Measuring is not just width and height. It is the depth of the rebate, the type of frame, the direction of opening and the fixing method, and on a shaped opening a template as well. That is why we do not accept orders from measurements sent in: a centimetre gap devalues the whole purchase.
01IT IS SIX MEASUREMENTS, NOT TWO
Width and height are each taken at three points and the smallest figure is the one used: openings are almost never perfectly rectangular.
02HALF THE ANSWER IS WHAT THE SCREEN FIXES INTO
The type and profile of the frame decide whether standard Z-plates will sit at all, or whether hooks, pins or a fixing into the reveal are needed. A photo does not always show it.
03A SHAPED OPENING CANNOT BE TAPED
An arch, a circle or a raked head is traced onto a template and its radii taken at several points, and the profile is then bent to that shape.
04WHAT TO DO BEFORE THE SURVEYOR ARRIVES
- A photo of the whole opening showing the frame and the reveals
- A close photo of the opening mechanism: hinges, handle, track
- Rough dimensions, so the conversation has something to work with
- A list of the openings you actually use
What actually gets measured
Width and height at three points each: top, middle and bottom, then left, middle and right. Openings are rarely truly rectangular, and the smallest figure is the one that counts.
The depth of the rebate, if the screen sits inside the opening.
The type and profile of the frame, because that decides the fixing.
The direction the sash opens and the side it travels to.
Anything in the way: projecting handles, reveals, an air-conditioning unit, anything that will meet a cassette or a guide.
Why sent-in measurements are not enough
Because dimensions are half the answer. The other half is what the screen is going to be fixed into.
Standard Z-brackets do not suit every profile. In older stock there are frames they will not sit on, and then hooks, pins or a fixing into the reveal are used instead.
A photograph sometimes shows the profile and sometimes does not. An error here costs a refit, and a refit costs more than a visit.
Shaped openings are a separate matter: an arch or a circle cannot be captured with a tape measure. They need a template held against the opening and traced.
What you can do before the technician arrives
Photograph the opening as a whole from a short distance so the frame and reveals are visible.
Photograph the opening mechanism close up: hinges, handle, track.
Estimate rough dimensions so the conversation has something concrete in it.
Count how many openings you genuinely open. That is the one number that can meaningfully reduce the quote.
How the survey itself goes
The technician arrives at the agreed time, measures every opening and gives you the price on the spot.
Nothing is payable beforehand, and declining after the numbers needs no explanation.
If anything about the opening is unusual you are told there and then, not after manufacture.
The survey is free across all seven emirates. Lead times differ by emirate and we state them honestly rather than promising the same number everywhere.
A one-centimetre gap devalues the whole purchase: it is exactly the gap the screen was bought to close.
What to do if the opening is not standard
Non-standard means anything that is not a rectangle: an arch, a circle, a trapezoid, a sloped head under a staircase. A tape measure will not capture that outline, because real openings rarely have true geometry, and three measurements produce a crooked screen.
In those cases the technician holds a sheet against the opening, traces the outline and takes radii at several points. The profile is then bent to the shape recorded.
Where an opening has both a straight part and a shaped one, we usually make two screens: the straight one opens, the shaped one stays put. The opening keeps working and the price does not climb.
On bi-folds and sliding doors the size is not the only thing that matters. So does the side the sash travels to and the space the folded leaves occupy, because the cassette cannot share it.
