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How Do I Choose the Best Screen Doors for French Doors?

Anna B. Smith
Anna B. Smith

The best screen doors for french doors allow access to the home as well as increased air flow, while preventing bugs from coming inside. These doors tend to resemble hanging screened panels rather than the more commonly available sliding screen doors. This type of product does not require any type of permanent mounting assembly, and can be taken off of the doors easily at any time. It is available for purchase at some local home improvement stores and through online ordering.

Traditional screen doors for french doors involve mounting a single panel screen on a sliding door frame. This frame is separate from that which contains the french doors, and is usually mounted directly into the existing frame using brackets and permanent screws. Only one door may be opened at a time when using a single panel frame. Frames which contain double panels that slide, one over the other, may be purchased for approximately twice the cost of a single panel frame. When both french doors are open, the double screen panels may remain closed, and can slide out of the way to provide entrance and egress from the home on one side or the other.

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Woman posing

Those who prefer to leave their french doors open without the hassle of opening an additional door may benefit from using screen doors for french doors that have been made by mounting mesh panels into the door frame. These panels are specifically designed to work with double opening doors and are constructed to fit most pre-made french door opening widths. Two panels are mounted into the frame of the door using a spring rod, and connect at a central seam by means of sewn-in magnets. No permanent installation is necessary which can damage the door frame, and the panels may be removed during winter months.

The benefits of using this type of assembly for french doors include the ability to use it with any style of door, and the convenience of opening and closing it without the use of hands. Depending on the type of french doors mounted on the home, one or both doors may open, and they may move in towards the house, or out and away from it. The hanging panels are designed to be used with either type of construction and can be mounted inside or outside of the home. The central seam of the panels may be located in the center of the screen doors for french doors, or to the left or right, for those consumers who typically only open one side of their doors or the other.

The magnets sewn into the central seam of the screen doors for french doors are designed to come together again automatically. This allows the panels to open with any type of pressure, whether from a human hand, elbow, or hip, or an animal nose pushing to get out. The bottom of the panels are weighted to ensure that the magnets form a closed seam again, and to prevent the product from moving in the wind and allowing bugs to enter the home.

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