French Door Screens

French door screens are usually ordinary patio door screens adapted for french doors.

Many french doors are installed without screens at all but this does not mean they cannot be added later. Usually the french door has a top and bottom track for a french screen door. Simply measure as for a regular patio door screen or have your local glass shop do it for you and purchase a french screen door.

Some french doors have no tracks at all. Tracks can be added to the top and bottom of the door to allow installation of a french door screen. See how the lower screen track has been screwed to the door sill in the picture below. Not a big deal for your local glass shop.

Watch out when you are purchasing door handles for your french door that they do not interfere with the closing of the sliding french screen door. Some doorknobs stick out too far and will prevent the screen door from closing properly.

Also some french doors may need to have the center section of the door built out to allow the screen door to seal properly.

If you are putting in a new french door, bear the preceding things in mind and purchase one that comes with a screen door already installed.

If you wish to have french doors installed where both doors open, you may wish to have a french door screen that covers the entire opening.

A retractable screen door is one possibility for this, although you may find it difficult to find one that will span a 60" to 72" wide door frame. You may have to use two retractable doors which open from each side and meet in the middle.

Here are some retractable screens available on ebay:



Conventional patio screen doors can be adapted to this style of door by installing 2 parallel screen door tracks on the top and bottom of the french door and having bug strips installed on the 2 sliding screen doors so they seal against each other when closed. A good glass shop should be able to sort this out without too much difficulty.

Another solution which is quite inexpensive is to use a "portable" screen door which hangs like a curtain from the top of the door. They are available wide enough to cover a french door with both doors open. The screen simply allows you to walk through a split in two overlapping panels. These type of screen doors are made to be removeable.

Check my page on Aluminum and Fiberglass screen materials. This page will be help you determine the right screen material to choose for your screen door.



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