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AfterFrench & Double Doors in Fort Lauderdale, FL
French and double door installation in Fort Lauderdale typically runs between $1,400 and $4,800 installed, depending on door material, glass package, and whether the existing opening needs structural modification. Most jobs are completed in a single day. If you’re replacing doors that bind in the humidity, leak air around the frame, or no longer close square after years of South Florida weather, that’s where we come in.
At TruePane Windows & Doors, we’ve been setting doors true in Fort Lauderdale for over 42 years. Dale Kessler founded this company in 2008 on a single rule he keeps on the whiteboard: if the pane is not true, the job is not done. That principle applies to every French and double door we hang – because a door that looks beautiful but gaps at the top, swings out of plumb, or lets humid air find the seal is not a finished job. It’s a problem waiting to happen.
Our work falls under our broader Door Installation in Fort Lauderdale service, and every French or double door installation carries the same backing: upfront pricing, both manufacturer warranty layers registered in writing before we leave, and our 90-Day Done Right Promise. No paperwork fights, no arguing, no second call that goes to voicemail. A live person answers at (754) 310-3589 around the clock, every day of the week.
When You Need French & Double Doors
Fort Lauderdale’s climate is not gentle on doors. The combination of salt air off the Intracoastal, ground-level humidity that rarely drops below 60%, and the thermal expansion that comes with summers that push toward 95 degrees means doors that were installed in the 1990s or early 2000s often reach a point where repair is no longer the right answer. Here are the situations we see most often when homeowners in Coral Ridge, Rio Vista, Victoria Park, and Harbor Beach call us:
- Doors that bind or drag in summer. Wood frames absorb moisture and expand; composite and fiberglass can shift on frames that were never properly shimmed. If your French doors stick every July and loosen by November, the frame or the install – not the weather – is usually the root cause.
- Visible daylight around the frame or between the active and passive door panels. A gap wide enough to see light is wide enough to let conditioned air out and insects in. In Fort Lauderdale, that kind of air loss shows up on your FPL bill within a month.
- Fogged or discolored glass in the door lites. Seal failure in door glass is common in coastal ZIP codes like 33301, 33304, and 33316, where salt-laden air accelerates the degradation of insulated glass units. Foggy lites are a cosmetic problem today and a structural one once water finds the frame.
- An opening that was built for a single door but needs two. Many older Fort Lauderdale homes in Tarpon River and Edgewood were designed before open floor plans became standard. Widening to a double-door or French-door configuration is a common renovation move that also improves natural light and cross-ventilation.
- Non-impact doors in a home that’s being brought up to South Florida building code. Broward County’s wind-load requirements mean that if you’re pulling a permit for a renovation, the existing non-impact door may need to come out. We help homeowners choose CGI or comparable impact-rated French door systems that satisfy the code and look right for the house.
- Hardware that’s corroded or frozen. Multi-point locking systems on double doors are particularly vulnerable to salt corrosion. When the mechanism stops engaging cleanly, the door is no longer secure – and the fix is rarely as simple as lubricating the track.
Our French & Double Door Installation Process
We don’t measure once and hope. Every opening gets a full assessment before we quote a line item, and no door ships to the job site before the measurements are confirmed against the manufacturer’s tolerances. Here is what the process looks like from the first call to the final check of the weatherstripping.
- Initial assessment and rough-opening inspection. Before anything else, we look at the opening itself: the header condition, the sill, the wall framing on either side, and the floor levelness. Fort Lauderdale slab foundations can settle unevenly over forty years, and a door hung on an unlevel sill will never close cleanly no matter how good the door is. We flag structural issues upfront so there are no surprises on the bill later.
- Side-by-side product comparison on paper. We quote manufacturer lines against each other so you can see exactly what you’re buying: the glass package, the frame material, the hardware standard, the impact rating, and the warranty terms – all on paper, side by side. We’re authorized installers for more than a dozen lines, including CGI and ES Windows, and we’ll tell you plainly which one fits your house and your budget without steering you toward the margin we prefer.
- Permit pull, if required. Any structural change to an exterior opening in Broward County requires a permit. We handle the paperwork with the City of Fort Lauderdale Building Department – homeowners shouldn’t have to navigate that process on their own, and skipping it is not something we do.
- Factory-order and delivery confirmation. Once you approve the quote, the door is ordered to your exact rough-opening dimensions. We confirm receipt against the order specs before we schedule the install day – arriving with a door that doesn’t fit the opening is not a situation we allow to happen.
- Installation, shimming, and alignment. Our journeymen set the frame level and plumb using dial indicators and shim to manufacturer tolerance, not to “close enough.” Both panels are hung, adjusted, and tested through a full open-and-close cycle before the trim goes on. We check the multi-point lock engagement, the astragal seal between the doors, and the threshold sweep. This is the step most contractors rush; we don’t.
- Warranty registration and walkthrough. Before the truck leaves the driveway, both manufacturer warranty layers are registered in your name with durations stated in writing – that’s The Keystone Standard. We walk you through the door operation, the hardware, and what the 90-Day Done Right Promise covers. If anything is off within 90 days, we make it right. No paperwork, no arguing.
French & Double Doors Pricing in Fort Lauderdale
French and double door pricing in Fort Lauderdale varies enough that a single number doesn’t tell the story. The table below gives honest installed ranges for the most common configurations we handle in this market. These are all-in numbers – door, glass, hardware, frame, labor, and standard trim. Permit fees are separate when required, and we’ll tell you upfront whether your job needs one.
| Configuration | Installed Price Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| French doors, fiberglass, standard glass, 60″ wide | $1,400 – $2,200 | Most common replacement in 1970s-1990s Fort Lauderdale homes |
| French doors, fiberglass, impact glass, 60″ wide | $2,200 – $3,400 | Required for most Broward County permit pulls on exterior openings |
| Double doors, wood or clad-wood, impact glass, 72″ wide | $3,200 – $4,800 | Common in Harbor Beach, Rio Vista, and Las Olas Isles custom homes |
| Rough-opening modification (widen or narrow existing opening) | $400 – $1,100 added | Depends on wall type; we assess before quoting |
| Hardware upgrade (multi-point lock, decorative handle set) | $180 – $480 added | Quoted at time of order; no surprise line items on the bill |
A few things move the number up or down in this market specifically. Homes in coastal Fort Lauderdale neighborhoods – particularly anything east of Federal Highway – are subject to stricter wind-load requirements, which often means hurricane-proof front entry doors with impact-rated glass are not optional. Older homes with wood framing around the opening sometimes need the sill replaced or the header reinforced before a new door can be set true. We find those conditions during the initial assessment, not after the job is started.
Seniors and veterans receive a permanent 5% discount on any job, and we take $50 off any repair over $250. Estimates are free. Call (754) 310-3589 and we’ll schedule a time to look at your opening and give you a number you can hold us to.
Why Fort Lauderdale Homeowners Call TruePane
The short answer is that Dale Kessler built this company to solve a specific problem: homeowners who paid good money for a door install and then found themselves arguing with a contractor about a warranty that didn’t cover what they thought it covered, or waiting six weeks for a callback on a door that wouldn’t latch. Over 42 years of community service in Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors, and the surrounding area, we’ve seen every version of that problem. The Keystone Standard exists because registered warranties with stated durations leave nothing to interpretation.
We hire local. Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed, and they work in your home the way they’d work in their own mother’s. That’s not a line from a brochure – it’s what Dale tells every apprentice who comes up through the shop. The crew that sets your French doors in Victoria Park will be back if anything is off within 90 days, and the same person who answers the phone at 8 p.m. is connected to the same dispatch that will schedule that follow-up.
We’re an authorized installer for more than a dozen manufacturer lines. When we put a CGI impact French door on your home in Coral Ridge, both warranty layers – the manufacturer’s glass warranty and the frame warranty – are registered in your name before we pack up. You get the paperwork. You keep the paperwork. That’s the deal.
What Sets a French Door Install Apart From a Standard Door
A standard single door has one panel, one hinge side, and one latch. French doors have two panels that meet in the middle, which means the alignment of both panels against each other – and against the frame – has to be exact. The astragal, the vertical strip that seals the gap between the two doors when closed, takes the place of a standard door stop. If either panel is hung even slightly out of plumb, the astragal won’t seal, air and water will find the gap, and in Fort Lauderdale’s summer storm season, that’s a problem you’ll notice immediately.
Multi-point locking systems – standard on most quality French and double doors – add another layer of precision. The lock bolts engage at multiple points along the door height, which means the door has to be hung to tighter tolerances than a single-point deadbolt setup. We check every engagement point before we close the trim. It’s slower, and it’s why the job is done right.
Impact vs. Non-Impact French Doors in Fort Lauderdale
Broward County sits in a High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. For most exterior French and double door installations on Fort Lauderdale homes, storm and exterior doors with impact-rated glass are either required by code or strongly advisable. The difference is not just the glass – it’s the frame reinforcement, the door skin thickness, and the hardware rating. A non-impact French door may be code-compliant in some interior applications, but for any exterior opening that faces the weather, we recommend the impact package and we’ll tell you why on paper before you sign anything.
CGI makes door systems built specifically for South Florida conditions, and we install them regularly in neighborhoods from Lauderdale Manors to Colee Hammock. The glass warranty on a properly registered CGI door is specific about duration and what it covers – we make sure you have that in writing before we leave.
FAQs – French & Double Doors in Fort Lauderdale
How long does a French or double door installation take in Fort Lauderdale?
Most French and double door installations in Fort Lauderdale are completed in a single day – typically four to seven hours from demo of the old door to final hardware check. Wider openings, rough-opening modifications, or jobs that require a permit inspection may extend to two visits. We’ll tell you at the time of the quote which category your job falls into, so you’re not waiting on an unscheduled second appointment. Call (754) 310-3589 for a free estimate and we’ll give you a realistic timeline for your specific opening.
Do French doors in Fort Lauderdale need to be impact-rated?
Any exterior French or double door installation on a Fort Lauderdale home that requires a Broward County building permit must meet the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone impact requirements – which in practice means impact-rated glass and a compliant frame system. Even when a permit isn’t required, we recommend impact-rated doors for any exterior opening because the wind-load and water-intrusion resistance is substantially better, and the insurance implications in coastal South Florida are real. We’ll show you the code language and the product specs side by side so you can make the decision with full information.
What’s the difference between French doors and double doors?
French doors have glass lites (panels of glass) that run most of the door height, letting light pass through both panels. Double doors use the same two-panel configuration but typically have solid panels or minimal glazing. In Fort Lauderdale homes, French doors are most common on rear openings toward a patio or pool area, while solid double doors are more often used at a formal front entry. The installation process and precision requirements are the same for both; the choice is mostly about how much natural light you want and the architectural style of the house.
My French doors were installed by someone else and they’re already binding. Can TruePane fix them?
We assess and correct French and double door installations that were done by other contractors. In Fort Lauderdale, the most common causes we find are frames that weren’t shimmed level at the sill, astragals that weren’t adjusted after settling, and hardware that was installed without accounting for the thermal expansion this climate produces. Sometimes the fix is a re-hang and adjustment; sometimes the door itself was undersized for the opening. We’ll diagnose the problem and give you a straight answer about whether repair or replacement doors are the right call before any work is authorized. Call (754) 310-3589 to schedule an assessment.
Key Takeaways
- French and double door installation in Fort Lauderdale runs $1,400 to $4,800 installed, depending on material, glass package, and opening condition.
- Most jobs are done in a single day; permit-required jobs may require a second visit for inspection.
- Broward County’s High-Velocity Hurricane Zone designation means impact-rated doors are required for most permitted exterior installations.
- Both manufacturer warranty layers are registered in your name before we leave – that’s The Keystone Standard, not a promise we make verbally.
- The 90-Day Done Right Promise covers any adjustment or correction needed within 90 days, no paperwork, no arguing.
- Seniors and veterans receive a permanent 5% discount; we take $50 off any repair over $250.
- A live person answers at (754) 310-3589 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Schedule Your Free Estimate
If your French or double doors are binding, leaking, or simply past their useful life, the next step is a free in-person assessment of your opening. Dale Kessler and the TruePane team will measure the rough opening, inspect the framing, and put a written quote in your hands – with manufacturer lines compared side by side and warranty terms spelled out – before we ask for any decision. No pressure, no surprise line items later.
Call (754) 310-3589 any time. A live person will pick up, take your information, and get you on the schedule. We serve Fort Lauderdale and surrounding Broward County communities, and we’ll be there when we say.
You can also learn more about the full scope of what we offer by visiting our home page, or read about every exterior and interior door service we provide on our Door Installation in Fort Lauderdale page.
Written by Dale Kessler, Owner at TruePane Windows & Doors, serving Fort Lauderdale.
Six Reasons Homeowners Choose TruePane Windows & Doors
Impact systems engineered to design pressures up to +/-100, matched to your wind zone - your openings hold when the storm arrives.
Low-E insulated impact glass from our manufacturer lines commonly cuts monthly cooling bills 20-30%.
Laminated impact glass shuts out up to 40% of outside noise - traffic, neighbors, weather.
Monitoring services run $30-90 a month. Laminated impact glass resists forced entry around the clock, with no subscription.
Florida homeowners average around 25% savings on the windstorm portion of their policy after protecting every opening - some homes qualify for more.
A full impact package upgrades curb appeal, buyer confidence and appraised value in one project.