Exterior French Doors

All About Exterior French Doors

According to Wikipedia.com, "A French door, also sometimes called a French window, is a door that has multiple windows ("lights") set into it for the full length of the door. Traditional French doors are assembled from individual small pieces of glass and mullions. These doors are also known as true divided lite[sic French doors. French doors made of double-pane glass (on exterior doors for insulation reasons) may have a decorative grille embedded between the panes, or may also be true divided lite French doors. The decorative grille may also be superimposed on top of single pane of glass in the door."

Of course, we all know what a french door is, and that they look really cool when used in an interior space like the entry way to an office, library or a bedroom, but they can also be used as an exterior door. As a mater of fact, not only do they make regular exterior french doors that swing open, but you can get a sliding version called a sliding french door. (To me they look more oriental and decorative than the traditional swinging door, but they work just fine.)

The one big difference between in interior french door and an exterior french door is the size, weight and extra sturdyness that needs to bebuilt into an exterior door, versus an interior one. French doors are not very sturdy by nature, and their latching mechanism is their week point. To make a french door sturdy enough to use as an exterior or entry door, they need to have slide locks located on the top and bottom of one of the doors, so that the locks set correctly when engaged.

Lowe's has 4 or 5 different versions of aluminum exterior french patio doors and a couple of versions of steel french patio doors. Both types of exterior doors are manufactured by American Building Supply and West Palm manufacturing. The steel doors are priced between $600-$800 at Lowe's, and the aluminum doors are priced at under $600. Lowe's also carries a couple of wooden interior french doors by Reliabilt.

One of the best places to get exterior doors is through Froogle.com. Froogle lists almost every make and model of door from every door manufacturer, so if you are still in the "Looking" phase of door shopping, that's a great place to start the hunting process. For higher end doors, or at least for doors that cost a whole lot more than Lowe's, try Home Depot. They don't have many on hand, but a sales person can show you what they have and help you pick out colors, heights, widths, patinas and door hardware for a special order, or custom order, door. Just keep in mind that a custom exterior french door is going to cost a whole lot more than one you can buy off the shelf at your local hardware store.

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Francis Kray

Posted 619 days ago

I live alone, and would like to know what the best french door security hardware is. My french doors don't seem very secure, and I know I need to add some kind of floor and ceiling type locks or bolts or something to make them more secure, but I don't know exactly what type of french door locking hardware would give the best security. Any answers would be appreciated.

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