For some homeowners, choosing exterior doors is a decision that goes beyond considering factors like favorite color or the desire to match their home’s architectural style. In certain cases, the decision expands to include the possibility of, well, expansion—specifically, the widening of an exterior door frame to allow for an exterior double door.
You’ll most commonly see this kind of entry configuration when it opens up onto a patio, and it’ll usually feature a fair amount of glass in its construction. However, double front doors are another extremely viable use of the doubled-door look and can add some real personality to your exterior entryway.
During your research into doubling the size of your exterior doorway, you may hear a set of double entry doors referred to as French doors. French doors are usually of the glass-in variety, not the slab sort of piece that typically serves as a main entryway door. Their look also helped them earn the interchangeable name French windows (even though they’re functionally doors). Nowadays, rules around the term French doors have relaxed and the name is used interchangeably with patio front doors, double front doors with glass and slab doors alike.
In this article, we’ll discuss the merits of utilizing an exterior double door as the main entryway into your home, as well as some of the disadvantages of installing this unique front door feature. Lastly, we’ll offer some suggestions for keeping your double doors in top shape.
The Advantages of Double Door Entryways
There are more than a few reasons why this 1600s French invention was imported to the Americas during the 1700s.
When a set of double doors does include quite a bit of inserted glass, the setup’s aforementioned similarity to large bay-style windows helps bridge the gap between indoor and outdoor spaces. Double front doors with glass also allow more natural light to permeate the home and give those inside the house a clearer sight line on what’s happening outdoors.
That isn’t to say that double slab doors aren’t without their merits either. Double doors with or without glass can be cracked open in a variety of combinations to allow for better ventilation—sure, the doors with glass will keep you a little more at ease since you can see through them no matter what sort of configuration they’re in, but when it comes to customized front entry ventilation, they both get the job done. .
Double front doors are great at letting in more than light and air, too. The larger opening provided by an exterior double door is great for moving large objects like furniture into and out of a home. That extra space can also act as a great starting point for making your home accessible for visitors and family members with disabilities.
From an aesthetic viewpoint, there’s just something regal and ornate about having two doors in the same spot instead of one door serving the same purpose. That air of sophistication translates into a strikingly impactful bit of curb appeal that’s very hard to ignore. Exterior double doors as front doors aren’t just uncommon, they take up a large amount of space on the front of a home and demand the attention of passersby.
A feature that takes up so much real estate on your real estate also opens the door to more elaborate theming and decorating around it, so enhance the double entry doors with sizable lighting fixtures, decorative doorlites, and other options that can serve to further enhance the impression your entry doors make on the outside world. You may also want to go big with other aspects of your front porch—and even front yard—with statement landscaping like large bushes or eye-catchingly tall porch plants, artificial or real.
Furniture is another space that you can play around in. With a large entry door on the front of your home, there isn’t much that’ll look out of place on your porch or in your front yard. Play around with different sizes of chairs, tables, umbrellas, and more. From those large lounge chairs meant for long sessions of porch sitting to the most subtle of end tables, choose what feels comfortable and correct. As long as your choices don’t clash heavily with the aesthetic of your home, you shouldn’t have any trouble.
The Disadvantages of Double Door Entryways
Most choices you make as a homeowner come with their own sets of positive and negative consequences—because you made the decision to do one thing, it simultaneously alters your ability to do other things both in that space and in other places around your property. The same goes for double front doors with glass and double slab doors.
That’s why it’s always important to do your research and know if you desire one particular improvement project’s outcome over another. Sometimes, it may even be more important to know the negatives of projects so you can decide whether you can see yourself living comfortably with the decision.
Double front doors do carry a number of disadvantages along with them that can render the myriad advantages less appealing. The first and arguably largest hurdle between you and twice the front doors is space. If you don’t have the space along an exterior wall to install double entry doors, which usually involves widening an already existing opening, then it won’t be possible to have a double front door. You also want to be cognizant of the amount of indoor wall space a project like this will leave you with—exterior double doors could take up the majority of one wall. The other most practical, stop-before-you-start consideration is money and budget.
In addition to the costs and materials necessary to double the raw opening for your entry door you also need to purchase another entry door, get all the specific accessories you may want or need for both doors, install both doors and finish both jobs by providing decorative pieces to accent the door. These are real barriers to entry, but other issues can pop up after an initial job is completed.
Installation of double doors creates double the space for a home to lose heat or let in cold. The doors are especially susceptible to this in the middle portion where they meet since it can be hard to provide enough protection from the elements due to their need to open and close. This middle portion may also pose a security risk if the doors aren’t given enough support through the use of multiple locks and bolts.
If for any reason you choose to forego the double door look, you can increase the footprint of your single-door entryway by installing sidelites that add some glass on either side of the door, or a transom window that adds glass above. After all, the best entry door is the one that’ll match your personal wants and your household’s needs.
Considerations for Choosing Double Front Doors
If you’ve weighed your options and you’re choosing to go with the exterior double door, there are specific choices that can help mitigate some of the negatives the option presents.
Double front doors with glass can be good for an entrance, but choose the right kind of glass for the amount of natural light you want to let in. You’ll also want to look at the aesthetics of the glass, since some feature designs and cuts that match to specific styles.
Finally, consider the amount of heat that will escape due to the nature of glass and think about purchasing one of the many coverings on the market that’ll both reinforce the glass from physical damage and help keep more heat inside the home.
Security can also be a concern since one side of each door won’t be connected to—and therefore reinforced by—a door frame. Double doors can be reinforced by a multi-lock mechanism that permanently sits between the two doors. You may have seen something similar installed on double sets of interior or exterior doors in places like hospitals or sports arenas. If you’re concerned about your double entry doors being easy to break into, this kind of reinforcement should render the doors as resistant to intruders as a one-door entryway.
When it comes to concerns about weatherproofing and properly securing double front doors, the actual material a door is made from can play a huge role in its success on either front. Fiberglass doors are better than their wooden or metal counterparts at keeping heat in and keeping cold out. They also stand up to physical impact better and maintain their integrity for longer. If you plan to install or replace double doors, Plastpro’s Nova and Onelite series of doors are both well-suited for the job.
Maintaining and Caring for Double Front Doors
Maintenance begins at the installation of a door, so be sure each door is installed evenly and properly, weatherproofing is put into place, and doors have the correct amount of support when it comes to their frames and each other. After that’s done, caring for your double doors is going to look a lot like caring for two doors. Be sure to inspect regularly for proper opening and closing, intact weatherproofing and any physical damage that may impact overall performance.
Enhance Your Entryway with Plastpro
Plastpro’s fiberglass doors can be customized to fit most entry door openings on a home, and doorlites or accessories can be added to reflect your own chosen style. Find a dealer today to begin planning your one or two-door entryway project!
