How To Add French Doors To A Room

Say "Qui" to a gear up of beautiful doors

Blending privacy with visibility is what makes French doors such an bonny option for inside or exterior your home. The fact that they're cute doesn't injure, either.
French doors can provide your habitation with a timeless design that conveniently and stylishly connects 2 spaces and affords you the benefit of natural lighting. Whether they split up your living room from your dining room, or an outdoor patio from your kitchen, French doors are a gorgeous option that helps make an like shooting fish in a barrel transition from one expanse to the side by side.

Get prepare to transform the await feel of your habitation with a stunning set of French doors. Whether you're looking to add a French door to an existing door frame or install pre-hung French doors and brand use of a window transom to acme it off, we've got some stride-by-step tips to practice it yourself!

How to install a french door

How to install outside and interior French doors in a existing opening

Step 1: Prep the opening

Figure out your space'south opening for where you want install your doors. You're more than probable going to be removing the drywall and/or trim around the infinite. A safe manner to remove the trim without dissentious the wall is to score some caulking around information technology and and so pry it off with a crowbar or pry bar. Once y'all've got the trim off and enough drywall removed, measure the width.

Footstep two: How to install pre-hung interior French doors

Remove the head and inside jambs (which are commonly nailed together to help with ease of removal). Next, slide the pre-hung French doors into the rough opening, making sure the jambs are affluent with the wall.

Note: Make sure you lot check to ensure the doors open in the desired location without an obstruction.

Step 3: Apply a shim

To make sure the door is level and straight, you'll want to shim the jamb plumb. Keep slipping shims under the side jambs until the head jamb is level.

Step four: Studs, meet frame

Now it'south time to nail your frame to the studs using #8 finishing nails through the frame and shims and into the studs. Before yous finish nailing all the nails, check the door to see if information technology opens and closes appropriately.

Step v: Apply trim

It'southward fourth dimension to bring it all home so that your French doors look pretty and flush in your previously open space. Use some #half-dozen finishing nails to bulldoze through the trim and into the studs behind the wall. Next, trim any exposed shims, and finally cut and install trim for the other side of the doors.

If that's all the room that that your space will allow, and then you're washed. Go fix to enjoy your new French doors!

Merely, if yous've got a bigger space to fill up, or just want to get fancier with your French doors, so you're going to need to build and install a transom window for the tiptop of the doors.

Hither are some helpful steps to attain that DIY French door install project.

How to install pre-hung interior French doors with a window transom

Step ane: Selection upwards where y'all left off

First, pick up where you left off in Stride Five of our French Door installation tutorial above. After yous have your doors in place (minus whatever framing on top), measure the above infinite door space to roughly encounter how much opening you lot're working with.

Notation:You lot may want to brand the window ¼ inch smaller than the allotted space'southward width and superlative so that yous tin can use shims to ensure it is level and plumb.

Pace 2: Build & fashion your window

Decide how many separate windows you lot desire your transom window to have – 2, three, four? In one case you lot've decided, you'll desire to measure the spacing and so that you tin can fit all of them every bit. Side by side, choose a door jamb stock from the moulding aisle of your local hardware store. Information technology should exist approximately 4-9/16in.

Cut two long pieces from the moulding to run along the top and bottom of the transom window, along with your sides and however many dividers you decided to brand for separate windows. For instance, if you want a window that has three panels, then you'll need two dividers that are the same length as your sides. Using glue and 16-gauge finish nails, you lot can brainstorm to construct the window unit.

Pace 3: Moulding for window glass

Now, it's time to figure out how to go your glass pane to fit into your window. In this instance, ¾ in. moulding works great for this frame piece. Once y'all have the frame piece measured and cut, you can install it with gum and 18-gauge brads to the inside of each window pane opening.

Next, it'due south time for the bodily install. Only slide the window into the opening above the doors. Shimmy it in a few places and secure information technology with more 16-gauge nails.

Footstep 4: Clean it upward and pigment it

Once your transom window is installed, you tin can add door casing and decorative trim if you desire, as well as caulk every seam and fill in whatsoever nail holes with wood filler. Depending on what color or natural finish you're going with, y'all tin can paint or stain the piece (and your doors, also) at this point.

Step 5: Cut your glass

It'south up to you lot whether you want to cut this on your own or special order it from a hardware store. However, since your window is going to be within 24 inches of an active door, residential edifice code calls for the glass to be tempered. Cut it yourself may exist more than than you bargained for.

Once y'all take your glass (1/eight in. thick tempered drinking glass works great), you're ready to run some silicone caulk forth the flat side of the frame/trim yous added earlier and printing the glass firmly into identify.

Pace 6: Add another layer of trim

Leaving the window installed as is isn't rubber. Once again, you'll want to cut more quarter-round trim to serve equally a second set of framing. Very carefully, nail this new bit of trim to the frame so that information technology sandwiches the glass safely and stylishly.

Step 7: Add door hardware & handles

The last footstep separating you from a set of fully functioning French doors is to install any hardware, such every bit a ball catcher and brackets to ensure your doors don't wiggle when closed and your handles/knobs of choice.

Finally, you tin can stand dorsum, admire your piece of work and love your new French doors knowing the hard work yous put into building them will pay off for years to come. If you listen closely y'all tin actually hear the compliments pouring in from future guests. If you lot take your eyes set up on your next befouled door install, check out our step-by-step guide on How to Install a Barn Door.

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