French Doors
French door installation
French doors suit an opening where a slider never quite looked right. Midstate fits hinged glass pairs onto patios, lanais and side yards, with the jamb, threshold and hardware set so both leaves close cleanly against each other.
Getting it right
Two leaves have to meet in the middle
A pair of French doors is less forgiving than a slider. Both leaves hang off hinges, both have to land on the same astragal, and the whole assembly has to stay square through a Florida summer. If the jamb is out by an eighth of an inch you feel it every time you close the door.
Midstate sets the frame plumb and level first, hangs the leaves to it, then adjusts the hinges and the locking points until both sides latch without being leaned on. That final adjustment happens before we leave, not on a callback.
The threshold matters just as much. Florida rain does not fall straight down, and a sill that was fine in a catalogue drawing can let water track inside on a bad afternoon. The threshold detail is set for how water actually runs off your patio.
See it in place
Clear glass or grids, and how the pair reads from the room
Most of the decision on a French door is what you see through it. These two openings are the same idea handled differently — one full-lite, one divided — and both face the kind of screened patio these doors usually open onto in Central Florida.
Full-lite pair off a dining area, one leaf open to the patio
Divided-lite pair from a family room, looking onto a lanai
Slide 1 / 2
Slide 1 of 2: Full-lite pair off a dining area, one leaf open to the patio
Options
Configurations Midstate fits
Swing direction is a practical decision, not a style one. It depends on furniture, prevailing wind and how much room you have on the patio side.
- Inswing pairs
- Both leaves open into the room. Works where the patio side is tight or exposed to wind.
- Outswing pairs
- Both leaves open outward, which frees up floor space inside and sheds water away from the threshold.
- Single with sidelite
- One operating leaf beside a fixed glass panel, for openings too narrow for a true pair.
- Replacing a slider
- A common swap where a slider never suited the room. The opening usually needs reframing to take a hinged pair.
Manufacturers, hardware finishes, glass packages and warranty terms are not listed here because they have not been confirmed. They will be added once Midstate supplies them.
Also from Midstate
Other services
Thinking about a French door installation?
Tell Midstate about the complete French door unit and opening you want installed. Installation projects only; no repair-only service.