French Doors – So Many Options!

French doors have been around for centuries and for most of that time they have been fairly standardized in their use and appearance. French doors originated from casement windows which grew downward to meet the floor and were originally used mainly on second story balconies. These casement windows eventually grew upwards and then became doors. What makes the original french doors unique is that the glass panes were all individual pieces of glass separated by wooden dividers known as mullions. The glass pieces in the doors are known as lites and french doors were categorized by the number of lites they contained. A french door with ten glass panels would be known as a ten lite french door.

Today french doors have been transformed in their use and in their design. Modern manufacturing techniques and materials allow french doors to be used in ways that could never have been imagined in their early years. The installation and operation alone have several options for homeowners to choose from. The styles include in swing doors where double doors open from the center into the home. Out swing doors would be the opposite and would open towards the outside. In the case of either out swing or in swing french doors you need to ensure that there is room for the doors to fully open without hindrance from furniture or fixtures.

One way to avoid the swinging doors is to have sliding french doors installed. The standard option here is the patio style door which has one panel that slides in front of the other. The detractor to this kind of arrangement is that only one half of the door is actually open. There of course is now an option to have the doors meet in the middle and slide into the wall to open thus creating the standard large opening that french doors are known for.

Another increasingly popular installation option is the folding French door. With this option a series of french doors that fold accordion style can be installed into virtually any size wall opening. This style of installation is commonly seen in restaurants that feature outdoor seating. The reason being that an entire wall can be replaced by folding french doors thereby increasing the square footage and seating area exponentially. Of course a folding french door can also be used in your home regardless of how wide your wall opening is.

Aside from the installation style of French door that you choose there are other options to consider when purchasing a french door? Screens and coverings are also options for french doors. Some french doors today have double paned glass for insulation purposes. This double paned glass offers a number of interesting choices. You may consider having a built in mini blind installed between the two panes of glass. This will give you the option of shutting out the light and visibility of the French door. Also if you have this double paned glass door you might have the dividing grid placed between the panes of glass so that you have the appearance of a multi lite french door while also gaining the benefit of easy cleaning.

Screens for french doors can be found in a few basic installation styles. There are screens that are essentially french doors that have screen material rather than glass and there are retractable screens that are housed in the wall and meet in the center if the door opening.

In addition to screens and coverings there is one other area that offers customization options. The glass itself. The options for the glass are limitless. Clear glass, tinted glass, stained glass, glass with patterns, glass with obscured views for privacy. Nearly any style of glass you can think of is available for your french door.