Measuring
rectangular openings
Timber
and metal openings can vary in their dimensions. So measure each
opening at the top and bottom, and at the left and right as well as
the middles of each side and top and bottom.
To
be perfectly sure the window has right angles – is square – take
the diagonals from opposite corners, e.g., top left to bottom right
and top right to bottom left. These measurements should be within
5mm of each other for the window to be considered square.
You
can check for ”squareness” with a try square, although that is
not completely accurate.
Templates
If
it is not possible to tell where the right angles of the opening are,
a template is called for. The material to be used for taking
templates should be stiff, easy to cut, unaffected by moisture, and
relatively inexpensive. This eliminates paper and some cardboards.
If you can find stiff corrugated cardboard this works well. Mounting
board works well too, but is expensive. Foam board is excellent, but
also expensive. Hard board or other thin pressed board is
inexpensive but difficult to cut with a knife. Thin plywood is also
a good material for templates, especially if the opening is
relatively regular. The more complicated the opening, the more
cardboard, mounting board, or foam board becomes useful for its ease
of shaping to the opening.
What
ever material you use, you must mark which is the interior and
exterior and for further checks, which is left and right. Fit this
template into the opening to make sure it fits into the opening
smoothly. This template will form the external extent of the built
window when it is installed into an opening with a rebate.
Where
the window is to be fitted into a channel, as in stone, you need to
make the template of stiff material so you can determine the panel
can be installed and that there will be enough of the panel within
the stone channels to ensure the stability of the window in the
future and still be able to manipulate the leaded panel into the
opening.
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