Should You Measure Your Own Windows in Zionsville, or Book the Free Measure?

Zionsville Window Treatments · 2026-09-29

Every custom order starts with a number, and that number comes from somewhere. Sometimes it's a professional with a steel tape and a level, and sometimes it's a Zionsville homeowner standing on a step stool with a cloth tape from a sewing kit. Both can work. Only one of them has much room for error.

Deciding Inside or Outside Mount Before You Measure

The single biggest decision before you pick up a tape measure is whether the shade or blind is going inside the window frame, or mounting to the wall around it. That decision changes which numbers actually matter, so it has to happen before the tape comes out, not after.

Inside mount means you're measuring the actual opening, the clear space inside the frame where the headrail will sit. Outside mount means you're measuring how far past the frame the finished product needs to extend to cover it properly, which usually means adding several inches to the width and height rather than measuring the opening at all.

If you haven't decided yet, decide before you touch the tape. A window in Zionsville with less than about 2 inches of clear depth inside the frame, or one with a crank handle or lock sticking into that space, generally can't take inside mount at all regardless of what you'd prefer, so check for obstructions first and let that decide the method.

The Tools That Actually Matter

The baseline tool kit is short: a steel tape measure, a pencil and paper, a stepladder if needed, and ideally a second person. If you've got all four and you're willing to be patient rather than rushing through it, you have what's needed to measure accurately.

What tips the scale toward getting help instead is missing more than one of those things, especially the second person on a wide window, or feeling unsure about reading a tape to the nearest eighth of an inch rather than rounding. Those aren't skills everyone has practiced, and there's no shame in knowing that about yourself before an order that can't be undone goes in.

• Steel tape, not cloth
• Pencil and paper for each number, recorded immediately
• A stepladder for anything above easy reach
• A second person, especially on wide or tall windows

A laser measure only belongs on this list if it reads out in exact fractions. Otherwise it's introducing rounding error into a process where rounding error is the whole problem.

The Three-Point Measure, and Why One Number Isn't Enough

This is the step that separates a careful DIY measurement from a rushed one. Measure width at the top, the middle, and the bottom of the opening. Measure height at the left, the middle, and the right. Write down all six numbers, not an average and not just the middle reading.

The reason is simple: very few window frames are perfectly square, even in newer Zionsville construction. A frame can look dead straight and still be a quarter inch narrower at the top than the bottom. The order gets built to the smallest width of the three and the smallest height of the three, because a shade sized to the largest measurement won't fit into the tightest point of the actual opening.

Skipping this step is the single most common shortcut in a DIY measure, and it's understandable, since measuring once in the middle feels thorough enough. On plenty of windows it is. On enough of them it isn't, and there's no way to know which category a given window falls into without actually checking all three points.

What Happens When the Measurement Is Wrong

This part deserves a straight answer instead of a soft one. Custom window coverings are built exactly to the number given, and once they're cut, they generally aren't returnable the way a shelf product is. Get the number wrong and the usual outcome is paying again for a remake, not a refund, because nothing about the product itself was defective.

That's not a reason to avoid measuring your own Zionsville windows. It's a reason to take the process seriously if you do. Straightforward rectangular windows with good access and no obstructions are genuinely low risk. Anything with a visible slope, an uncertain depth, or a long list of windows to get through in one session carries more room for a mistake to slip through unnoticed.

Be honest with yourself at the end of the process. If every number came out clean and consistent across all three measuring points, that's a good sign. If one window left you second-guessing, don't talk yourself out of that feeling. A second check before ordering costs nothing. A remake after a bad order costs real money.

There's no wrong choice between measuring it yourself and booking a free in-home measure. Just be honest with yourself about how confident you are in the number before you commit to an order that can't be adjusted afterward.

Recording the Numbers Without Wrecking the Order

With a full house of windows to get through, the recording system matters as much as the measuring itself. Round to the nearest eighth of an inch. Write width first, then height. Label every single entry by room and window position, such as kitchen over sink rather than just kitchen, if there's more than one window in that room.

Take a photo of each window with its numbers visible on a sticky note or written on painter's tape stuck to the frame. It takes ten extra seconds per window and it's the easiest way to catch a transcription error before you're filling out an order form for the whole house at once, days later, from memory and a notepad.

Double check the total count at the end. It sounds obvious, but it's an easy step to skip, and a missed window is a common way a full-house order comes up one item short.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I measure to the nearest inch or the nearest fraction?

Nearest eighth of an inch, every time. Rounding to the nearest inch feels close enough but it isn't, since a quarter inch of slop is often the difference between a shade that fits and one that doesn't clear the frame or leaves a visible gap.

What kind of tape measure should I use?

A steel tape, not a cloth one. Cloth tapes stretch slightly with use and age, which throws off a measurement just enough to matter on a custom order. A basic steel tape from any hardware store is accurate and cheap.

Do I measure the glass or the whole frame?

Neither, exactly. For inside mount you measure the inside of the frame opening itself, not the glass and not the outer trim. For outside mount you're measuring how far past the frame you want the covering to extend, which is a different number entirely.