Single tilt and turn window, made to measure

A tilt and turn window is the basis most of our other window layouts are built on. Tilting sets the sash to a fixed gap at the top, secure enough to leave open overnight; turning opens it fully on its side hinges, for a proper airing or to clean the outside of the glass from inside the room. Both positions are in the same hardware and the same handle. A side-hung casement has only the second position and a bottom-hung tilt-in window only the first; a tilt and turn window has both.

The standard size is 1,200 × 1,400 mm, hinged on the left; in the configurator you set the size yourself, and you tell us the hinge side with your quote request. This is the pane that most layouts on this site combine with a fixed pane, a tilt-in top light or a second tilt and turn sash — you can also order it on its own, as a single pane in its own frame.

As a layout on its own, this is the smallest step you can take: one pane, one frame, no mullion and no neighbouring pane to allow for. That makes it a good fit for a bedroom, a home office or anywhere a single window is the whole job. We build larger elevations from exactly this pane, combined with a fixed section, a tilt-in top light or a second tilt and turn sash — the other 19 layouts in this group are variations on what you see here on its own.

If you choose this single tilt and turn window, the one real question left is the hinge side: left or right. Don't just look at the wall next to the window, but also at what stands in front of it in the room — a sofa, a desk or a bed in the path of a sash that turns inward gives you a window you keep shut in practice.

Order to the overall size of the frame, not to the opening of a subframe if there is one — that is where most people go wrong on their first order. Also measure the space in front of the window: a sash turned fully open reaches into the room by roughly its own width, and that has to fit between whatever else is in the room.

Maintenance on a single tilt and turn window stays simple: one set of hinges, one tilt mechanism and one set of locking hardware to check now and then. You choose colour and finish freely — any RAL colour on aluminium, a foil or through-colour on uPVC, and a different colour inside and out if you want. Because this pane turns up in almost every other layout, the colour you pick here is often the colour you keep to later in a wider combination, which is a reason to think it through carefully at this stage.

In a renovation this is the most chosen replacement for a single old window, precisely because it is the most common form and rarely needs a change to the opening. In a new build it is often where the design starts: the architect first decides how many of these panes fit in an elevation, and only then which of them become fixed panes, tilt-in top lights or something else in one of the wider layouts.

For break-in resistance it is the hardware that sets the level, not the fact that the window can tilt as well as turn. For a ground-floor window, ask about a stronger locking cylinder, and bear in mind that the glass is assessed separately if you choose laminated or safety glass.

The weight of the glass matters for the hardware here: the heavier the glass, the more the sash weighs on its hinges. The configurator checks this as soon as you enter the size and glass for this window, so you never order a combination the hardware can't carry.

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