We're having our back door and living room window replaced, with the new back door going where the old living room window used to be. It was a sash window with quite a wide frame, and on the outside there is a decorative arch of bricks at the top. Total width of the arch is 90cm. It will open outwards into a back passageway between the kitchen wall and the fence between us and the neighbours.
We had a few joiners measure up to make the new door and window, the one we chose has made a door and frame that have been delivered today. Brickie has pointed out that to fit the frame in, he will have to widen the opening by 20cm and that this will mean the frame is right up against the kitchen wall, and there will barely be enough space to open it up without risking it banging against the fence. It will also be 20cm wider than the arch and thus look stupid as there's another window directly above it which is the right size.
Do we have any comeback here? The brickie has worked out that the guy measured the edges of the window frame on the inside, not taking into account that a lot of that was wood extending over the wall, and also ignoring the fact that the opening on the outside is a lot smaller. It took them 5 weeks to do the door in the first place. They're a reputable company, had good reports of their work, so no idea why this has happened.
The new window is also 5 cm too narrow owing to him measuring the inside of that opening, where it's replacing a door. But that's less of a problem. I simply assumed that the chap measuring up, being a professional joiner, knew what he was doing and so didn't question the measurements he gave. The brickie just sighed and said over and over "You always measure the outside, not the inside".