If you’re eager to transform your home and your living spaces to infuse your home with charm, personality and style. Join us throughout this article as we explore the style and practicality of French doors. Get ready to be inspired and learn everything you need to know about French doors.

Understanding French Doors

French doors are an architectural design that originated in France around the 17th century (hence the name!). French doors are noticeable for their glass panels that extend the whole length of the door, from floor to ceiling. 

They allow for lots of natural light into your interior spaces and they provide those gorgeous floor to ceiling views of your outside spaces. French door are most commonly used to connect areas in your home like your living room and patio area to create an open space and flow within your home but also allowing you to have that section partition if you want or need it. 

Some unique features of French doors include:

• Elegance and aesthetic pleasing to the eye, they are known for their timeless class and classic beauty.
• Glass panels, large glass panels in the french doors mean that a lot of natural light is allowed to flood into your home brightening it up.
• Versatility. French doors can be used in many different ways due to the way they can be single doors, double doors, swinging doors and sliding doors!

Exploring the different types of French doors

UPVC French Doors

UPVC French doors are a popular choice due to their affordability, low maintenance and how energy efficient they are. UPVC is also resistant to rotting, rusting and fading which makes it a great choice for all different weather conditions.

Aluminium French Doors

Aluminium French doors are lightweight, very durable and need hardly any maintenance. They’re known for their modern, simple and classy look and often chosen for contemporary architectural buildings. Aluminium is also resistant to corrosion and weather corrosion, which makes them a great fit for coral area homes.

Hardwood / Wooden French Doors

Wooden French Doors have a lovely classic look and charm that brings a beautiful natural aesthetic to your home and boosts your home's curb appeal. Wooden French doors are also available in a huge range of different types of wood such as oak, pine and spruce. 

These woods when installed can be painted, stained or varnished to then achieve the look and finish that you desire. However wooden doors do require a lot more maintenance and upkeep such as the mentioned painting, staining and varnishing rather than other options like UPVC and Aluminium.

The cost of French Doors

For a standard set of UPVC French Doors with installation included it is estimated that it would cost * approx. £1,600 +VAT.

For a standard set of UPVC French Doors without installation (SUPPLY ONLY) it is estimated that it would cost * approx. £700 +VAT

*All of the above pricing estimations are very rough and will vary depending on the circumstances you are looking for. Factors such as size, configuration and finish will all be included in the variable price.

The advantages of installing French Doors

The benefits of French Doors are many. Here we will discuss a few and how they can benefit you:

• Natural light, the large glass panels allow for lots of natural light to flow into the living spaces in your home. This can help to reduce the need for artificial lighting in your home, in turn helping to reduce energy consumption in your home.
• Seamless flow, the indoor to outdoor integration that you will get in your home from having french doors installed brings you a smooth transition into your home that allows you to expand and take full advantage of your living spaces. 
• Aesthetic appeal: their classic design and the different configuration options you can choose from, to personalise their style and function to fit you and your home.
• Ventilation, opening up your French doors when they have been installed gives you free flowing air in your home, improving the air quality in your home.

Ensuring security with French Doors: Ultion Locks

Ultion locks are a type of high security lock manufactured by Brisant-secure, which is a company who specialise in advanced locking systems. These locks are specifically designed to provide high levels of security and protection for residential front and back doors, soem of the benefits for Ultion locks include:

• Anti-snap technology
• Solid construction
• High-security key
• Anti-bup and anti-pick technology
• Secure lockdown more

A guide to adjusting French Door hinges

10 simple step by step tips and advice for adjusting the hinges on your doors:

Step 1: gather together the all of the correct tools that you will need to complete this task

Step 2: identify the problem at hand that you have.

Step 3: locate the adjustment screws.

Step 4: adjust the vertical alignment of the door.

Step 5: adjust the horizontal alignment of the door.

Step 6: check the gap with the door.

Step 7: test the door.

Step 8: secure the screws into the door.

Step 9: lubricate the hinges of the door.

Step 10: Check the locks on the door.

Alternatives to French Doors: Other options to consider.

There are a few other options that are similar to French doors that you can choose instead of a French door that still have the same look and feel to them but are slightly different. Some of these similar options are sliding doors and bi-fold doors.

Bifold doors are a set of doors very similar to French doors in the way that they have floor to ceiling glass panels and full open up to allow for natural light and air to flow through your home and to integrate the indoor spaces and the outdoor spaces of your home together to create a lovely flow and translation to your home. 

The difference between French doors and Bi-fold doors is that the french doors are attached to either side on hinges and come together where as the panels on a bi-fold door concertina together and stack on top of each other and create a stack which takes up minimal space whilst still achieving the same effect as French doors.

Sliding doors are another great alternative to French doors. Similar to the french doors and bi-fold doors, sliding doors have floor to ceiling glass panels that allow an abundance of natural light into the home and give amazing panoramic views of your outside areas. Sliding doors also act in a similar way to bi-fold doors in that when opened they take up little to no space at all so you have a free flowing transition from outdoors to indoors in your home.

Exploring colours and styles

French Doors are incredibly versatile. There are many different design styles and choices you can pick from when you decide to get them installed into your home. These can include the different choices of;

• glass (whether it’s single glazed, double glazed, or even triple glazed, plain or patterned)
• muntins (the vertical and horizontal elements that divide up the pane of glass in your window into a grid)
• whether you have shaped tops or not, louvred French doors (a type of door that has vents in it that help to maintain air circulation, even when closed which helps to keep a fresh atmosphere and eliminate any mustiness.)
• painted or stained finished to your frames, stained glass, a choice of different hardware, handles and different custom designs

Conclusion: The value and appeal of French Doors

French doors are effortless and stand as a perfect example of timeless elegance and they seamlessly slot into your home to bridge the gap between elegance and functionality for your home.

Throughout history these french doors have been, and still are, an architectural piece that captivates any homeowner and brings a sense of charm into their home. Beyond just their look there are so many practical advantages for French doors that they’re just too good to pass up on, with being able to flood you interior spaces with natural light, move the boundaries between indoor and outdoor living and give you better ventilation in your homes making for a perfect choice for homeowners looking for that seamless transition in their home.