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A house with a garden or a patio on the back needs a good set of French doors to complete the look. External French patio doors can be pre-hung single or double doors. These doors come in different shapes and sizes and the materials used can be just as diverse. Arched French doors are rare and give the house a very vintage look and feel.
The materials used for making exterior French doors are traditionally made of wood, but newer materials such as steel and fiberglass have been mass produced over the years. Wooden French doors are made from sturdy hardwoods like mahogany, cedar, narra and oak. Hardwoods are best known to provide protection from damage cause by the weather. Hardwood can also be easily carved into magnificent designs that can be painted on or polished with varnish. Steel French doors are sturdier and last much longer than wood doors. They are heavy so they can afford better protection to home owners. The most recent development in material for French doors is fiberglass. The material is said to satisfy new home owners’ cravings for the vintage style combined with the strength and durability that steel offers. Fiberglass can imitate any material used for making French doors- even steel. They cannot rust and flake like steel, and don’t twist and bend like old wooden doors.
When choosing French doors, always put your home into consideration. The style of the house can easily allow you to pick up a design best suited for your home. In the renaissance era, these doors were huge to say the least. They were built on an entire side of the home in sets of 3 or four double sided doors. The doors offered an exterior view of luscious gardens, while home owners enjoyed the shade of the inside of the house.
French doors can either be pre- hung or not pre-hung. Pre-hung doors are ready to install doors complete with all the necessary parts. These doors come in standard sizes designed to fit standard sized doorway openings. A none hung door requires a handyman’s skill as the homeowners will have to built a door casing for proper installation of the door. Needless to say, none hung doors are a bit more expensive than pre-hung doors. The doors are also characterized by having 9-16 panes of glass installed inside the door. True divided lites are separate pieces of glass divided by wood, metal or vinyl. Modern homes, in order to save on costs for making true divided lites, have single pane of glass with pieces of wood, metal or vinyl glued on the inside and outside part of door to give the effect that the glass is separated.