to open. Put a plain fixed window in that spot and the look jumps: the missing sash line stands out, even to someone not specifically looking at what opens. With a dummy sash the row of windows keeps looking as if every pane does the same thing, while only the real tilt and turn pane carries hardware.

Within the window group this is the form closest to the single fixed window — technically they are identical, apart from the drawn sash line. Choose the single fixed window if you'd rather show that a pane doesn't open, for example a vulnerable ground-floor pane where clarity about security is worth more than a matching look. Choose the 2-pane window with one tilt and turn sash if you'd rather give part of the row a real opening instead of just the look of one.

When you order, you measure to the overall size of the frame, exactly as for a real tilt and turn window — the drawn sash line changes nothing about how you measure. What does count: because there is no moving part in it, you don't need to allow clear space for a sash swinging open, which makes fitting it into a tight corner or next to a wall easier than with the real tilt and turn pane whose look it borrows.

Colour and finish follow the same route as any other pane: any RAL colour on aluminium, a foil or through-colour from the chart on uPVC. Because the drawn sash line is a choice of profile and not a separate part, nothing changes in the colour options compared with a real tilt and turn window or a plain fixed window — you simply choose the same colour for the whole row of windows, whichever of them actually open. Maintenance is the same as for a plain fixed window: there is no hinge, no seal round a sash and no locking hardware in it, so only the glass and the outside of the frame need attention. If you're fitting a row of windows where only a few need to open, this layout saves you not only hardware but also the maintenance that goes with it, while the elevation still reads as one.

In a renovation this is often the way to replace one particular pane without changing the look of the rest of the elevation — the existing tilt and turn window next to it keeps setting the look, and the new fixed pane follows it. In a new build this layout is often used to design a row of identical windows without the architect having to mark which pane really opens: the look is already set, and the choice of which panes become functional can still shift later without redrawing.

For break-in resistance the drawn sash line makes no difference: the pane is and stays fixed, so it is as hard to force as a plain fixed window. On a vulnerable ground-floor spot that is an advantage over a real tilt and turn pane, which offers more points of attack with its hinges and locking points.

For the glass, the same applies as for a plain fixed window: because there is no hardware carrying the weight, you can use the heaviest, best-insulating glass here with no consequences. That is a practical argument for choosing exactly this pane in a row of windows for the heaviest glazing, with the real tilt and turn panes next to it in a lighter specification.

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