Tilt-turn vs casement: what European buyers expect
Tilt-turn is the default action on European-spec export work: one sash that tilts in at vent height for controlled ventilation and turns fully for cleaning and access, locked by six to twelve points around the perimeter. The casement line (CW-60) is the same 70 mm thermal-break platform with a hinged action — chosen where the drawing wants outward opening, a wider multi-bay run, or the simpler hardware budget. The choice is made per opening, and both actions live on one façade.
What the tilt position actually does
In tilt, the top of the sash comes in at vent height: air enters at waist level, the room ventilates, and the opening stays protected by the gasket line and the multi-point lock — the sash is still engaged in six to twelve points while it vents. That is the habit European clients bring with them: controlled opening without a fully open window, and without the sash swinging into the room or out to the street. The turn position is the cleaning and service position, and also the security position, because the full-perimeter compression of the lock is exactly what a storm-exposed elevation wants.
What the casement line does instead
CW-60 is a hinged sash on the same platform: hinge-side airflow, gasket-side airtightness, Class 4 airtightness to EN 1026, sashes to 1,200 × 1,800 mm, and three-casement bays that run to 4,500 mm of opening where the tilt line would need more leaves to reach the same width. The key-operated ground-floor sash is the standard security detail on both actions — the locked turn position and the locked casement read the same to an inspector, which keeps the elevation argument simple.
Where each action wins
- Tilt-turn: urban infill and apartments — venting at waist height without the full opening; storm-exposed elevations — the sash compresses all round, not at one stile; clients who already know the action from EN markets.
- Casement: repetitive units where the hardware budget is the line item that moves; outward opening where the tilt swing does not fit the party wall; renovation schedules that map to the existing masonry opening.
- Shared: the 70 mm platform means a mixed façade — tilt in the living room, casement on the service side — reads as one system on the elevation.
Glazing, and the alpine case
Both lines carry single glazing from 6 mm through IGU; the tilt line is double-IGU compatible for alpine specifications, which is where the frame depth and the gasket schedule earn their keep. For the acoustic street frontage the same platform takes the 47 dB laminated build on the WA-70 ACOUSTIC line — the choice of action does not move the glazing logic, and the schedule keeps both numbers on one drawing.
Questions
The action is set per sash: a twin-sash unit can run tilt-turn plus turn, or tilt-turn plus fixed. The drawing office sets the action per leaf on the schedule before production.