Contract & volume: specifying across phases
Volume work rewards a different discipline from a single room: consistency, repeatability and lead times that hold across phases. Here is how we approach specifying at scale.
Dressing one beautiful room and specifying hardware across forty plots are different disciplines. A single room rewards a perfect individual choice; a development rewards consistency, repeatability and lead times that hold. The aim shifts from "the best piece for this window" to "the right piece, specified once, delivered the same every time." Here is how we approach it.
Specify once, repeat exactly
The foundation of good volume work is a documented schedule: the poles, tracks, finishes, diameters and fixings for each window type, written down and repeated across every plot and phase. This keeps the scheme consistent, makes ordering and snagging predictable, and stops the slow drift that creeps in when each plot is chosen ad hoc. A show home should be reproducible, not a one-off.
Plan the fixings before the walls close
On a build, the most expensive mistakes are the ones designed out too late. Battens, noggins and motorised power runs need to be in before plastering and first fix. Settling the fixing strategy at specification stage (wall or ceiling, what sits behind the surface, where any cabling runs) avoids retrofitting into finished rooms later. See wall vs ceiling fix and motorised tracks for what to allow.
A keen price is welcome, but consistency and a date that holds are what keep a development on track. Hardware that varies between phases, or that is not there for a handover, costs far more in delay and rework than it ever saved on unit price. Repeatability is the real economy.
Match the system to the use, not just the look
Contract windows are used hard and handed over to people who did not choose them, so the hardware has to be robust and forgiving. The pole-or-track decision leans toward tracks for durability and discretion on volume work; the diameter and support should be specified for the heaviest curtain a plot might reasonably take, not the lightest. Build a little margin in, and the specification survives real life.
One partner across the whole story
The quiet value in volume work is having a single point of accountability across the programme: one specification, one set of lead times, one team that catches the problem before it reaches a handover. That is the way we prefer to work: a deliberately small roster, looked after properly, with a date we stand behind.
Common questions
Why specify hardware as a fixed schedule on a development?
A fixed, documented schedule keeps every plot and phase consistent, makes ordering and snagging predictable, and protects the look of the scheme as different trades and timescales come and go. Ad hoc choices per plot create drift and delay.
What matters most in contract specification, price or consistency?
Both, but consistency and lead times usually decide whether a programme runs smoothly. A keen price means little if the spec varies between phases or the hardware is not there for handover; repeatability and a date that holds are what a programme depends on.
How early should hardware be specified on a build?
Early. Especially where fixings, battens or motorised power need to be planned before plastering and first fix. Settling the specification and the fixing strategy up front avoids expensive retrofitting later.
Can a specification stay consistent across phases?
Yes, with a documented schedule of poles, tracks, finishes and fixings repeated across plots, and a supplier who can hold that specification and its lead times across the life of the development.