What was supposed to be a simple sliding door installation turned into something much more interesting. We originally planned to install an aluminium sliding door in the new opening — quick, straightforward and relatively inexpensive. Then Jools found a set of old recycled French doors with sidelights, and the plan completely changed.
They had far more character than a standard sliding door, so we changed the plan and decided to build a completely custom timber entrance around them.
As is often the case when working with recycled building materials, the simple option quickly became the complicated option. But I think the finished result was worth it.
Why Use Recycled French Doors?
I’ve always enjoyed working with recycled building materials. Old timber and doors often have a character that’s difficult to replicate with new materials, and there’s something satisfying about taking something that already exists and giving it another life. There is, however, a downside.
One thing I’ve learnt from working with recycled materials is to allow considerably more time than you initially think you’ll need. Things aren’t necessarily straight. They aren’t necessarily square.
Existing hardware doesn’t necessarily match anything currently available. And sometimes you have absolutely no idea what the person who originally installed them was thinking.
These French doors were a perfect example.
Building a Custom French Door Frame With Sidelights
The doors were large recycled timber French doors measuring over 2.3 metres high. Rather than trying to adapt a standard door frame, I decided to build the entire entrance frame from scratch.
The design incorporated the two French doors in the centre with a fixed glass sidelight on either side. This created an interesting challenge because the centre jambs needed to perform several jobs.
They had to provide the rebates for the sidelights while also being substantial enough to carry the large French doors.
I also decided to incorporate proper weather seals directly into the jambs. This meant machining additional rebates and grooves into the frame components before assembly.
It was considerably more work, but there was a good reason for doing it. The seals help make the doors more weatherproof, reduce drafts, keep insects out and stop the doors rattling when the wind picks up.
They’re small details, but they’re the type of details that can make a big difference to how a set of doors performs over the long term.
Hanging Old French Doors
The doors themselves created another challenge. These weren’t perfectly straight, factory-made doors. They were old, slightly bowed and not completely square. I used a story rod to transfer the existing hinge positions from the doors onto the new jambs, a technique I’ve been using for many years.
Because the jambs were rebated for the weather seals, I also needed to make sure the hinge positions and door clearances worked with the seals before committing to the final cuts.
This is where working with recycled materials requires a little patience. You have to work with what you’ve got rather than expecting the materials to work around your measurements.
The Mortice Lock Problem
One of the more unexpected problems involved the existing mortice lock cut-outs. The doors had previously been fitted with commercial-style hardware, and the existing cut-outs didn’t match the standard residential mortice locks I could find.
Buying the appropriate new hardware was going to become expensive very quickly. Luckily, Jools found a suitable mortice lock being sold second-hand for around $100.
Problem solved.
Although the lock worked for the doors, its dimensions weren’t an exact match for the existing cut-outs. It also didn’t suit the standard French-door rebate kits available.
That meant modifying the existing lock areas, adding timber where necessary and eventually making my own timber rebate block for the mortice lock. It wasn’t something I’d originally planned on making, but that’s often how these projects go. One small problem leads to another solution.
Integrating the Frame With the Exterior Cladding
Another detail I spent some time working through was how the French door frame would meet the exterior cladding. I wanted the inside of the frame to finish neatly with the internal VJ lining while allowing the French doors to open outwards.
On the outside, I needed a clean termination point for the horizontal James Hardie cladding while maintaining a reliable weather seal around the opening.
My solution was to install flashing around the outside of the door frame and seal it back to the timber frame. I then installed a substantial timber architrave around the entrance. This piece of timber actually solved several problems at once.
It created a finished architectural detail around the doors, provided a solid stop for the cladding, allowed me to create a small quirk between the cladding and timber, provided another weather-sealing point and created a solid surface for the head flashing above the doors.
Sometimes the best building details are the ones where one component solves several problems.
Installing the Glass Sidelights
After all the more complicated parts of the project, installing the glass into the sidelights was surprisingly straightforward. I painted the frame first and ordered glass to suit the rebated openings.
Once the glass arrived, I borrowed some glass suction lifters, cut temporary packers and applied silicone into the rebates. The panes were carefully lifted into position and temporarily secured with timber blocks while the silicone cured.
The permanent timber glazing beads could then be installed later. After some of the other challenges I’d encountered, it was nice to have one stage of the project go almost exactly according to plan.
Are Recycled French Doors Worth the Effort?
But I wouldn’t necessarily recommend recycled doors because they’re the easiest or cheapest option.
They’re often neither.
If you’re thinking about using recycled doors or other reclaimed building materials, I’d allow considerably more time than you would when working with new products. You may need to straighten things, modify existing openings, manufacture components and solve problems you couldn’t possibly have anticipated before starting.
But that’s also part of what I enjoy about working with old materials. Instead of throwing something away and buying new, you’re adapting it for another generation of use.
And when it’s finished, you end up with something that doesn’t look like it came straight out of a catalogue. These old French doors gave this entrance considerably more character than the aluminium sliding door we’d originally planned.
For me, that made the extra work worthwhile.
Want to Build Your Own French Door Frame?
This article covers some of the challenges I encountered during the project, but I’ve also documented how I built the custom timber entrance frame itself.
In the next guide I’ll go through the process in much more detail, including the frame construction, rebates, sidelights, weather seals, measurements and drawings.
Coming next: How to Build a Custom Timber French Door Frame With Sidelights – Step by Step
If you’ve worked with recycled French doors or have another way of solving some of the problems I encountered, leave a comment on the video. I’m always interested to see how other builders and DIYers approach these details.
— Alex
Greysand