Full swing-clear access — the specification for deep reveals, shutters and awkward openings.
Hinged secondary glazing swings open on a side or top hinge like a casement door. Because the whole panel clears the opening, it gives unrestricted access to the primary window — essential where you have working internal shutters, deep splayed reveals, or window furniture that a sliding track would foul.
Acoustically, hinged units are the strongest opening style we supply. There is no track gap and no meeting stile: the panel closes onto a continuous compression seal around all four edges, which is the same detail used on fixed panels. With 10.8mm acoustic laminate and a generous cavity, hinged units reach 53dB.
Choose hinged where the window has original internal shutters that must still fold back, where the reveal is deep enough that a slider would sit too far forward, or where the opening is tall and narrow so a horizontal track would be impractical.
Sound leaks through gaps, not through glass. A hinged panel compresses a single continuous EPDM gasket around its full perimeter when the multi-point latch is thrown, eliminating the meeting-stile flanking path that costs sliders a few decibels.
That makes hinged the right specification for bedrooms on flight paths, main roads and rail corridors where you want every available decibel.
Top-hung units are used above head height and on transom lights, holding open on a friction stay. Wide openings can be glazed as a double-leaf pair meeting on a central rebate, so a 1.8m casement still opens fully without an oversized single panel.
| Specification | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Single side-hung leaf, 6.4mm laminate | from £520 | Up to 0.9m x 1.5m |
| Double-leaf pair, 6.4mm laminate | from £790 | Openings 1.2m-1.8m wide |
| 10.8mm acoustic laminate upgrade | +£130-£190 | Per window |
| Top-hung transom light | from £340 | Above head height |
All prices supplied and fitted in London, inclusive of survey and 25-year warranty. See the full secondary glazing price list.
Belgravia, SW1
Problem: Grade II listed drawing room with working panelled shutters; sliding tracks would have blocked the shutter fold.
Solution: Slim side-hung hinged panels in heritage white, set behind the shutter box with 10.8mm laminate at 160mm cavity.
Result: 31dB measured reduction, shutters still operate nightly, and conservation officers accepted the reversible fixing detail.
Free London survey, measured dB assessment and a written specification within 48 hours.
