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Home Decorating

double or single french door

11 years ago

We are replacing an 18 year old sliding patio door -- and want to put in a French door -- 6 foot wide x 7 foot tall -- does anyone have a French door where both doors are operable and open into the room??

What about where only one door is operable and opens into the room.

I'd like comments on whether you prefer one or 2 operable doors. Thank you for your consideration. Dee

Featured Answer

melle_sacto is hot and dry in CA Zone 9/

11 years ago

I have a single French door out to the patio (replaced an old sliding door about 10 years ago); the other side is a stationary panel/window. I like it fine, but in retrospect I wish we had just replaced with a French slider like the salesman recommended. Our room is small, and having a swing-open door really limited our options, though at the time I didn't realize it.

If space allows for a double French door, I think they're grand! Our space did NOT allow for a double, and really would have been best left as a slider. Our boys are 8 and almost 4, and they slam it a lot :-(

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Comments (8)

lkplatow
11 years ago
We have double french doors and I would not recommend them. We typically only use one side anyhow (the other has bolts that you have to undo that are a pain in the butt) and I have found that the double doors don't seal very well in the middle. They leak a lot of cold air and have also leaked water when we had strong windblown rain. We actually replaced the doors once figuring the builder used crappy quality doors but even the new expensive ones do the same thing. They do look pretty but they are a pain in the butt.
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jab65
11 years ago
We also seldom use the 2nd side of our French door, but it sure is nice for those occasions when we're moving furniture in or out.
joshuasamah
11 years ago
I agree with jab65. I have Pella double french doors. One side we use all the time the other remains locked, but when we had to move in furniture and a new refrigerator I sure was glad to have the double doors open. We don't have a big house and the doors do open inward but I chose that because I was concerned that with the grandkids running around the deck one would run into the door and get hurt. HTH
ogrose_tx
11 years ago
We replaced our sliding glass door with the double french doors, and like jab says, it's great to have the space for large appliances, etc.
lucy111
11 years ago
Maybe it depends where you live. We love our double french doors, and almost always have them wide open when we entertain. It really helps to create a nice flow. One door bolts in place as others have described, but it's not difficult at all. Ours seal well, and I've never noticed a draft.

HTH

Lucy
dee42
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for all the responses.

What brand(s) of doors would you recommend or not recommend??

We are looking at an Integrity by Marvin door -- those who have issues with them not sealing well, what brand do you have?? Thank you.Dee
annzgw
11 years ago
I have Pella and have not had any issues with them. One tip: if you're in the habit of leaving your slider partially open for fresh air, be warned that you can't easily do that with French doors.

Also, french doors with one door fixed are usually recommended for weather-exposed sides of the house. There's less chance of rain & wind making it into the house.

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