Installing French doors is a great way to update your home and add a touch of class – find out more about choosing and installing French doors.
French doors are a great addition to any property; they even have the potential to add value to your home. Interior designers and door manufacturers recognize their design and quality, and perhaps this popularity is to blame for their slightly expensive cost. Nevertheless, French doors could be the answer if you are designing your home and looking to add a beautiful feature.
What are French doors made from?
French doors are typically made from wood, but you can also buy them in aluminum or uPVC. French doors also feature panes of glass, allowing a lot of light to enter the property.
How many planes of glass are there in a French door?
It depends, really; you could order a French door with a single pane of solid glass for a very svelte modern look. Or, for a nod towards the tasteful, distinctive, and traditional French door, you could opt for multiple panes of glass separated with wood. Most exterior doors are made with glass which is usually double glazed to keep your house warm and snug. In some cases, a decorative grille is placed between two panes of glass, adding an element of extra security.
What type of glass is used in French doors?
You could opt for single or double glazed glass. As for transparency, glass can be as transparent or as opaque as desired. Transparency is usually rated on a scale of one to five, with five being the most opaque and one the most transparent. If you plan to use your French door as an exterior door, you may want to use a high opaque glass, usually somewhere between levels three and five. This is because it allows for more security and privacy.
A lot of people opt for French doors purely because of their aesthetic quality. However, the amount of glass used in these doors allows for a large amount of natural light to enter the home, especially when used as an exterior French door. If you are looking for ways to reduce your electricity bill, you may want to consider installing a French door because of the amount of light it allows to penetrate the home.
What other benefits are there to having French doors installed?
- French doors are a great feature for any home.
- You could opt to have customized security features built-in if that is something you are concerned about.
- Who can accessorize french doors with customized door handles that match your home so that the French door fits in with the rest of your home.
- They last for years once installed and don’t require too much maintenance.
French door sizes
Some of the French door sizes that you can mostly find around are listed below. The makers of the French doors determine the sizes of the doors, but each door commonly has a width of about 30 to 72 inches. Also, you can mostly get them in increments of 2 inches.
Many companies that produce French doors do not sell single doors; they will sell them as duos. But the pair doors are usually about 1800mm (180cm), 1500mm (150cm) or 1200mm (120cm) wide. However, some doors with sidelights of about 3000mm (300cm) can have larger widths.
Time and again, you see some companies selling French doors with feet measurements. And they commonly start from 4ft to about 10ft. It may be more than 10ft, based on the specified order. But irrespective of the width of the door you want to buy, the height of the French door should be a maximum of 2100mm. (about 82 inches). You can also get to know the masonry opening dimension required by the producer of the French doors you are buying. It would be of great help to you because you must consider this size.
Measure your space size
The first thing you have to do is get a measuring tape and take the measurement of your door space. With the measurement of the opening, you can know if it goes along with the sizes enumerated above. Also, get the vertical dimension placing the measuring tape on the sill, and touching the door trim’s basement. Also, measure the width across the bottom, top, and the center of the space and if the dimensions vary, make use of the shortest dimension.
In addition, you should ensure that you take the measurement more than once. And if you are chanced to take the dimensions of the doors yourself before purchasing them, you can do so to reassure yourself. Do not forget that when you are purchasing the doors online or by other means, you should ensure that you use the shortest dimension.
How much do French doors cost?
It depends on the quality of the door as to the cost of it. You could expect to pay around £500 for uPVC doors and upwards of £1,000 for wooden ones as a rough estimate. This does not take into account installation costs. For a more specific quote, contact a local double glazing firm or builder that offers to install doors; they will better guide towards a more exact cost. Bellow are several price examples:
| DOOR STYLE | MATERIAL | Average COST |
|---|---|---|
| Sliding Patio: 2 doors | White PVCu | £850 fitted, £590 supply only |
| Multi Panel Sliding: 3 doors | White PVCu | f£900 fitte, £700 supply only |
| Bi-fold or multifold: 4 panel | Engineered Wood & PVCu | £1,250 without fitting |
Source: french-patiodoors.co.uk
