How To Make A Door Frame For French Doors

Standard framing for a set of french doors varies only in its framed width compared with standard door framing.

How to make a door frame for french doors.

Measure from the floor up and add 1 inch for the bottom and 2 inches for the top jamb. After you find the width of the frame then calculate the height of the door frame. This is the actual thickness of a 2x4. Step 2 cut frame.

So if the doors are 24 inches wide leave a 1 4 inch gap between doors and between each door and the jamb. Drill holes into each corner of the frame and slide the mullion into place. To make the door header the top of the door frame cut two 2x4s to the same length as the width of the original opening and nail them securely together. Add those measurements to the size of both doors and add an additional 1 1 4 inch to obtain the final dimensions.

Measure the cutout centers of the doors and buy glass to fit. The key to this project is a new router bit set designed expressly for french doors. Building frame panel french doors. And don t forget that the jamb is usually 1 inch thick with another 1 4 inch space between the frame and the jamb.

And for the greatest stability a major requirement for entry doors i decided to make the stiles and rails using stave construction a building method commonly used by exterior door manufacturers rather than solid lumber. Lay the door flat on your work table. The three point system locks the door to the head jamb and the sill instead of just to each other. Hanging these doors involves a similar process to hanging an entry door.

The wall frame is constructed from vertical stud sections and a horizontal header. This adds up to a total of 51 1 4 inches for the width of the opening. You will need to add 1 2 of plywood between the 2x4 s to get the right wall thickness of 3 1 2. Choose exterior glass if the door is opening to the outside.

Cut the door header.