When are French doors better than bi-fold doors?

French doors are usually better on smaller openings where a simple hinged pair is enough. Bi-folds suit wider openings where the clear open width is the main goal.

Can French doors include side panels?

Yes. If the opening is wider than a standard pair, fixed side panels can keep the design balanced while bringing in more light.

Are French doors patio doors?

They can be. French doors used at the rear of a home are often called French patio doors or hinged patio doors. We keep sliding patio doors separate because those use inline tracks rather than hinged leaves.

Can French doors include blinds inside the glass?

They can be considered where the door glass and any side panels are suitable. Survey confirms pane size, handle clearance, operation route, and whether the upgrade is worth it for that opening.

What size openings usually suit French doors?

French doors suit standard garden and patio openings where a hinged pair gives enough clear access. Wider openings can still use side lights or top lights, but very wide spans usually suit sliding patio doors or bi-fold doors better.

Do French doors open inward or outward?

French doors typically open outward to maximise usable floor space inside. In cases where an outward opening would obstruct a path or patio, inward-opening configurations are available.

Are French doors the same as patio doors?

French doors can be described as French patio doors when they connect a room to a garden or patio, but the phrase patio doors is often used for sliding doors as well. On this page we mean hinged French patio doors; our sliding patio door page covers inline sliding systems.

Can French doors have side panels or top lights?

Yes. Fixed side panels can widen the glazed area while keeping the two opening leaves manageable, and top lights can suit taller apertures where the main door leaves should stay at practical everyday proportions.

Doors

French Doors

French patio doors supplied and fitted across Romford, Essex, and East London, planned around the opening size, swing space, threshold, glass, and hardware package.

Hinged French patio door pair
Security shootbolts supplied as standard
Side and top light routes for wider or taller openings
Threshold, restrictor, and swing space checked at survey

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020 8500 9100

Personalise Your Door

Colours & Finishes

Door colour: White

Standard colours

TruFrame publishes 14 Liniar French door frame colours. We confirm current samples, availability, lead time, and inside/outside pairing at survey before anything is ordered.

Handle, hinge and shootbolt finish

French doors depend on more than the handle colour. Hinges, shootbolts, restrictors, threshold detail, and locking keeps all need to suit the pair and the way the doors open.

Made to measure. We confirm the exact colour route, hinge finish, handle finish, threshold, and shootbolt setup before the French doors are ordered.

Handle, hinge and shootbolt finish

French doors depend on more than the handle colour. Hinges, shootbolts, restrictors, threshold detail, and locking keeps all need to suit the pair and the way the doors open.

Made to measure. We confirm the exact colour route, hinge finish, handle finish, threshold, and shootbolt setup before the French doors are ordered.

French Patio Door Planning

Hinged patio-door layouts, swing space, and hardware details

French doors are best treated as hinged patio doors: the important decisions are whether the opening suits a simple pair, whether side or top lights are needed, and how the threshold, restrictors, hinges, and shootbolts should be specified.

Made to measure

Choose the hinged layout around the room and the aperture

French patio doors are usually straightforward, but the survey still needs to resolve leaf sizes, swing direction, side glazing, top glazing, and everyday access before the pair is ordered.

Standard hinged pair

The classic two-leaf French door gives a clear central opening for normal garden access. It is the simple hinged patio-door route where the opening does not need a wider slider or folding system.

Two leaves opening from the centre
Strong fit for standard patio widths
Best when swing space is available

With side or top lights

Fixed side lights and top lights keep the same French-door operation while using more of a wider or taller masonry opening for daylight.

Useful where the opening is wider than the pair
Keeps door leaves at practical sizes
Top lights can preserve height and borrowed light

Swing direction and active leaf

The active leaf, handle side, open-in or open-out route, and any restrictors need to work with the room, patio, furniture, and nearby walls.

Open-out is common for rear garden doors
Open-in can suit tight patios or paths
Restrictors help where leaves could over-open

Details to confirm

French door specification and options

Product fit

A simple hinged patio door route for smaller openings

French doors, also searched for as French patio doors, are often the right answer where the opening is too modest for a bi-fold or slider but still needs a proper connection to the garden. They give a balanced pair of hinged patio doors without the panel stack, track depth, or larger glass format of aluminium sliding systems.

Best fit for

Standard patio openings and smaller rear extensions
Rooms where a full-width slider or bi-fold would be unnecessary
Homes wanting a traditional hinged French patio door pair

Consider another option when

The opening is wide enough to justify a sliding or bi-fold system
The closed-door view matters more than the hinged opening
There is not enough swing space inside or outside for the leaves

What we check on survey

We check whether the doors should open in or out around furniture and patio levels.
We confirm threshold detail against the internal floor and outside step.
We discuss side panels where the opening is wider than a simple pair.

Useful comparisons

Composite doorsCompare the front-door route built around colour, glass, hardware, and kerb appeal.

uPVC doorsCompare the practical route for rear, side, utility, and porch entrances.

Stable doorsCompare a split-opening door for ventilation, pets, children, and garden access.

Aluminium bi-foldsCompare a folding door set when the widest clear opening is the priority.

Sliding patio doorsCompare large glass sliders when the closed-door garden view matters most.

Heritage aluminium doorsCompare steel-look proportions for divided glass and period-industrial styling.

Optional Upgrade

Neat privacy for glazed French doors

French doors often sit on smaller rear openings where privacy still matters. Integral blinds can keep the pair looking tidy from inside and outside, especially when the doors include larger glass panes or fixed side panels.

Glazed doors with integral blinds inside the glass for privacy and light control

Clean hinged-door finish

A survey-led option for glazed door leaves and selected side panels.

Useful on French doors when

The rear room is overlooked but still needs good daylight
Side panels make the overall opening more exposed
Loose blinds or curtains would catch on everyday garden-door use

Blind types we can discuss

Magnetic integral blinds

A slim magnetic slider raises, lowers, and tilts the blind inside the sealed glass unit.

Electric integral blinds

Remote operation suits larger panes, harder-to-reach glass, and cleaner contemporary rooms.

What we check

Panel size, glass weight, and unit depth
Traffic-door position, handles, and threshold detail
Whether the blind layout should cover every pane or only selected panels

We check the door leaf, side-panel sizes, handle position, and glass specification before recommending magnetic or electric operation.

Ask about French door blind upgrades

French doors, often searched for as French patio doors or hinged patio doors, are a timeless way to connect a room with a garden, patio, or terrace. Two full-height glazed leaves open from the centre, giving a clear everyday route outside without the track depth of a slider or the stacked panels of a bi-fold. Cii Double Glazing supplies and fits French doors across Romford, Essex, and East London, specifying the pair around swing space, threshold height, side or top lights, glass, and hardware before anything is ordered.

Key Specifications

Energy-efficient glazing and frame options

Multi-point locking and secure hardware

Broad range of colours and finishes

Surveyed, supplied, and fitted by Cii

French Door Details

Simple Hinged Patio Doors With Better Everyday Detailing

The strongest French-door specification is not about endless variants. It is about a clean central opening, a sensible threshold, and hardware details that stop the pair feeling loose in daily use.

Clean central opening

Two leaves opening from the centre keep the room-to-garden connection simple and easy to understand on standard patio openings.

Threshold and bottom keep

The threshold, finished floor, outside step, and bottom keeps are checked together so the passive leaf closes cleanly and sheds water properly.

Restrictors for exposed patios

Restrictors can protect the leaves, hinges, walls, and furniture where the doors could be caught by wind or opened too far.

Shootbolt and meeting detail

Head-and-cill shootbolts and a tidy meeting stile keep the passive leaf aligned, secure, and properly weathered.

How It Works

From Survey to Sign-off

Step 1

Survey & swing check

We measure the opening, check whether a straight pair or side/top lights are needed, and confirm open-in or open-out swing around the room, patio, steps, and nearby walls.

Step 2

Made to measure

The French door pair is ordered to the measured size with the agreed frame colour, glass, threshold route, hinge finish, handle finish, restrictors, and shootbolt package locked together.

Step 3

Install & leaf adjustment

Our Cii team fits and seals the frame, adjusts both leaves so the meeting stile closes cleanly, checks the shootbolts and locking, and hands over the operation before sign-off.

Free Survey

Ready to price up your french doors?

Tell us the opening and the finish you want, and we will survey it, confirm the french doors specification, and give you a fixed written quote with no obligation rather than a generic estimate.

Free surveyFixed quoteDirect Cii installation team

Get a free quote 020 8500 9100

Compare door types

French patio doors, sliding patio doors, or bi-folds?

People often use patio doors to mean different products. French doors are the hinged patio-door route; sliding patio doors and bi-folds solve different openings.

French patio doors

Best for standard garden openings where a balanced hinged pair gives enough clear access and a traditional look.

Simple hinged operation
Good value on modest openings
Needs swing space inside or outside

Sliding patio doors

Best where the closed glass view matters and the opening is wide enough for larger inline panels.

No door swing space
Larger glass panels
Clear opening depends on track format

View this option

Aluminium bi-fold doors

Best when the goal is opening up as much of the rear wall as possible in warmer months.

Widest clear opening
Stack direction must be planned
More frame lines when closed

View this option

Checkatrade

“Thoroughly recommend this company. From the first call I was given really helpful advice and fitters came out the next day. The fitter was very knowledgeable and helpful, completed the job, and gave good advice on other areas we needed looking at. Will definitely use again and have no hesitation recommending them to friends and family.”

Checkatrade

“Good price and hassle free. The doors look brilliant, exactly what we wanted. The fitters were friendly and left everything spotless.”

Trustpilot

“Second time using CII for different properties. Easy process, good pricing, and the work was completed exactly as promised.”

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Questions Answered

Common Questions

Other Doors We Install

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Composite Doors

uPVC Doors

Stable Doors

Aluminium Bi-Fold Doors

Aluminium Sliding Patio Doors

Heritage Aluminium Doors

Quote Trade Call

French Doors

Colours & Finishes

Hinged patio-door layouts, swing space, and hardware details

Choose the hinged layout around the room and the aperture

Standard hinged pair

With side or top lights

Swing direction and active leaf

French door specification and options

Threshold & access

Glazing & privacy

Hinges & security

Survey checks

A simple hinged patio door route for smaller openings

Best fit for

Consider another option when

What we check on survey

Useful comparisons

Neat privacy for glazed French doors

Clean hinged-door finish

Useful on French doors when

Blind types we can discuss

What we check

Key Specifications

Simple Hinged Patio Doors With Better Everyday Detailing

Clean central opening

Threshold and bottom keep

Restrictors for exposed patios

Shootbolt and meeting detail

From Survey to Sign-off

Survey & swing check

Made to measure

Install & leaf adjustment

Ready to price up your french doors?

French patio doors, sliding patio doors, or bi-folds?

French patio doors

Sliding patio doors

Aluminium bi-fold doors

Common Questions

When are French doors better than bi-fold doors?

Can French doors include side panels?

Are French doors patio doors?

Can French doors include blinds inside the glass?

What size openings usually suit French doors?

Do French doors open inward or outward?

Are French doors the same as patio doors?

Can French doors have side panels or top lights?

Other Doors We Install

Essex, Hertfordshire & London

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