A frame that will not go in
The fitters arrive at nine. The kitchen window frame is 20mm too wide for the opening. The surveyor measured brick to brick and wrote it down, but the office entered it as the manufacturing size without taking the deduction off. Or the surveyor had already taken it off and the office took it off again, and now the frame is too small and the gap is too wide to pack. Either way, the old window is already out, or has to go back in, and a remake has to be ordered.
Where the sizes go wrong
Window surveys look simple: width and height per opening. The details that cause remakes are about which width, what has been deducted, and what the opening is really like.
- Surveyors differ on whether they write brick sizes or manufacturing sizes.
- Deductions for fitting tolerance vary by frame type and are applied in someone's head.
- Openings out of square are measured once, not at top, middle and bottom.
- Cill projection, head drips and reveal depth are noted in the margin, if at all.
- The survey sheet is retyped into the quoting software or the fabricator's portal.
What each remake costs
A remake means paying for a second frame, waiting for the fabricator's lead time again, a second fitting visit and often a temporary fix to the opening while the customer waits. Some fabricators will not accept responsibility for survey errors, so the whole cost falls on you. And a customer with a boarded opening is not a happy customer.
A survey app that checks the numbers
- Each opening is recorded in the same order: frame type, brick or structural width and height at several points, reveal depth, cill and head details, and photos.
- Your deduction rules per frame type are applied automatically, and the app shows both the measured and manufacturing size so nobody is confused about which is which.
- Checks flag the likely mistakes: width and height swapped, out of square openings beyond a tolerance you set, a size far from similar openings on the same elevation, or missing measurements.
- Photos are attached to each opening with a marker so the office can check a query without a revisit.
- Manufacturing sizes flow to your quoting or ordering software, or the fabricator's order format, without retyping.
- Each remake is logged with the reason, so recurring causes show up by surveyor or frame type.
| Check | Mistake it catches |
|---|---|
| Measured vs manufacturing size shown | Deduction applied twice or not at all |
| Several measurements per opening | Out of square openings |
| Comparison with similar openings | Mistyped figures |
| Required fields per frame type | Missing cill or reveal details |
| No retyping | Transcription errors in the order |
Deductions and tolerances are yours, set with your fitters and fabricator. We apply them, we do not choose them.
After the survey changes
Surveys arrive in the same shape whoever did them. The office stops interpreting handwriting. The mistakes that cause remakes are flagged before the order goes in, when fixing them costs a phone call. Remake reasons are recorded, so you can see whether they come from one surveyor, one frame type or one fabricator.
Fabricators notice the difference too. Orders arrive with clear manufacturing sizes, consistent frame details and photos available if they have a question. That usually means fewer queries back from the factory and less risk of a factory misreading a handwritten figure. It also makes it easier to settle whose error a remake was, because the survey record shows exactly what was measured and sent.
Recognise the pattern?
- You have had frames arrive that did not fit the opening.
- Surveyors record sizes in different ways.
- Survey sheets are retyped into your ordering system.
- Remake causes are not recorded anywhere.