Double Glazed French Doors

French doors (double doors) provide a luxurious and dramatic improvement to any home. Allowing sunlight to stream into your house they give you the feeling of space and light that can really transform your home.

Double glazed French doors with Georgian bar

Double glazed French doors with full glass

Home owners who have old timber or metal French doors may look to replace them with new modern double glazed French doors.

What do new French doors offer?

• Security: Double glazed French doors offer high security locks with multipoint locking systems on the primary door and shoot bolts on the secondary door, the primary door is the door that you open first.
• Matching designs to your windows: If you wish you can have your double glazed French doors manufactured with a Georgian bar (as shown above) Crufix, cottage style or just full glass, the choice is yours.
• New uPVC provides minimum maintenance and allows easy cleaning.
• Provides additional light to the room.
• Double glazed French doors are fitted with storm seals no more cold drafts. The thermal insulation of French doors must meet with FENSA document L.
• French doors are also offered with a tilt option so one leaf can tilt back at the top allowing ventilation but will not allow light rain to enter.

Many home owners who have a window looking out onto there garden from there lounge or dining room often have that window removed and a pair of double glazed French doors fitted. This immediately gives a new dimension to that room. Should you require French doors larger than the window this is normally involves supporting the brickwork above the opening and removing the old lintel forming the new opening and building into position a new lintel an easy job for your builder to do.

French doors shown are exterior and usually installed in pairs, with glass panes extending for most of their length. Double glazed French doors are prized for their visual grace and their ability to transmit light between spaces even when in a closed position.

With French doors fitted it is hard to tell where the inside of your home ends and the outside begins.

Normally people have French doors fitted as they give total access as both doors open up fully, unlike patio doors that only open half the width of the opening.

With effect from 1st April, 2002, all replacement windows Inc Double glazed French doors became subject to Document L of the Building Regulations.

To meet with this regulation all double glazing and double glazed French doors must have a high level of insulation which means that the glass in the double glazed sealed unit will have a special transparent reflective coating.

The glass used to make the double glazed sealed unit is safety glass which is much tougher than ordinary float glass and is more secure from unwanted intruders and unwanted footballs alike. If the glass does break, it shatters into small pieces and so there are no larger jagged edges around. Having said that, it is much better to avoid your children playing near patio doors as should a child fall through a patio door, it could have very nasty consequences. Security features are built into the double glazed patio doors, so the locks and hinges are fitted directly into the steel frame making for much more secure doors.

Double glazed French door with full glass

Double glazed French doors in tilt position

Double glazed French doors with Georgian bar