French & Double Doors

French & Double Doors in Fort Lauderdale, FL | TruePane Windows & Doors

French and double doors open a home in a way nothing else quite does. Two full-height panels, glass from top to bottom, symmetrical sightlines. In Fort Lauderdale, that classic look has to do real work: the opening has to hold its own in a High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. TruePane Windows & Doors has installed impact-rated French doors across Fort Lauderdale’s older neighborhoods and newer waterfront builds for years. We carry PGT, CGI, CWS, ES Windows, ECO, and Mr-Glass lines, and every system is engineered to Florida Building Code HVHZ requirements. Call (954) 280-4413 to talk through your opening.

Call (954) 280-4413

Product Overview - French & Double Doors

Paired impact-rated French doors with laminated glass in every lite. That’s the short version. The longer version is a door system built for South Florida’s particular combination of humidity, salt air, afternoon storms, and the occasional named storm. These aren’t decorative double doors with hurricane panels bolted on after the fact. The glass itself is the protection.

Architecturally, French doors work where you want a wide, welcoming pass-through: from a living room to a covered lanai, from a primary suite to a balcony, from a dining room to a pool deck. The two panels swing from the jambs and meet at the center with a multi-point locking system that secures the doors at the top, bottom, and middle of the meeting stile. When closed, the doors present a flush, symmetrical face. When open, you get the full width of the rough opening, up to 96 inches.

Aluminum frames give you a narrow sightline and resistance to the humidity and salt exposure that shorten the life of lesser materials in Fort Lauderdale. Vinyl frames offer a warmer profile and excellent thermal performance for air-conditioned interiors. Both are engineered as complete systems: frame, sash, glass, hardware, and weatherstripping designed to work together, not assembled from mismatched parts. The result is a door that closes square, seals tight, and stays that way through years of Florida weather.

Technical Specifications

When you’re comparing French and double doors for a Fort Lauderdale home, the numbers below are the ones that matter. TruePane Windows & Doors orders each door to the opening, not the other way around.

• Frame materials: Aluminum or vinyl, chosen for the exposure and the home’s existing window and door framing.
• Maximum width: Up to 96 inches across the rough opening.
• Glass options: Laminated impact glass with PVB interlayer, Low-E insulated glass, tinted glass, clear glass.
• Finish options: White, almond, bronze, black, tan.
• Hardware: Multi-point locking at the meeting stile with top and bottom shoot bolts.
• Compliance: Miami-Dade NOA and Florida Product Approval numbers available per configuration.
• Design pressure: Matched to your wind zone, up to +/-100, never higher.

Hurricane & Compliance Performance

Every impact-rated French door TruePane Windows & Doors sells in Fort Lauderdale carries a paper trail. Here’s what that paper trail actually means.

Laminated Impact Glass - Each lite is two panes of glass bonded to a PVB (polyvinyl butyral) interlayer. Under a large-missile impact, the glass fractures but the interlayer holds the broken pieces in the frame. The opening stays closed. Wind and rain stay outside. That’s the point of impact-rated glass, and it’s the difference between a protected envelope and a breached one.

Miami-Dade NOA / FL Product Approval - Notice of Acceptance and Florida Product Approval numbers are issued per configuration and available for the specific door on your quote. These are the documents your local building department will ask for when you pull the permit. TruePane Windows & Doors provides them as part of the package, not as an afterthought.

FBC / HVHZ Compliance - The doors are engineered to Florida Building Code High-Velocity Hurricane Zone requirements. HVHZ is the strictest wind-borne debris region in the state, covering Broward and Miami-Dade counties. A door that’s compliant in Fort Lauderdale is compliant in every other wind zone in Florida.

TAS 201 / 202 / 203 Testing Context - HVHZ-rated products are tested under a family of protocols: TAS 201 for large-missile impact (a length of lumber fired at the glass), TAS 202 for cyclic wind-pressure loading (simulating hurricane gusts pushing and pulling on the assembly), and TAS 203 for forced-entry resistance (attempting to pry the door open after impact). Surviving that gauntlet is what separates an impact door from a regular double door.

Design Pressure Matched to Your Wind Zone - We size the door’s design pressure to the actual wind zone of your Fort Lauderdale address. Design pressures matched to your wind zone, up to +/-100, never higher. Specifying a higher DP than the opening needs adds cost without adding safety. Specifying too low fails the permit review. We get it right the first time.

Energy Performance - Low-E and insulated glass options are available for homes where the doors face afternoon sun or open onto air-conditioned living space. The coatings reduce solar heat gain through the glass while the insulated airspace slows thermal transfer through the panel. It’s optional, not standard, which keeps you from paying for performance your elevation doesn’t need.

Color & Glass Options

The right finish on a French door in Fort Lauderdale depends on the house. White and almond dominate the mid-century ranch and Key West-style homes east of US-1, where doors read as trim and let the landscaping carry the color. Bronze and black are common on modern builds and renovated waterfront properties west of Federal Highway, where dark frames disappear into the glass and maximize the view. Tan bridges the gap: it reads warmer than bronze, cleaner than almond, and works well on Mediterranean-style homes with barrel-tile roofs and stucco walls.

Glass selection is about exposure. Clear laminated impact glass is the default for doors on covered lanais and north-facing exposures where you want maximum visible light transmission. Tinted laminated glass cuts glare and solar heat on west-facing elevations that catch the late-afternoon Fort Lauderdale sun. Low-E insulated laminated glass is the choice for doors between air-conditioned interiors and direct sun, or for bedrooms where the door faces the street. Every glass option, regardless of tint or coating, carries the PVB interlayer required for HVHZ impact compliance.

Installation by TruePane Windows & Doors in Fort Lauderdale

A perfectly rated impact door, installed wrong, is a hole in your house with paperwork. TruePane Windows & Doors installs every French and double door we sell, and we do it to the standard the product was tested to. Our installers are trained on the specific requirements of HVHZ openings in Fort Lauderdale, where salt air, heavy rainfall, and demanding building inspectors are all part of the job.

Every installation starts with a pre-install inspection of the rough opening. We check the framing for rot, the sill for level, and the surrounding substrate for the right material to receive the perimeter sealant. The door goes in level, plumb, and square, shimmed and fastened per the manufacturer’s approved installation method, which follows AAMA 2400/2410 practice. The perimeter gets a low-expansion AAMA 812 foam sealant bed: low-expansion so it doesn’t bow the frame, foam so it insulates and drains properly. Flashing is lapped so water sheds outward, not into the wall cavity.

After the door is set and the hardware is installed, we run a water test on the threshold and perimeter to confirm the seal. Then we walk you through the door’s operation: lock points, sealing, maintenance, and the documentation package for your permit file. Coastal exposure in Fort Lauderdale means corrosion-resistant fasteners and sealants rated for the conditions. HVHZ jurisdictions mean permit submittals with the right NOA or Florida Product Approval number attached. We handle both. Improper installation compromises the NOA-rated system, and no amount of product engineering can fix a door that wasn’t set square. Call (954) 280-4413 to schedule an on-site measurement.

Frequently Asked Questions - French & Double Doors

What wind zone or design pressure is the French & Double Doors rated for? The door is engineered to Florida Building Code HVHZ requirements, and design pressure is matched to your specific wind zone, up to +/-100, never higher. Your Fort Lauderdale address determines the required DP rating, and we verify it against the approved NOA or Florida Product Approval for the exact configuration on your quote before ordering.

What is the lead time for a French & Double Doors order? Lead times vary by manufacturer and configuration, but most orders arrive in six to ten weeks from final approval of the quote. Custom sizes, special finishes, and certain glass packages can extend that. We’ll confirm the production schedule when you place the order, and we won’t tear out your existing door until the new one is in our Fort Lauderdale shop.

Does it require a Miami-Dade NOA or Florida Product Approval submittal for my permit? Yes, and the specific approval number depends on the door’s size, frame material, and glass configuration. TruePane Windows & Doors provides the correct submittal documents with your permit package. Call (954) 280-4413 if you’re working with a contractor who needs the approval numbers before the job is even quoted.

Can I customize the size or configuration? Yes, within the tested and approved limits. The doors go up to 96 inches wide, and we can configure inswing or outswing panels, different lite patterns, and custom finish colors on certain lines. Each configuration has its own approval documents, so we’ll confirm the exact NOA or Florida Product Approval for the size and setup you want before we quote it.

How do I maintain the frame and finish? Rinse the frame and track with fresh water every few months to clear salt and sediment, especially if you’re within a mile of the coast. Clean the glass with a mild soap and water solution, wipe the weatherstripping with a damp cloth, and keep the weep holes at the sill clear of debris. Lubricate the multi-point lock annually with a dry silicone spray. That’s the whole regimen for Fort Lauderdale conditions.

Get a Quote - French & Double Doors in Fort Lauderdale

Ready to see what a properly installed impact-rated French door looks like on your home? Call TruePane Windows & Doors at (954) 280-4413 to schedule a free on-site measurement and get a detailed, line-item quote with the Miami-Dade NOA and Florida Product Approval numbers for your exact configuration. We’ll walk the opening, check the framing, and give you an honest price. Serving Fort Lauderdale and surrounding Broward County.

Written by the team at TruePane Windows & Doors, serving Fort Lauderdale since 2009.