When you buy a door from a certain manufacturer, you can only use their hardware. So pick a company whose hardware you like. Ron

When I designed our current house, I drew the window configurations 30 to 40 times before I decided the final confiuration and still lost sleep on it until they were in. I also used a fiarly low cost design program that allowed you to view things in 3d and place furniture (Broderbund 3d Home Design) to "see" how the rooms looked. I also looked at how the exterior of the house looked with various window configurations. Lastly, I tried to account for how various window coverings, (drapes, blinds and shutters) would impact how they looked. What I found was that the windows usually got a little smaller than I orginally planned. In summary, look at all aspects of the windows, inside, outside, access, window coverings, furniture placement and view before you decide. Hope this helps, but it probably doesn't. Since people have been so complimentary of the windows in our house, here's a couple more pics.

As usual, Patricia's advice is spot on! Go with whichever look makes you feel better. If you like French doors and your 69" width is not set in stone, maybe you could consider a narrower set of doors - reducing the space needed for in/out swing. We're in the process of installing these two Milgard sets that are 46" wide each. We like the look and very little space is needed for the doors to swing in. Just a thought....

"Replaced wheels in slider for $175.00." This is the usual problem when a sliding patio door doesn't move smoothly. Each door rides on two sets of wheels set into the bottom of the door. Water splashing up from the patio or lawn during rainstorms works its way into these units and corrodes them. The wheels seize up and the door sticks. As I've learned from experience, if you don't fix this and keep forcing the door, the track may be damaged. So you want to take care of it promptly. Replacement is a pretty easy DIY job. The wheels are adjustable to align the door. You'll find plastic adjustment plugs on the inside of the door at the bottom. Pry them out carefully. Into each hole thus revealed insert a large screwdriver (usually Philips head, but a flat blade may work too). Turn the adjustment screws until the rollers are fully retracted and the door is resting on its track. You should then be able to lift the door and swing the bottom out to clear the bottom track and remove it. Careful, it's heavy! Set the door on its side so you can easily get to its bottom edge. Remove the roller units and take them to a door-and-window shop for matching with replacements. Last time I replaced mine, the cost was around $15 per unit, IIRC. After installing the new rollers, put the door back on the track. Then use your screwdriver to adjust the wheels until the door stands just proud of the track and meets its jamb squarely. It helps to have someone lift on the door to relieve the weight as you adjust. When the doors are square and slide smoothly, put the plugs back in. Done. In my experience, these rollers need to be replaced every 10 years or so. Your "mileage" may vary.