A curved head on a pair of glazed double doors looks simple on a drawing. It is rarely simple to buy. Opening widths are never identical, the arch radius has to agree with the frame section, and the finish sample in the brochure is not what will arrive on site. Those decisions need sign-off from several people before production starts, and each one that slips past the order date turns into a variation on site.
This guide walks through the approval chain for Santerson Arched French Doors, a made-to-measure item in our French Doors collection whose finish, layout and dimensions are specified project by project. It is written for the person who has to collect those sign-offs: the project manager, the interior designer acting as the client's representative, or the builder's second pair of hands.
Why arched doors carry a longer approval list than straight ones
A rectangular door leaves little room for disagreement: width, height, leaf count, finish. An arched pair adds geometry that several parties interpret differently. The designer draws a semicircle. The joiner reads it as a segment with a specific radius and rise. The site carpenter measures an opening whose head is not quite level. The procurement officer sees one line item on a bill of quantities.
Our product pages state made-to-measure sizing, material and finish options, and a layout tailored to the project, with the standing instruction to confirm dimensions and selected specifications for each project. That confirmation is exactly what an approval chain produces: one document, signed by the people who own each decision, before we cut anything.
Who signs what
| Role | Owns the decision on | Sign-off at |
|---|---|---|
| Interior designer / architect | Arch profile and radius, glazing bar layout, sightlines, finish and hardware appearance | Drawing review, before any measurement is taken as final |
| Main contractor or site foreman | Openings as built: widths, heights, head level, floor levels, wall build-up, clearance for the swing arc | Site survey stage, after plasterboards are up and finishes are known |
| Client or owner's representative | Budget envelope, appearance in occupied rooms, any change of scope | Sample approval stage, before production release |
| Procurement / quantity surveyor | Quantities per opening, lead time against the programme, what is included in the price and what is not | Order placement, with the drawing pack attached |
| Manufacturer (SANTERSON) | Whether the requested arch geometry is buildable at the chosen section and finish, and how the doors are packed and shipped | Technical review of the returned shop drawing |
If one name is missing from that table on your project, add it before the first drawing goes out. The most expensive omissions are the client representative who is not used to being asked about a radius, and the tradesperson who will later hang the leaves.
The five approvals, in order
1. Opening survey approval
Nothing else is reliable until the openings are agreed. Ask for widths at head, middle and sill; the height from finished floor level, not from slab; the diagonal of each opening; and the wall build-up on both faces. Finished floor level matters most here: a door scheduled against an unfinished slab will sit proud or rub once the tile bed is laid. Have the contractor countersign the survey sheet with a date and the name of the person who measured.
2. Geometry approval
Fix the arch shape in numbers, not in a sketch: radius or rise, where the springing line sits relative to the hinge stile, whether both leaves mirror each other, and how the curved head meets the frame on a wall that may be out of plumb. A single dimensioned elevation with the arch centre marked removes more arguments than three meetings.
3. Finish and glazing approval
Approve a physical sample, not a scan. Timber species and stain read differently under warm feature lighting than under daylight, and the same is true of painted and veneered surfaces. Decide at the same time what the glazed panels are doing: single or double glazed units for acoustic separation, patterned or clear glass where privacy matters, and the glazing bar spacing that matches the room's proportions. Related pieces in the same elevation should be approved together; if your scheme also uses Classic French Double Doors elsewhere on the floor, confirm the two profiles side by side so the difference is deliberate rather than accidental.
4. Interface approval
Doors do not arrive alone. Sign off what happens where the frame meets plasterboard, where the arch continues into Custom Niche Paneling or a panelling run, and where a door is designed to disappear into a wall as part of Integrated Door & Paneling. These junctions are where programmes slip, because each one belongs to two trades.
5. Production release
One email, one PDF pack, all five signatures: survey sheet, dimensioned elevation, approved finish reference, interface details, and the purchase order with quantities per opening. From that point the order is fixed, and any change becomes a written variation rather than a conversation on site.
Approvals across several villas or floors at once
Repeat projects multiply the problem rather than simplify it. A villa portfolio in Sydney, Melbourne or Perth will have openings that look identical on a plan and differ on site, and each client has their own taste in finish. Two rules keep this manageable. First, approve one prototype set completely — geometry, finish, ironmongery, glazing — and treat it as the reference for every subsequent order, with deviations recorded individually. Second, run site surveys per building rather than trusting the drawing set; a single survey sheet per opening keeps the register honest.
This is where working with a single furniture and building materials supplier reduces the number of approvals you have to chase. When doors, wardrobes, kitchen cabinetry, wall panelling and flooring come from one manufacturer, the same shop-drawing review covers all of them, one set of finish references travels across trades, and interfaces between products are resolved in the factory rather than argued about on site. Our turnkey project service runs that workflow from design consultation and material selection through production, logistics and installation, and our custom and OEM service covers bespoke sizes, finishes and detailing for projects that need something off the standard range.
What to send us when you are ready
- A dimensioned elevation of each opening, including finished floor level and the arch radius or rise
- The number of leaves, hinge side and opening direction for every set
- Preferred material and finish, plus the reference of the sample you approved
- Glazing type and bar layout, with any acoustic or privacy requirement stated
- Details of adjoining finishes: plasterboard, stone, timber panelling, flooring build-up
- Delivery location, access constraints and the stage of the programme you are ordering against
Send those with the approvals already collected from your designer, contractor and client, and we can move straight to a technical review and a shop drawing for your confirmation instead of opening a new round of questions.
Questions about arched openings on a current project are welcome — contact SANTERSON with your drawings and survey sheet, and we will come back with what is buildable, what it involves, and how the doors fit the rest of the joinery package.