Porches & Decks Remodeling Design Dilemma

Exterior French doors that are attractive and secure??

last year

I need to replace two sets of french doors. Both lead to the back porch.

Currently, these are old wood doors, with glass panes - they let in a lot of cold air and they are not secure at all. There are also very old screen doors there now.

I need a solution that is:

1. Secure

2. Attractive.

3. thermal insulating.

4. Max $3k for each set of french doors

Handyman suggested fiberglass doors with built in blinds - attractive and thermal insulating, but not secure. about 2k for a set.

I could add attractive security screens like crim safe, but that's ~4k for each set - just for the screens.

Any ideas for a solution?

Featured Answer

millworkman

last year

Does the 3k include installation? What have you looked at? Where have you looked? What size doors? What do you mean by secure?

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Comments (8)

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Original Author
last year
No, I wasn't including installation in the 3k, but I wasn't expecting installation to be too much more. So, maybe $3,250 total for a set of French doors, installed.

Roughly about 72" opening, with each door taking up about half that.

Secure - that it would significantly deter a break in (at least as much as my basic wood front door that doesn't have any glass), even without an alarm system.

I feel that most glass doors are less secure than doors without glass because someone can easily break the glass, and then either walk in or reach in and open the door (if it is a latch or a key-lock with the key in)).

I haven't looked at much. I've seen the fiberglass doors and like them a lot but worry about someone breaking the glass. Thought of adding an attractive security door to that, but only found crimsafe, which appears to be well over my budget.
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brushworks has it right- less money less quality. However- if you can find a scratch and dent sale, mis-orders whatever. I found that our local anderson supplier would sell french doors (scratch & dent) for $700- the retail is $2500. Better yet, we found a distributor upstate that was selling new doors for $850. (again they sold only misorders and you had to select from what they had in stock) Anderson makes a great french door with three point locking system. Remember that you need to get hardware for the doors so add another $300 for the basic white set.
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I found this on out swing door security. We have one too and never thought about security until today. copied from link below Security Ã¯Â¿Â½Ã¯Â¿Â½" The first red flag most people throw out when I recommend an outswing door is the security risk. They feel the exposed hinge pins are a weak spot thieves can exploit. That may have been the case many years ago but security style hinges are common and standard on outswing and many inswing doors. Tabs or studs on the hinges prevent the door panel from being removed even when the pins are popped out. The tabs and studs are either integrated into the hinge leaves or can be retrofitted to old hinge models. And some hinges also have special threaded pins that resist extraction without a special tool. So with the hinge issue off the table, an outswing door is actually more secure than an inswing door. Inswing doors are a cinch to kick in even when deadbolts and deep-screwed strike plates are used. Outswing doors on the other hand are next to impossible to kick-in and unlikely to be yanked out on the strike side (unless a thief chains the door handle the bumper of a waiting car). The main downside to outswing doors is availability. None of my local lumberyards stock outswing frames so they need to be ordered. One practical downside I can see is when there is an insufficiently sized exterior landing to permit someone to stand while opening or closing the door. But aside from the landing problem, why mess with a door design that has an inherent flaw when an outswing door threshold design is superior? Here is a link that might be useful: Inswing or Outswing doors
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For security, install some IP cameras and not wireless. Security systems let you know that your house has been broken into, but the police rarely respond quickly enough to actually catch the thieves (they typically are in-and-out faster than most of us would believe). If you have cameras, great. You'll have a picture of a guy wearing hat so his face is covered. It makes more sense to spend that money on the better quality glass (triple panes are actually pretty tough to break), better locks, and stronger support around the doors and windows. Most thieves aren't looking to get into YOUR house; they just want SOME house, so if yours is difficult to enter (no house is impossible to enter) they'll move on. We utilize a pug security system. He works 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Here he is working now: We have the Beagle model. Slightly larger than your system and possessed of a bigger mouth ... but just as lazy. My husband feeds ours meat /provides pets and praise every time he barks at someone at the door (for example, the UPS man), so he goes crazy when anyone's around. The doors are not the least secure part of any house. Any intruder who wants in, is gonna get in, if not through a door, then through a window... Yeah, doors are the least secure part of a house. Windows are certainly breakable, but they still require that the thief scramble over the sill while contending with broken glass. Most thieves go through doors, and most thieves use the front door ... the second choice is the garage-to-kitchen door (which has the benefit of being hidden from view). Thieves usually don't go into the back yard, even though sliding doors and French doors tend to be on the back of the house. Sure, if a thief has determined he wants to get into YOUR HOUSE, he's going to find a way -- door, window, whatever. But most thieves aren't targeting a specific house; they're just looking for the easiest choice.
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Mark, unless your dog is trained in Personal Protection, most snarling barking dogs, even Belgian Shepherds, will back down very quickly once a stranger enters the house when the dog(s) are home alone. There is a trainer in Florida that has several youtube videos that do a good job of showing this. He puts on a padded bite suit and "breaks" into customers homes. Customers who have told him their dogs would rip him apart! 99% of the dogs were quick to back down and want nothing to do with the intruder. My big and vicious sounding/looking dog stays in a crate when we are gone. I rely on my security system with sensors and motion detectors. The last thing I want is someone to hurt or kill my dog ... I would rather they just steal "stuff". Now, if you are home and someone breaks in, there might be a chance that your dog might try to help you out, but I wouldn't rely on that as my only home defense plan.
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WestCoast Hopeful
last year
We had French doors in our own home that led to back deck. They had a deadbolt and were our main entrance from backyard. Fibreglass. Home Depot
PRO
HALLETT & Co.
last year
Install will be far more than $250… A well made modern door will be better than what you have, but a thief with a crowbar will get in regardless. An aluminum clad door with multi point locks will be the best but outside your budget. My last house had fiberglass French doors and they were perfectly lovely, but the blinds between the glass are pretty cheesy…
millworkman
last year
I would look at a fiberglass double door with multi-point locks as @HALLETT & Co. points out. A glass door will always be the weak point but makes a hell of a racket when breaking so there is that. Concentrate on a quality door, and install and you should be fine. And in my opinion stay out of the box stores.
oberon476
last year
last modified: last year
If you are worried about break-ins because of broken glass then look into laminated for both enhanced safety and security. Laminated will add to the price however.
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
The only way to be a bit safer is laminated glass but it too can be broken , we had it in a store I worked in and a brick thrown was enough to break the glass. Get a dog better deterrant than anything else. We have huge patio doors and windows they are not "safe" but we have never had a break in we have 3 large dogs . I good alarm system is pretty good derterrant. Please do not get the doors with internal blinds when those blinds fail you will regret that choice. As for waether proof any door or windows has limitations as to how well they function. I prefer patio sliders to fench doors where I live we get big winds in the winter and that teeny space beten the 2 dors can still allow air in.
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Original Author
last year
no end to what I could spend ...

I think I will keep the doors I have - as a quick and cheap improvement, I will add some weatherstripping and change to keyed locks. Then maybe I can replace the old screen doors with laminate-glass storm doors for some more security and insulation.

ive also seen inexpensive security kits that add reinforcements between door and frame - cant find link right now

I can put the money saved toward an alarm system

Exterior French doors that are attractive and secure??

millworkman

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Exterior French doors that are attractive and secure??

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