When making the decision about what type of exterior French door to purchase, there is a number of different factors that must be considered. Exterior French doors will impact the functions of the house and the amount of light that enter the room. One of the main factors in selecting exterior French doors is the size of those exterior French doors.
Many individuals dont understand the size constraint of exterior French doors until they begin the framing process of the house. As such, a size chart can be a helpful tool in understanding the various sizes of exterior French doors. The size chart can display exterior French doors in various configuration.
How to Choose Exterior French Doors
For instance, the size chart can display both single panels and paired panels of exterior French doors. Each of these configurations will have a different width. For instance, wider panels of exterior French doors will require wider header beam for the door opening.
The same is true of the height of exterior French doors; taller exterior French doors will have an impact upon the calculations required for the header beams for that doorway. Additionally, you can make exterior French doors out of a variety of materials. For instance, exterior French doors can be made of wood, fiberglass, steel, aluminum, or even composite material.
Each of these materials will have a different durability and appearance to the exterior of the house. Each of these attributes can be represented on the size chart for exterior French doors. Another decision that must be made is the type of glass that will be use in the exterior French doors.
For instance, ten-lite and twelve-lite exterior French doors are both common, but five-lite and twenty-two-lite exterior French doors are more detailed. Additionally, full-lite exterior French doors will provide greater visibility into the room, but may change the way that the exterior French doors may appear to someone viewing them from outside the house. Additionally, taller exterior French doors will allow for more lites in those doors.
Each of these features can again be displayed on a size chart for exterior French doors. The energy performance of exterior French doors can impact a homeowner in various ways. For instance, exterior French doors may be visually pleasing to the homeowner, but if the exterior French doors are not energy efficient, they may cost the homeowner money every month due to heating and cooling costs.
Each exterior French door will have an energy rating, and the size chart can include a guide to each of those energy rating. For instance, the energy performance of exterior French doors may be the most important feature in cold climates, but may not be as important in mild climates. Therefore, checking the energy performance of exterior French doors prior to ordering the exterior French doors will help to avoid having to make such a compromise in the buying process of those exterior French doors.
Another consideration of exterior French doors is the rough opening calculation. In order to account for the way in which exterior French doors will be installed, there is a formula for calculating the size of the rough opening. For instance, the width of the exterior French doors will need to be two inches more than the doors actual width, while the height of the exterior French doors will need to be two and a half inches more than the height of the doors.
This extra space allow the installer to adjust the doors for plumb and level installation. These rough opening calculations are displayed on the size chart. In addition to the rough opening calculations, there are other consideration for exterior French doors.
For instance, you can install exterior French doors to swing in a variety of different manners. For instance, inswing exterior French doors will protect the hardware from the elements outside the house, but may take up interior space within the house. Outswing exterior French doors will better seal the doorway against rain, but will expose the door’s hardware to the weather.
Additionally, active-passive exterior French doors are more common than either active-only or passive-only exterior French doors. The active panel will be used in the exterior French doors each day, while the passive panel will be used to move large item in the house. Again, each of these features is represented on the size chart.
Finally, weatherproofing of the exterior French doors is a necessity. For instance, the exterior French doors should not sag during installation, and they should remain dry. Additionally, the installer should place proper flashing on the door at the level of the door sill, the door should be weatherstripped along its entire exterior, and the overhang of the door should be of the correct size to the height of the door.
These steps are represented in the size chart for exterior French doors; they are not an optional step in the installation of exterior French doors. While there is no single answer to the exterior French doors selection process, a size chart can help an individual understand the relationship between each of the components of exterior French doors. By understanding each of these component, an individual will be able to make a choice about which exterior French doors will best fit both the doorway and the space within the house.
You should of looked at the chart first. It is alot easier than guessing.
