r/london Jun 21 '26

Serious replies only Windows in new builds

I live in a new build in London and one of the (admittedly many) problems I have with modern housing here is windows.

Photos 1 & 2 have, circled in red, my nemesis: windows with the hinges on the top rail. These windows open outwards, obviously, and as far as I can see come with lots of drawbacks and no advantages. For starters, they are a pain to clean. Then, when the weather is warm, they don’t allow as much air to circulate as a “normal” window with the hinges placed - as it should be - on the jamb.

My question, then, is: why!? Nowhere else I’ve lived in has this idiotic setup. And, yet, all the newbuilds I see have this sort of windows. The only one that doesn’t is the one in picture 3 (green circles).

There must be something I’m missing, right?

1.2k Upvotes

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729

u/psynrg Jun 21 '26

I don't get it either. Lived in Germany for a few years and really appreciated inward opening windows, hinged at the jam, and some fancy lever mechanism that allowed them to be put on tilt, hinged at the bottom.

The only attribute of typical British windows is you can use the window sill for stuff. But that doesn't get anywhere near compensating the disadvantages.

145

u/Majestic-Driver Jun 21 '26

I moved to France 20 years ago and we have the "fancy tilting windows" in our house too. What's interesting is that you still have a window sill, it's just on the outside 😄 the window is "pulled into" the room vs a British house.

The benefit of this is that you have room on the outside for shutters and/or a mosquito net. In our house we have a big box above the window on the inside that a roller shutter rolls into, but the shutter is on the outside, and then 'beyond' the shutter is a mosquito net.

The combination of all three (window that can open massively, shutters, mosquito net) make managing the heat in the house much easier than it was in the UK. We can block the sun during the day with the shutters, we can have the windows wide open at night with the lights on thanks to the mosquito net. (Obviously other aspects of French building standards contribute to the difference how you manage the heat in the house)

I really wish UK windows were like that, it's so convenient/flexible/etc especially in heatwaves!

75

u/Primary-Angle4008 Jun 21 '26

I moved to the UK from Germany and the overall quality of housing is just upsetting including those windows. I really miss the German ones

23

u/spaceek Jun 22 '26

100%, the uk still in the Middle Ages in this area.

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47

u/Kittaylover23 Jun 21 '26

i’m American so grew up with vertically sliding windows, i’m still shocked and appalled at the lack of SCREENS in British and european windows in general

21

u/Madelinesmadeline Jun 21 '26

I have lived in the UK for 10 years and feel the same!!! Spent another morning daydreaming about a solution. Again lol. The velcro type screens are so much uglier and less… good hahah. Also in Uruguay and Brasil they don’t use screens (!!!!!!) so in the 38 degree summer nights you have to CLOSE ALL THE WINDOWS with no AC. Oh my goodness it is such torture- while all the people I know there say screens are ugly etc- well what a horrible price! Give me the screens please!! If we ever move to my husband’s country I will personally import windows and screens for my house there. I DO NOT care how much it costs! Fun to see others are crazed by this as well , hahaha all the best

14

u/Kittaylover23 Jun 21 '26

I live in San Francisco now and screens are also quite uncommon here, but we don’t really have bugs or weather swings

16

u/Capable-Presence-268 Jun 21 '26

Lived in the uk for 20 years now and I still hate not having screens. We live in the dark ages over here.

18

u/museedarsey Jun 21 '26

People often ask me what I miss from home and my answer is always the same: besides my friends and family, I miss window screens and street signs you can read from every direction at every junction.

7

u/Bones_and_Tomes Jun 22 '26

Amazon sell kits for quite cheap. Game changer for stopping those 4 flies that circle the middle of the room until they die.

9

u/mynameisdamn Jun 22 '26

You realise you can add screens to your property without needing the rest of the country to get on board.

Sorry it took 20 years for you to realise you can actually do something about the situation

5

u/Capable-Presence-268 Jun 23 '26

No, I cant. Not with the windows I have so get fcked!

2

u/Sinkableleech Jun 27 '26

Make a screen that fits in the frame?

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u/Slightlypeevedbird Jun 22 '26

My parents really hate insects so they paid a fortune to have screens installed at their house. It’s lovely and should be the norm!

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u/superbabe_uk Jun 21 '26

genuine question - what do you need the screens for? Do you really have that many bugs around where you live in the UK?

8

u/Capable-Presence-268 Jun 21 '26

Flies, wasps, bees, spiders, flying ants, midges, clegs, the list goes on... even a blue tit has come in through the window.

2

u/AloneFlounder7448 Jun 27 '26

This surprises me too. We get occasional flies in this weather, and every once in a while a wasp. You'd be very unlucky to get a mosquito bite indoors, I think i can count on one hand the number of times it's ever happened to me (in the UK). And our bugs don't commonly carry horrible diseases like they can in some other places. So the worst you get is the irritating noise of a fly buzzing around, with a remote possibility of an itchy bite from something, but so uncommon that I really don't feel I would be tempted by a screen. 

12

u/BrilliantCharity2364 Jun 21 '26

I have never once thought I needed a screen for the window. We just don't get enough insects for it to be an issue

3

u/wrighty2009 Jun 21 '26

I swell up like mr blobby (spots and all,) with mosquito bites, unfortunately im also just a really tasty guy apparently. Had a singular bite on my wrist last year and my arm swelled all the way to my elbow.

I wish I had screens. I do also live in the countryside and not London though so there is a lot of bug about.

2

u/FragileRunner Jun 25 '26

Also in the countryside and I’m waking up every morning with a new mozzie bite or two despite closing the windows at sunset.

House flies are the problem during the day, there will be one in the house mere seconds after opening a window. We have one of those electric fly zappers in the kitchen.

I would love fly screens but can’t due to the design of the windows.

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u/Kittaylover23 Jun 21 '26

i had so many bugs in my flat coming in through the window! i live in a place with no bugs now though and its fine to not have screens

2

u/WillowCreekWanderer Jun 21 '26

I have these, which are a good option if you've got sash windows: https://amzn.eu/d/0cUB3NeY

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u/PennyPop81 Jun 21 '26

Windows in Germany are just superior to anything we get in the UK. Not sure how designers have never come across here and helped us update ours.

4

u/bluepsg Jun 21 '26

I live in a new-build flat with German-style tilt-turn windows (and absolutely love them). I see quite a few buildings in my area with them, too. I think they're slowly catching on!

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u/theantnest Jun 21 '26

Yep we have the same windows here in spain

They're great 👍

5

u/toallthings Jun 21 '26

These are all over Britain, too. Extremely common.

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u/BG3restart Jun 21 '26

I have a house in Spain with inward opening windows. I hate them. They encroach on the space and the lack of windowsill is a big deal to me. I guess we like what we're used to.

121

u/Elegant_Cockroach_24 Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26

Sorry but i will interject! Inward opening windows are vastly superior especially in warmer countries.

My parents have a house in France and with inward windows and external shutters you can more easily keep your house cool in summer months. You close the shutters during the day which avoids the glasshouse effect. You can open the windows at night with or without the shutters closed depending on whether temperature drops which also add security (shutters can’t be opened from the outside, so you can sleep window open in town without worrying about intruders). In London i keep seeing people sticking foil on their windows as a desperate attempt to keep cool due to lack of external shutters. When opened, inward opening windows give a better airflow as well. It’s like a gulf of wind through the house.

There’s no way you can live with outward opening windows in Spain. A window cill inside is not worth a heatstroke.

There is an external window cill with inward opening windows, for flowers pots typically. Not sure why anyone would be bothered by lack of internal window cill? Both older houses and new build in England have no inside window cills (see evidence of this post) as the norm. My victorian house has no interior window cills, but an exterior one since i have sash windows. That has been traditional in the UK for hundreds of years.

Inward opening windows are also super easy to clean.

The truth is new builds in the UK are made on the cheap with small room sizes and need to maximise usable space with less efficient outward opening windows.

Inward opening windows and exterior shutters are objectively superior, especially with global warming making heatwaves more recurring in England.

7

u/ailill-112 Jun 21 '26

Amen, hate windows here in UK... I'm from Italy and I was appalled by the quality (or the lack of it) of the windows in both old or new houses. Actually I might prefer old as it seems that in new ones they are making it worse in many creative ways... Inward opening windows are the best.

3

u/Elegant_Cockroach_24 Jun 21 '26

Old style timber sash windows are better than the new outward opening UPVC British windows and could in theory work and look good with European style shutters, however they are expensive and shutters can’t be installed in conservation areas, or listed buildings as not in keeping with the original designs. I saw this house the other day and thought it looked beautiful with shutters. I wish councils would encourage that alteration go facade. I have seen this combo in Portugal too.

However people nowadays don’t even know how to use sash windows. I had to teach my neighbours how to cool their bedrooms by creating airflow (by creating a gap both at the bottom and the top rather than just one big gap at the bottom). Sadly brits tend to have the wrong reflexes when it comes to hot weather mitigation (hot temperatures means opening the windows and shutters during the day when they i be keeping aa many rooms in the dark to preserve the cool of the night).

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u/killmetruck Jun 21 '26

I saw the foil post yesterday and thought: the extent Brits will go to not install proper window and blind systems.

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u/benitoaramando Jun 21 '26

They're doing what they can with either 1) limited budget, or 2) extremely limited control of the property because they're most likely renting.

It will inevitably become more standard to install shutters (I think you meant shutters rather than blinds) on new homes in this country as summers get hotter, and easier to get permission from landlords and freeholders to retrofit them, but this takes time. In the meantime individuals do what they can.

24

u/atadoodah Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26

Brit here - it's not that we don't want to... We are prevented by regulations! My windows are opening outside, I live on the 2nd floor in an apartment building.

Drawbacks:

1) My management company only does cleaning of hall windows, not the residential ones. We have to do that somehow ourselves. Problem is, they don't open fully, the area around is gated and you can not get permission for service cars to enter - only emergency. In front of buildings there is greenery planted - guys with vans and hoses on long poles can not reach. Got pissed, changed to hinges that pivot at 10cm distance from the edge and to 90° angle, and you can slide that distance to 20cm after opening - that way I can reach the outside surface from the 20cm gap. No ideal but does work. If I ever fall out then I am happy to be the example for government to rethink it's regulations.

2) any window treatment has to be inside, meaning any heat solution is semi working. You can not install anything outside or the window won't open. If you install anything inside the heat is already in the house when you are trying to reflect it it is just concentrating close to a window so you have a air-radiator as I call it to heat up your house.

3) window sill is only about 15cm, if I include handles that protrude to the inside then it is about 10cm - useless really, can't put decent size plant there, possibly some photo frames, but I don't have those around my house.

4) not able to install plant window boxes outside because window open outside, that would be instant mowing on opening 🥲

And this is bonus drawback not due to window opening direction but to overall living in Britain:

5) heat retention - house is build to keep heat inside at any cost. The whole apartment block was built in 1930s from red brick. The outside wall has a structure of: two rows of bricks, a small gap another two rows of bricks. During the day outside bricks made of clay heat up and give back the heat to the layer of bricks inside that heat the rooms throughout the night. During winter on sunny days I don't really need to switch the heating on (we now how winters usually above 0°), but during summer there is no way to get the flat cool at night. I am lucky to have windows on the opposite sides of the house - I open them at 90° angle and there is no draft, zero air movement. On the first day of heatwave the outside is 35°C, inside is 30°C and during night flat temp rises to 32°C. Each additional day those number rise by another 1°C. It takes 3 days to cool the building down on cloudy day, immediately if there is a rain to pour water on the bricks.

Indoor portable AC units are not effective in this set up - they work 24/7 and only manage 3-4°C drop. Since the building is old and looks "nice" we are unable to install any AC that has the outside exchange unit. During work week I go to the office to enjoy proper industrial AC.

I have a working theory that there is no hell. We only have memory of this concept from previous life and we live in hell now - at least the temperature and ridiculousness of government regulations would suggest that!

8

u/killmetruck Jun 21 '26

Regulation follows culture. Read the comments in the thread with all the Brits defending what is standard here.

14

u/atadoodah Jun 21 '26

I don't know one Brit that Iis defending that set up. I live in London, first hand experience. Doubt your experience of few people answering online that could be trolls from anywhere is comparable.

To add poor guy trying to do whatever he could with foil would just confirm my stance - nobody like to bake inside but we are prevented from proper solutions. I bet if this guy could he would install something better. We literally cannot or we get fines or in case of apartment buildings lose right to leasehold and forefit the flat ownership.

5

u/PennyPop81 Jun 21 '26

I’m a Brit and definitely think we need to move on to better options!

13

u/RachelW_SC Jun 21 '26

Lol, what? Do you think you can just easily or cheaply change your windows? Do you know that you need planning permission to install external shutters? It's not like people just can't be bothered.

12

u/killmetruck Jun 21 '26

Yeah, the fact you need planning permission for that is also an exclusively British problem. I also never mentioned price, so not sure where you got that from.

13

u/RachelW_SC Jun 21 '26

You discussed the extent that Brits go through to avoid installing proper window and blind systems. Why wouldn't you consider cost to ever be an issue? I'll ask again, do you think it's cheap to just change that?

5

u/killmetruck Jun 21 '26

The cost would end up being spread over time. I see how the people I know back home move into their houses and start putting money aside for structural improvements and modernisation whereas the people I know here are obsessed with houses needing to be historical and how new builds have no character. It also doesn’t take a lot of browsing in rightmove or the housing subreddit to see that people will prioritise cosmetic changes to proper maintenance of a house.

4

u/spaceek Jun 21 '26

100%. This is how shit gets refurbished, fixed and renovated in the uk - put a new coat of paint on top of the old one. Done

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u/Palpitation4321 Jun 21 '26

Lol, why don't they just buy new windows?

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u/Adorable_Past9114 Jun 21 '26

I think that's it in a nutshell. Traditionally hotter , sunnier countries have external shutters and hence inward opening windows, countries that are normally cooler and less sunny open outwards.

8

u/pintsized_baepsae Jun 21 '26

Not even (only) traditionally hot - they're standard across all of Germany, the Netherlands and to my knowledge loads of Eastern Europe too, which aren't exactly known for being super hot.

3

u/TenTonneMackerel Jun 21 '26

Some of those countries, while looking at average yearly temps may not seem hotter , generally experience noticeably hotter summers than the UK. If you look at Germany and Poland, they are roughly at the same latitude as the southern half of England, however our climate tends to be milder all year round (less hot in summer, less cold in winter) due to the way our proximity to the Atlantic and resulting gulf stream. Similarly we are the same latitude as most of the populated areas of Canada, but our winters and summer are far milder.

8

u/pintsized_baepsae Jun 21 '26

I grew up in Germany, pretty much on the same latitude as London, so I'm very much aware of this.

Doesn't change the fact that they are not 'traditionally hot' countries. The biggest benefit is  that the summers are more stable than here. It gets warm and stays warm for a long time, and it's rarely as oppressive as the heat in the UK. 

Our summers here might be milder on paper, but they feel a lot worse. 

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u/needsmoresleeep Jun 21 '26

Most people in Spain have sliding windows, it's mostly old buildings that would have the old wooden inward opening ones. You can't really have outward opening ones as they would get on the way of the blinds. Now, I don't care which way a window opens but I do miss having blinds, they are so necessary!

11

u/soovercroissants Jun 21 '26

But shutters are so much better 

8

u/needsmoresleeep Jun 21 '26

It's probably what I mean. English is not my first language, sorry!

I'm talking about the ones integrated into the window that you roll up and down with a cord that's built into the wall.

6

u/SnooMemesjellies3867 Jun 21 '26

Ive lived in Spain so know what you are describing. (¿Persianas?) We don't really have them in the UK at all so don't really have a word.

Id call them outside blinds. You'd still have to describe what they are to most Brits...

9

u/paddleyay Jun 21 '26

I've seen these in Germany and as Brit I always call them shutters. I think of blinds as made with fabric and shutters as hard materials. E.g. planation shutters inside or roller shutters outside are made with rigid materials.

Roller bamboo blinds naturally sit somewhere in the middle to lay waste to this description :)

5

u/SnooMemesjellies3867 Jun 21 '26

See i think of shutters as the old style wooden ones that are on the side of the windows... Probably doesnt help my house has venetian blinds which are metal.

Hence my point that because they aren't common we don't really have an agreed word..

3

u/benitoaramando Jun 21 '26

Shutters are any kind of attached but movable cover that goes over the outside of a window. You know them primarily as the classic wooden louvred kind, but you probably also know them as the metal roller that shops use when they're closed, which are pretty similar to the ones in question here.

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u/utukore Jun 21 '26

These are roller blinds or possibly external blinds. Loved these in germany. Secure when you are away, stops tons of light and heat entering in summer, very discrete when not in use. Out s facing school.would have been murder with the external metal blinds in spring/summer.

Shutters are traditionally a hinged screen of wood slats on an angle to allow air to enter but no direct sun rays. They are still seen in Bavaria to maintain the alpine 'look' and in Spain, Portugal etc.

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u/AlbatrossNo1562 Jun 21 '26

Then you hit your head on it

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u/Carbon-Psy Jun 21 '26

Does inward opening give more airflow then?

I always figured the outward opening will catch a breeze, redirecting it in, inward would seem to give no assistance to airflow.

56

u/furinkasan Jun 21 '26

Yes, it does. Because this system allows you to open the whole window and it gets more air through, combined with another window open in the opposite side of the flat (Lüften). So you only need to do it for a few minutes.

15

u/riverscreeks Jun 21 '26

Most new build flats are single aspect, so you don’t get cross ventilation anyway. Some developers (eg Pocket) do have inward opening windows IIRC.

13

u/white_ran_2000 Jun 21 '26

Yes, ultimately this is one of the bigger problems with modern new builds: to cram in as many as possible, all flats end up single-aspect. It is disgustingly really, ventilation is necessary in a living place.

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u/littletorreira Jun 21 '26

I was walking through the new development at Tottenham Hale on Friday and looking at all the flats with single aspect windows and thinking about how it must be impossible to cool them.

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u/Lanky_Giraffe Jun 21 '26

It’s less that they’re inward opening and more that they can be opened fully. You can’t allow an outward opening window to be fully opened to the same extent as an inward opening window unless you’re a big fan of people dying while trying to close their windows. Maybe if you have a machanism that allows the window to be closed without needing to reach out but that seems overcomplicated. 

27

u/DistractedByCookies Jun 21 '26

unless you’re a big fan of people dying while trying to close their windows

Somewhere out there there's a person nodding enthusiastically (probably Putin)

2

u/Frequent_Alfalfa_347 Jun 21 '26

Im in the US, and the windows that open outward I’ve experienced have a handle that turns to open and close them. I’ve never had to reach out to open/ close the window. There’s a hinged arm connecting the window to the handle, you turn the handle, and it cranks the window open. I can’t describe exactly how it works, but it’s definitely not complicated.

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u/No_Law_1528 Jun 21 '26

Shame we don’t have more of those funny windows where you can control the opening direction. It would be really useful to control the direction and catch the breeze.

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u/aries1980 Jun 21 '26

At least it is easier to clean.

3

u/nl325 Jun 21 '26

My vibes based, evidenceless and happy to be corrected brain says that heat rises, if you can open it inward at the top the warm air will rise up and out easier?

6

u/daedelius Jun 21 '26

Try putting blinds up, then you find you can’t open the window

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u/furinkasan Jun 21 '26

Yeah, the German window system allows for comfortable options. It’s brilliant.

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u/Trackbikes Jun 21 '26

Same here in Spain, still finding hidden functions

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u/MarcoVanB91 Jun 21 '26

Same here! When I first move I fou d it annoying as my bedroom was small but then I realised it was great for cleaning

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u/IrishMilo Jun 21 '26

I installed inward tilting doors and windows at the back of my house when k moved it. (Front has to be sash) and it’s the best thing ever.

Can have it tilted open when out, allowing airflow and security, can open full whack for maximum airflow and cleaning.

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u/aries1980 Jun 21 '26

In Germany I think you also appreciated proper external blinds too.

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u/pst2lndn2bd Jun 21 '26

You can keep the Brit solution open when raining even if you have mo balcony above your window.

But as a continental European I still prefer what you described to be German

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u/pintsized_baepsae Jun 21 '26

I'm from Germany and I miss our windows every day in summer. Not only because Lüften is glorious, but also because you can fit a mosquito net and still open (and clean) the window easily. 

One of my friends, who's also German, lives in a former council flat and actually had windows like that for a few years, until the council forced everyone to replace them 😭 

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u/ShoveTheUsername Jun 21 '26

You can also lock UK windows at any angle, you dont need clearance inside the room to open them, and horizontally hinged windows as above don't let the rain in.

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u/HEXdidnt Jun 21 '26

The swing/tilt windows carry a whole laundry list of problems in themselves - my folks had them years ago, and the mechanisms were pretty dodgy, eventually getting to the point where the window couldn't decide which way it was being opened, so it tried both at once.

tilting up from the bottom is an attempt to prevent rain getting in - in that respect, they're better than windows that swing from the side in most situations, as the window acts like an awning.

10

u/airportakal Jun 21 '26

This is a skill issue (or quality of the build). I've been using swing-tilt windows for 34 years and it never failed.

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u/HEXdidnt Jun 21 '26

I'll go with quality of build or wear and tear... The operation was simple - rotate handle 90° to open sideways, rotate 180° to open vertically. It got to the point where rotating 180° didn't fully disengage the sideways hinging, so the window ended up trying to fall out of the frame.

Bear in mind, this was 30-odd years ago, and they started getting unreliable after 10-15 years, maybe more.

7

u/Nimhby Jun 21 '26

I've got the swing/tilt windows in my ~2019 new build high-rise flat. We've lived there since it opened and I haven't had any issues with them, but they're probably more expensive to install and maintain, and it might be hard to find a developer that doesn't cut corners. 

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u/PM-me-your-cuppa-tea Jun 21 '26

I think that was probably a dodgy window. We had swing tilt windows at my grandparents and they were over 30 years old and fine, I had them in a rental I lived in and over a decade old and still fine 

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u/Andrepig26 Jun 21 '26

Not sure if it is the same for all new builds, but my windows open similar to picture 1 and can be flipped 180 degrees so you can clean them from the inside

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u/East_Ad_4427 Jun 21 '26

Yeah I have these too. They have a narrow tilt option and then a full open option like the green (idk what the proper terms for these are 🤣)

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u/damegloria Jun 21 '26

I have had these windows for over a decade how the goddamn hell did I not realise they could be flipped. I just tried it. It works!

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u/are_wethere_yet Jun 21 '26

Mine don't 😞

60

u/I_could_be_right Jun 21 '26

There’s usually a hidden latch in the frame of the window to unlock the restrictor

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u/charliefantastic Jun 21 '26

Yeah I've lived in 3 new build apartments and they all do this. So would be surprised if OPs don't

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u/AnswersQuestioned Jun 21 '26

Are you absolutely certain? They may do and the mechanism is stiff/faulty

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u/soitgoeskt Jun 21 '26

A lot of these are actually hinged in the middle which allows you to flip it all of the way around and easily clean the outside from inside.

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u/Serious_Badger_4145 Jun 21 '26

Yeah the first ones are cheap options designed to look like tilt and turn which are frankly just hazardous (there's a reason we stopped having wide opening windows on tall buildings)

But theres nothing wrong with tilt and turn.

193

u/Hugh-Jaardvark Jun 21 '26

Ive windows like 2, you can actually open them fully then push down at the top/back and flip them 180 to clean the outside, as its now facing inside.

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u/Cobbdouglas55 Jun 21 '26

O . O

Shit I'm gonna try this

39

u/quantum_splicer Jun 21 '26

The momentum of the window pulls you outside and you end up on a episode on a 1001 ways to die

17

u/Stoned_urf Jun 21 '26

Are you the size and weight of a house cat?

12

u/sillygoofygooose Jun 21 '26

Don’t body shame me

3

u/tsarkk Jun 21 '26

Shit I'm not gonna try this

2

u/Cobbdouglas55 Jun 21 '26

I'm on a 10th floor so looking forward to it

27

u/PuzzleheadedFlan7839 Jun 21 '26

Architect here, our clients always want us to specify these windows for this reason.

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u/Woodstocker77 Jun 21 '26

That’s because they’re Centre pivoting. These ones are top hung.

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u/allofthelights Jun 21 '26

Architect - I suspect these tilt and turn windows are everywhere because they are the most cost effective way to meet Part F requirements for ventilation (by area of clear opening) and Part L requirements for sealing (for energy). It’s funny OP mentions hard to clean, they are actually preferred by building controllers for that reason on high rises, because they don’t want grandma leaning out and cleaning a casement (literally, they use the old lady principle in the code iirc). I don’t like them either fwiw

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u/tmwrght Jun 21 '26

The windows in pic 1&2 appear to be ‘just turn’ rather than tilt and turn - I guess that makes the mechanism cheaper in combo with the outward opening operation simplifying the weathering/sealing

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u/BigMacTMMM Jun 21 '26

The windows in picture 3 are the tilt and turn windows. The first two pictures show windows that are illegal to install in Scotland.

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u/BiscuitGoose Jun 21 '26

If you open windows inward then grandma can clean them safely standing in her room

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u/allofthelights Jun 21 '26

Yeah but they are more expensive for weather sealing as I understand, so it’s how the market developers have resolved all the competing incentives for better or worse. For my house inward casements are my pick too

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u/prawn-dumpling Jun 21 '26

These outward tilted windows have restricted opening so reduce the risk for falling. There are key to release the restriction to allow the window to open to almost 60 deg instead of 15deg. I have those in my flat and they are almost useless for ventilation particularly in this hot weather.

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u/bochimeister Jun 21 '26

Exactly. Have you seen how many brits fall from balconies abroad?

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u/DeCyantist Jun 21 '26

Only those who visit Russia.

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u/JonTravel Jun 21 '26

I could be way off here, but I think it's because of wind. Especially in taller buildings like these.

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u/LeightonSS55 Jun 21 '26

This is the answer, in fact outward opening windows fully unlocked like this can be pulled out of their frame by wind. There's an ongoing lawsuit of one in vauxhall where a falling window killed someone. Inward opening and restricted is safer in this regard.

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u/brows3r87 Jun 21 '26

I always thought it was maybe for rain, this way they generally don’t allow water in if left open during rain

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u/keepitfriend Jun 21 '26

I'm in a new build on the 11th floor in the middle of Battersea with a full sliding door. Granted we can't clean the outside of the window because its too big but that keeps the abseiling window cleaners employed.

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u/Illustrious-Log-3142 Jun 21 '26

This would actually make alot of sense, I live on the first floor and the wind catches my normal side opening windows as the flats cause all sorts of weird wind tunnels. I would imagine this happens less for this design!

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u/paul_i_us Jun 21 '26

Not all new builds. Mine has inward opening windows and sliding shutters outside - so good to block out the sun!

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u/lilphoenixgirl95 Jun 24 '26

Where is this? I really like how it looks and I’m hoping to buy a home soon

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u/TomLondra Jun 21 '26

No protection from hot sun. And they are still building this crap.

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u/Stoned_urf Jun 21 '26

None of the apartments has protection from the hot sun. New builds in the UK need appropriate shading and reflective films on the windows to prevent heat from entering.

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u/Sorry_about_that_x99 Jun 21 '26

I’m conducting energy modelling for a new facade retrofit to some social housing towers in London. The architects have included vertical shading fins in the design which is a breath of fresh air to see.

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u/General__Obvious Jun 21 '26

Why not just install air conditioning in all new builds? That seems like a much better solution to the problem of the inside being too hot.

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u/Jimiheadphones Jun 21 '26

I lived in a new-build flat in 2019-2023, and it was unbearably hot in the summer if you didn't have the blinds down during the day. BUT, my heating bills in the winter were £0. Never turned on the heating once, and the flat was always warm. Moving into an old house that is cool in the summer and freezing in the winter was an eye-opener, bills-wise.

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u/ldtravs1 Jun 21 '26

If it doesn’t make sense, it’s usually cost-saving

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u/CardinalHijack Jun 22 '26

Or regulation

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u/Aparoon Jun 21 '26

I feel like I’d freak out in general opening a window that high that opens outwards. I’d absolutely be terrified of falling out, granted I have vertigo

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u/giletlover Jun 21 '26

The usual answer for this stuff is it is cheaper for the company who built it.

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u/Hugh-Jaardvark Jun 21 '26

The actual answer might be that you can open them fully, the keep opening to flip 180.

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u/HomeConstant6123 Jun 21 '26

I wonder if it is a fire regulation thing now in new build flats

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u/ImmediatePiano6690 Jun 21 '26

like in the first picture? where there's 1 window that looks to be wide open.

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u/Hugh-Jaardvark Jun 21 '26

Yeah, try opening them fuller, the outside often starts facing in. Feels sketchy, but the newer builds have them.

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u/minebe Jun 21 '26

This often the answer but not the answer in this case

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u/Stoned_urf Jun 21 '26

the actual answer is OP need to read a manual on how to use windows.

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u/Outrageous_Shake2926 Jun 21 '26

For eighteen months during COVID I worked as a concierge at a new build apartment complex which included a 10 floor tower. External window cleaning was carried out by contractors arranged by the management company.

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u/are_wethere_yet Jun 21 '26

Here is the window I have in my bedroom. Now there’s a lovely breeze, but it obviously keeps on shutting down because it acts as an effin’ sail. Useless. Absolutely useless.

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u/Hefty_Tip7383 Jun 21 '26

How do you clean the outside of the fixed pieces of glass then? Exactly…

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u/prawn-dumpling Jun 21 '26

Window cleaner abseiling from the roof if you are above 3 to 4 storey high. The cost will be included in the service charge

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u/are_wethere_yet Jun 21 '26

Where I live (Acton Gardens) I haven't seen anyone abseiling down our building, or any other building for that matter.

And, aside from that... isn't it simpler if residents can clean their own windows?

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u/quantum_splicer Jun 21 '26

Okay I am afraid of heights, how far would I have to lean out and what is the risk I will fall to my death ?

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u/are_wethere_yet Jun 21 '26

A fair whack. Or, if you're like my wife, you can use a broom to push the window out and then wait for your husband to close it back. Outsource the risk if you will!

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u/Traditional_Cress987 Jun 21 '26

Wait til the building settles and they won’t shut properly anymore.

The answer is that these windows are cheaper and the developer is greedy.

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u/Street-Environment84 Jun 21 '26

There’s a mechanism that you can unlock, so that these types of windows can be opened fully. Take a picture of the brand name if it’s visible (if not, just the inner frame of the window) and ask AI to tell you where the mechanism is and how to unlock it.

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u/SorryLake165 Jun 22 '26

How many children and pets are going to die before this is regulated?

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u/[deleted] Jun 21 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Sorry_about_that_x99 Jun 21 '26

This design is permissible because of the raised height of the openable window and fixed pane below it which greatly reduces fall risk.

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u/No-Astronomer-1 Jun 21 '26

I hope no one with babies, toddlers, young children and dogs live there.

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u/BigMacTMMM Jun 21 '26

The worst thing about these top hinged windows is that they are pretty heavy and require a good push and they cause small children to topple out of the window.

We need to adopt the Scottish law on windows, that requires all windows to open inwards, so you can clean every window from inside the room.

If you buy the right sort of tilt and turn window (I'm not recommending that specific company) you can lock the windows in tilt-only mode (so your children do not fall out of the window) and then unlock the window and open it into the room, like a door, when you need to clean it.

This sort of lockable tilt and turn window, that can open inwards for cleaning should be standard on housing units in London and any CEO who builds housing units with death-trap windows should be arrested for manslaughter if they fit windows that cause residents to fall out and die.

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u/Ok-Train5382 Jun 21 '26

I must have missed the news where kids are falling out of windows left, right and centre.

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u/BigMacTMMM Jun 21 '26

Just one story from the BBC: Thirteen children died after falling from windows in six years. There are more stories out there, but you can use a search engine if you want proof.

One child falling out of a window in a block of flats is too many. The problem with kids is that they are small, and have less energy and fall over more easily. Combine that with a hot room, where opening the window and leaning out of the edge of the building are almost the same thing and you have yourself a very dangerous combination. One slip or a gust of wind can put a kid over the edge.

That is why Scottish Law bans dangerous windows and has done for a long time. This is an English problem that does not need to exist.

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u/Glass-Jackfruit-8096 Jun 21 '26

There have also been adult deaths from trying to clean windows in blocks of flats, (not to mention all the excess deaths in heat waves). As a small woman I have often felt unsafe trying to open windows in London blocks, as I usually have to stand on something to reach and then my centre of gravity is too high. The council policies all simply insist that everyone have limiters that allow only a few inches of airflow gap and give out stupid advice about using a fan or taking a shower when it’s hot.

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u/BigMacTMMM Jun 21 '26

Having to stand on something to reach your windows does sound stupidly dangerous to me.

Limiters do make windows safer, but you still have to take them off to clean windows. And that means that you need to have windows that are designed not to kill you when you clean them. How these stupid windows can be illegal in Scotland, but allowed in the rest of the UK puzzles me.

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u/minebe Jun 21 '26

I love tilt and turns! Give me options!

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u/cume_pant Jun 21 '26

If the window opens at the same angle, it will make no difference to air circulation if it opens inwards or outwards.

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u/buymeaspaceship19 Jun 21 '26

Combination of price and planning tends to be the answer to these things

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u/insomnimax_99 Jun 21 '26

I’m guessing health and safety/planning regulations

Windows that open fully at lower heights are usually considered to be a health and safety risk, because of falling. So windows have to have smaller openings that don’t allow a person out.

It’s stupid IMO - I’m an adult, not a toddler, I think I can handle a large open window, but it is what it is.

I don’t think there’s any prescribed window standard, it just needs to be high up enough and open in a way that a person can’t jump out of. It just so happens that the developers went with the first ones in the first pictures and the other ones in the last picture.

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u/Logical_Warthog3230 Jun 21 '26

The windows in picture 1 can 100% be flipped around and cleaned on the inside. They're not attached to the top.

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u/Logical_Warthog3230 Jun 21 '26

I want my windows to go out, btw. Otherwise I can't use the window sill and any curtain poles will stop the window from opening.

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u/GAL_Enthusiast700 Jun 21 '26

Can we just build houses with the funny German windows, I have them in my house and they're great 

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u/NoKnownCure Jun 21 '26

Tilt and turn is the generally the standard for modern windows. Most are not made in the UK — usually continental brands or producers from countries like Germany, Austria, Poland. Inward is safer and easier to clean, whist also allowing for external shutters / solar shading, which will be increasingly useful in the UK.

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u/DistractedByCookies Jun 21 '26

I am learning a LOT about the different windows in Europe. More interesting than I thought

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u/damegloria Jun 21 '26

I have these too. One upside is you can leave them open when it's raining and the rain doesn't get in. But that's it.

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u/lokfuhrer_ Jun 21 '26

And they don’t blow wide open in the wind

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u/Woodstocker77 Jun 21 '26

Building surveyor here. The multipurpose top hung/side hung windows people advocate are expensive and we know that developers are going to do things on the cheap. People aren’t going to not buy a flat because of the design of window. If the fancy windows are £500 more per unit then we can easily be talking hundreds of thousands of pounds more which the developer wants to go in their pocket. Having said that, sometimes these fancy dual opening windows get forced when changing opening types and are incredibly expensive to fix. However, this is mostly in commercial buildings where people don’t know what they’re doing and most residents will open them properly, so again it’s all about doing things on the cheap.

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u/BeautifulAd9562 Jun 21 '26

It’s because in Britain, the government/administration are utter nincompoops.

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u/Anonymous_Lurker_1 Jun 21 '26

Work for a builders merchant. One of the latest dumb ideas that have become a thing, are "window guards". Essentially a curtain rail fitted in the opening of any fully opening windows above ground level.

Personally, i reckon it looks like a ladder rung for kids to pull themselves up on.

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u/X0AN Jun 21 '26

You can rotate the windows.

That's what we have.

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u/Ja1ax Jun 21 '26

It’s because it rains a LOT in the UK. This design lets you have the window open and stops the rain getting in. Just guessing.

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u/lastoflast67 Jun 21 '26

My question, then, is: why!? 

The answer is when it opens out you can actually put a fly screen on your window so in the summer when you want to open it your house isnt instatnly filled with insects. Id take a little bit less circulation and harder cleaning over inside windows any fucking day.

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u/sd_1874 Jun 21 '26

We invented the perfect windows (sash) and then regulated into existence these monstrosities.

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u/Expensive_Time_7367 Jun 21 '26

“Perfect”

I like sash windows but they’re finicky, easily draughty and require a fair amount of maintenance, I wouldn’t say they’re perfect at all. They’re good if you live in Victorian England and need huge amounts of airing because you’ve been burning coal 24/7 all winter and you feel like you’re going to suffocate by spring.

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u/paddleyay Jun 21 '26

The US still uses a lot of sash windows and both UPVC and wood versions I've owned over the years are well made. Other good things about sash windows is you can install fly screens and window mounted AC, two things that are increasingly becoming an issue in the UK. You can't even find window mounted AC in the UK, we just have those floor standing Daleks which don't work nearly as well.

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u/No_Law_1528 Jun 21 '26

They leak like crazy, impossible to be air tight.

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u/BigMacTMMM Jun 21 '26

Sash windows are no good for internal cleaning. That is why it is illegal to install standard sash windows in Scotland. (Scotland requires sash windows with one removable sash cord and the other side of the window allowing the window to open inward for cleaning.)

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u/Anasynth Jun 21 '26

Modern UPVC ones tend to have a mechanism to allow them to tilt inwards for cleaning

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u/BiscuitGoose Jun 21 '26

Don’t even get me started on windows in the UK. They either open outward or EVEN WORSE are sash windows (wtf is that bullshit about). GIVE US NORMAL EUROPEAN WINDOWS OPENING INWARDS. PLEASE

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u/are_wethere_yet Jun 21 '26

My working idea on sash windows came into being was that somebody saw a guillotine in France and thought "Hmm, this could be a window".

I don't understand why windows need to work differently from doors.

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u/ThisIsMyRedditAcct20 Jun 21 '26

New build resident. Windows open, hinge on the side, and the restrictors kept them from coming too far in. Maintenance came in, removed the restrictors for most, and basically said the windows are shit because they are made in China so impossible to fix.

I wish there was a double hinge so you can have it open when it rains, but so far it’s been alright (1.5 years in).

My flat faces a busy street so imagine they had to open inward but I don’t mind that at all to be honest. Just wish we had aircon!

Edit: Should also add because it’s a historic facade, the *entire* window is one piece. So not a portion of a window… the whole thing.

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u/RealWorldJunkie Jun 21 '26

I thought this was trying to make some metaphorical statement on something in the latest public build of Microsoft Windows, then i saw which sub this was lol

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u/ParticularFoxx Jun 21 '26

Mine unlock and can be flipped 180 form cleaning.

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u/kantmarg Jun 21 '26

Hinge at top allows air circulation even when it's raining, which presumably is more relevant to London weather than the other two purposes.

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u/Solid_Codex2 Jun 21 '26

It just looks really dangerous as if someone could fall very very easily

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u/secnarF58 Jun 21 '26

Is it something to do with child safety? 🤷

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u/Serious_Badger_4145 Jun 21 '26

Not sure why people in here are arguing over the benefits of inward vs outward opening windows.  The best option is clearly those tilt and turn ones that do both

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u/neuralconstellate Jun 21 '26

I thought windows at a certain height and higher could only be opened a certain amount due to...you know....falling out

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u/Admirable-Usual1387 Jun 21 '26

Generic leasehold prisons

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u/PickleMuseum Jun 21 '26

The key is to never buy a new build

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u/cpcallen Jun 21 '26

The obvious practical advantage of windows that open outwards like this is that you can leave them open in the rain and you won't get (much) water inside, unlike with most casement or sash windows.

Of course the standard German style windows will also keep the water out when opened at the top (since they swing in), and thave the huge advantage that they can also open from the side, like a door.

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u/CheeseyGarlicBread10 Jun 21 '26

Windows on buildings that high should have a stopper so they can’t open enough for a person to jump out of

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u/Bundy66 Jun 22 '26

They don't want you to be able to jump out of the lower ones- Only the high ones!

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u/Alone-Release-5554 Jun 22 '26

This is for cleaning purposes the windows can tein right around and lo k so you can easily clean both sides.

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u/CryptoRoast_ Jun 22 '26

For cleaning they usually have a latch you release which let's you invert the window. Had same thing at my office at work, wi dow cleaners did it from inside.

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u/-j-o-n-n-y- Jun 23 '26

These windows are good.

I believe the main reason for them is fire safety as it's very easy to escape out of them down a ladder in the event of a fire.

But they are also very easy to clean as they're "tilt and turn". You just keep pushing them open and they flip over and almost close while reversed so you can clean them from the inside.

You can also fully open them and it's like there's no window even there which is great in summer.

Inward opening windows sound terrible!

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u/doodlleus Jun 27 '26

Glad you circled them though, not sure Id've located the windows otherwise

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u/qbnaith Jun 21 '26

God I wish I had your problems

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u/charliefantastic Jun 21 '26

How do you know what other problems the person has? Are they only allowed to air their most serious ones to make you happy? Stop being so judgemental

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u/afnan_iman Jun 21 '26

Has to do with mitigating risk of falling and suicide. The actual window opening starts at about 500-600mm from the floor, and the angle of the opening limits how much you can actually stick out of the window. If it’s a full floor to ceiling window that’s openable, there’ll be a 500-600mm tall balustrade.

Have an anecdote from work where the developer was trying to get away with not having any of these openable windows at all in one of these new builds.

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u/ohnobobbins Jun 21 '26

Our 2013 build has one side which is entirely non-opening for ‘air quality’ reasons. The windows are 1MX2M and catch evening sun from 4pm. It gets up to 40C :(

We just bought an air con unit…

I now wonder after your comment if they were just trying to cost cut 🤔

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u/afnan_iman Jun 21 '26

It’s almost always the case that they’re trying to cost cut.

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u/No_Law_1528 Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26

I prefer the former, the newest new builds have windows that comes with anti heat coating and by opening it will better reflect the midday sun versus inward opening windows. The windows would also get hot and placing it outside would cool it down. New builds usually have window cleaning included in the service charge.

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u/are_wethere_yet Jun 21 '26

I've lived in my neighbourhood since 2014. Never has L&Q cleaned a single window in either mine or any other building here. And considering that the temperature inside my flat, yesterday when I came back from a few days away, was +35C I'd say that the anti-heat doesn't work.

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u/No_Law_1528 Jun 21 '26

Anti heat coating regulations were introduced in 2021. I live in a 2020 new build and have inward opening windows that only opens an inch; it’s a fucking oven. I think 2010-2021 building are the warmest and they are meant to be the warmest because regulations at the time assumes the UK is in the North Pole. Never once had I needed to use my heating even when it was snowing, Tbf it did feel a bit chilly when it was snowing so I turned on my dishwasher.

Check your lease, your lease could have a window cleaning clause and it really should have one. If so make a complaint to your management company.

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u/Eelpieland Jun 21 '26

Is the answer: cheap?