UPVC French Doors

What are their main design features of uPVC French Doors & How Much do French Doors Cost?

What better way to open up a living room to more light and to make it feel more spacious, than to fit a classically styled set of Double Glazed UPVC French Doors?

External French doors are a super investment that can make a definite style statement to the world outside. However internal French doors, also have their place by creating a wonderful connection between the living spaces in your home.

Move from one room to another with ease when they are opened wide or enjoy the privacy they provide when closed, all without losing any natural lighting.

New or replacement French Doors come in a wide range of sizes and can be personalised to style them in a way that suits your personal taste.

With the latest designs, not only do you get all the great visual styling, you also benefit from a tough, long lasting and secure door that you can be proud of for many years to come.

UPVC French Patio Doors for Your Home

By far the most frequent use of made to measure uPVC French doors, are as ways to access your rear garden, such as in a patio door, or as the external entry for a conservatory.

In both cases, this style of door has a lot to offer in terms of both function & form. In other words, uPVC French doors are easy to use and they look great.

In this article, we will be highlighting the main design features and benefits, whilst also having a look at how much fully fitted French doors cost (and some prices for supply only).

Beginning with a quick start guide for those of you who just want to know the basics.

Quick Start Guide for French Doors

The basics of style and cost.

Double glazed French doors have a signature style. They are a set of double doors, usually opening outward, but also can be fitted to open inwards if that suits your purpose.

You will typically find them featuring a series of smaller glass panes rather than top to bottom plain glass. The number of panes varies, but most popular are 3 panes wide x 5 panes high or 2 panes wide by 5 panes high for narrower doors.

There are many alternative ways to set up the small panes, or you can elect to have the door full length plain glass.

This design works best for medium sized openings, if the opening is too narrow, French doors don’t suit.

If the opening is too wide, the weight of the doors would be putting a lot of strain on the hinges. Plus, they will be very awkward to manoeuvre and take up a lot of space (the wider the door, the wider the opening arc needed).

The optimum width range for a set of double glazed UPVC French doors would be from around 900mm or 2 x 450mm doors, to 1900mm or 2 x 950mm doors.

For widths over 2.0 metres you are probably looking at needing to add some sort of side panel.

You also need to take into account the main outer frame dimension which could be from 50mm to 75mm (100mm to 150mm total).

Basic prices for Double Glazed UPVC French doors:

• 900 x 2100mm / White / UPVC – from £450 to £550
• 1500 x 2100mm / White / UPVC – from £500 to £600
• 1900 x 2100mm / White / UPVC – from £600 to £700

If you buy the doors “supply only”, as in the guide prices shown above, then in terms of fitting costs you can expect to add from £150 to £275 for a standard installation.

Doing a DIY job for a set of double doors like these needs quite a high skill set. Lining the doors up to be square to each other and making the perfect fit can be tricky if you have not done something like this before.

However, if you get a quote from a specialist double glazing company, the fitting will be included in the quote.

Add some style to your home with a new set of UPVC French Doors – compare prices here

Energy Efficient

Save on your home heating bills with glazing that stops heat loss & cold penetration.

Safe & Secure

Fitted with multi-point locks, latches & 3 or 5 lever locks to keep out unwanted guests.

Great Looks

Go for classic or contemporary styling with full custom options for your doors.

5 great reasons to install UPVC French Doors

 

1Construction Material:

By having your French doors made from UPVC, you are making a good choice. UPVC is a very hard wearing material that also has a number of other properties that make it ideal for use in exterior doors.

• It’s a good insulator.
• UPVC is a lightweight material.
• It’s not susceptible to waterlogging or drying out (shrink or expand).
• UPVC lasts a very long time.
• It does not need a great deal of looking after. Just keep your frames clean.

Add to that the very large numbers of suppliers plus the low cost, and you can see why UPVC is such a good choice for French doors.

2 Aesthetics & Function

The double or twin door function of this design just works so well with so many different types of homes. If you want a sleek modern look, then the slimline reinforced frames and floor to ceiling glass paneling can do just that.

On the other hand, if your desire is to have more character, then the classic mullioned panes of the “old school” French door design is just the look for you.

Even if the opening you have to fill is quite wide, this style of exterior door works well with side panels and allows you to use them in more situations. For openings over 2.0 metres you can also make use of top panels if needed.

Alongside that, you also have the freedom to choose the colour, you are not constrained to just white UPVC French doors.

There are up to 20 different colours in the market for UPVC, with options to select one colour internally and another externally. Plus, you could have a surface that replicates timber, such as Wood-grain finishes.

French Doors for a conservatory or Orangery

This style not only work well as exterior doors for the home but are also perfect for use in a conservatory or orangery.

An out swinging French door in a conservatory or orangery does not interfere with the internal space and so allows you to maximise the internal area for whatever furnishings you prefer. This outward opening function is even more vital if you have a small conservatory.

Having said that, even with doors that swing outwards you need to keep a clear space so that they don’t hit anything as you open and close them.

3 Insulation & energy efficiency:

Here, there are 2 distinct benefits for using a double glazed UPVC French door.

The first is the insulation quality. Having a naturally insulating material, such as UPVC, in the frames combined with the latest double glazed sealed units means that this design is exceptionally effective at keeping your heat in and keeping the cold out.

The second is that the double glazed panels act as sound deadeners. Compared to a single glazed panel, they reduce sound transmission by up to 60%.

This means that when you close your replacement French doors you are going to enjoy some nice peace and quiet. On the other hand, if you have a boisterous family, you are also less likely to annoy the neighbours for the same reasons.

4Safety & Security:

Any exterior entrance door that you fit to your home should provide safety & security for you and your family.

Modern UPVC French doors do exactly that with features such as:

• Frames feature internal galvanised steel reinforcing.
• Multi-point locks around the doors.
• 3 & 5-cylinder tamper proof key locks.
• Toughened safety glass to floor level.
• Internal glazing beading.
• Triple stainless steel butt hinges.
• Top & bottom deadbolts & latches.

A lot of effort has been put into the designs to make the latest products as secure as possible.

5 The low cost of UPVC Doors

Compared to hardwood or aluminium, UPVC French doors are significantly less expensive to buy.

For example, a 1500mm wide aluminium or hardwood French door (fully fitted) can cost in the region of £1,200 to £1,400 –  whilst a similar sized UPVC French door, fully fitted, would be priced in the region of £850 to £95, and that represents a decent amount of savings.

How much do UPVC French Doors Cost?

 

Approximate Size	Basic Specification	Supply Only Prices
1.10m to 1.20m – no side panels	Double Glazed White UPVC	from around £400 supply only
2.90m to 3.00m – with side panels	Double Glazed White UPVC	from around £950 supply only
2.50m TO 2.60m – top & side panels	Double Glazed White UPVC	from around £950 supply only

Approximate Size	Basic Specification	Fitted Prices
1.10m to 1.20m – no side panels	Double Glazed White UPVC	from around £800
1.90m to 2.00m – no side panels	Double Glazed White UPVC	from around £950
2.50m to 2.60m + top & side panels	Double Glazed White UPVC	from around £1200

Potential Optional extra costs

• Coloured UPVC – 10% to 15%
• Wood-grain finish – 10% to 15%
• Cills – 150mm + £15 to £20
• Trickle vents – £15
• Solar glass + £75 per door
• Leaded glass + £75

The cost of optional extras, or even what is classed as an optional extra, will be determined by the vendor or double glazing installer – always ask to see if some of these may already be included in the price.

Where do I buy Cheap UPVC French Doors – Local or National installers?

Do local companies or big Brands offer the best deal?

This is a question that comes up quite regularly, and given our experiences, it can be the case that in some quotations, the Local double glazed door company can provide lower upfront prices for French patio doors, especially those made from uPVC.

Most of the price difference can probably be put down to overheads. Big companies have big overheads in terms of administration & operation costs. These, of course, need to be accounted for in their pricing structure.

Most local installers can operate very effectively in their region without such a big strain on their business and so have no big overheads to pass on.

Now before you rush out and completely ignore the big names, there must be some advantages to working with them, as they continue to be the most prolific sellers and installers of many types of windows and doors across the UK.

Pros & Cons of Local Vs National Double Glazing Companies.

In terms of skill levels, you can hardly separate the two. If you work with a FENSA or CERTASS registered local or branded company, you’re going to get well trained and competent people on the job.

Some folks feel that a very large company will be more able to back up guarantees – in other words, the big company is going to be around for sure, if there is a problem somewhere down the line. Whereas they feel that a smaller local company could go out of business and not have the capacity or the will-power to honour any guarantees.

To a certain extent, this point of view could have merit when dealing with a very new local company, but you should be OK working with a Local installer that has been in business for years.

There is also a widespread concern that big companies employ pushy sales staff who apply lots of pressure to make people buy products “on the night” and that local companies are far more laid back in their timescales for doing business.

To be fair, there is going to be “the good, the bad & the ugly” on both sides, but as long as you remain firm in your stance that you are not being rushed into anything by anyone, you’ll have no trouble.

In our opinion, it’s very worthwhile getting quotations from large and small companies then take time to compare what is on offer at your own pace – if the quote is genuine, then it will always be there tomorrow (or at least 7 to 14 days!).

We can help you get free written quotations from both Local & National companies, it’s a simple matter of letting us know a few details about your work and how to get in touch with you – there is a short quote request form here which will take about a minute to complete.