Hi all,
Happy New Year! Just returned from Savannah on vacation. What a great place!
Anyway, I want to add some of those cool solid vinyl Victorian screen doors to my French Doors (yes, part of this was inspired by my trip) but cannot figure out the logistics of having screen doors on outswings doors? Should I make them sliders? Double hinged?
Any good ideas? I was considering one of the hidden screen units but really want the screen door aesthestics.
Thanks for any advice or criticisim.
Mike
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Replies
For funtionality, I'd put the screens on the inside, swinging in. That way, the French doors can stand open for ventilation while the screens keep out the bugs.
Jamie,
Yeah, I'm at a loss as to how to do it as otherwise the screen doors are there just for looks.
Sometimes I can work myself into some real predictaments with my "wants" for looks.
Thanks for the input.
Mike
Somehow, "solid vinyl Victorian" seems like an oxymoron.
Dan,
It does sound bad doesn't it. But I'm in Florida and anything out of real wood rots in just a few years no matter how well you try to keep it up. Hence my modern Victorian home that has as many non-organic exterior components as possible.
Mike
Edited 1/4/2005 1:01 pm ET by Mike
Since you appear to want these mainly for appearance, why not simply screw them to the existing doors? You'd have to somehow extend the latch on the outside, of course.
i really think reversing the door swing, as bill suggested, is the only feasable option unless somone comes up with another idea. It(reversing door swing) seems like the least amount of work and the most functional, not to mention probably the best looking option(imho).
-->
measure once
scribble several lines
spend some time figuring out wich scribble
cut the wrong line
get mad
mike: i don't understand the problem ... you have outswing French doors that you like
you want screen doors..
then get screen doors.. they will swing in.. your french doors will swing out
since you live in florida.. they will be like this year-round.. get the best quality screen doors you can find.. they are going to be your primary doors.. and they have to look elegant
lots of tropical areas have this.. screen doors in... french doors out
i wouldn't think of using sliders.. they are annoying and they look like hel* .. and they screw up the interior decoratingMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Mike--
I think he wants the look of those pseudo-Victorian vinyl things for the outside of the house. Setting them inside an outswinging French door set would hide them anytime he's not home and has to lock up.
I would just pop the entire door frame and flop it 180 degrees, thus converting the outswinging set to a more standard inswing set. Then he can install the screen doors outside and it's a done door deal....
Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
th... and u nu this because you speak french ?
happy new year... our best to the ladd
will ryan be gracing calvin & joyce's this august ?Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Just found out about it tonight; I've been over on CT making a nuisance of myself for a few days and unbelieveably busy through the Christmas rush on the hill.
That Christmas Care Package get to you two okay? Mailed it on the 12th; post-office lady was semi-pessimistic but took ma money anyway....Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
Wouldn't turning the whole frame 180 screw up the threshold?
Uhhhhh, yup, that's a good point. But he will probably have to modify the sill anyway. Being as these doors were designed to open outwards, I would figure the sill will not have any provision for adding additional outer doors.
When I retro-fit custom screen doors to a pre-hung factory door set, I usually install 3/8" wood stop bars all around and tack my weather-strip to them. If there's a lack of slope or a reverse slope that's still a problem, a little work with a plane can fix that unless the sill is metal-covered. In that case, I cut the outer doors short and add a false wood sill on top of the original with the stop integrated and the slope correctly beveled.
This guy is in Florida and is concerned about rot, so he could use PVC moulding instead of wood, I suppose.
Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
taking out the door frame and turning 180 deg is very clever, but if the doors have an extirior side and an intirior side, he may havto swap them, thus not saving him any time/labor-->
measure once
scribble several lines
spend some time figuring out wich scribble
cut the wrong line
get mad
Interesting thought, there. I don't think I've ever seen a commercial door with a dedicated outside and inside. The 'slabs' as they are called in the trade are manufactured generically and then pre-hung according to the ordering yard's specs. But I suppose it's possible there are some made the way you postulate....
Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
i diddnt realize that his doors were slabs, he said that it was a victorian house and i pictured frame and panel doors with different trim on the extirior and intirior side.-->
measure once
scribble several lines
spend some time figuring out wich scribble
cut the wrong line
get mad
I don't know what's with my so-called thinking mechanism these days...seems to be on vacation after the holiday rush. I was picturing a set of interior F.D. when I wrote that. Duh....
Obviously, most exterior doors with glass panels are caulked on the outside and not on the inside. I don't know what kind of doors he's got cause he didn't give any details. If he's got solid wood-panel or fake-wood panel doors, flopping the frame might be the easiest solution, but if he's got doors with glass in them that isn't going to work for him.Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
Yeah, he said "french doors", so I was picturing doors that were mostly glass, and made to look kind of like panel doors. If they were wood (probably not, in his case) they might even have different wood on outside vs inside, and certainly a different finish.
I think the sliding idea has merit.
I love Savannah. Did you go over by the art and design school? There used to be some really neat coffee shops there. And the "scenery" by art schools is usually great. I wish we could move there, but no university for my wife to teach at.
B,
Yep, Savannah is great! Went all over the place including the area you mentioned. One of those "cute coffee shops" you mentioned now includes a S-bucks. Good or bad depending on your take?
The school (SCAD) has taken over the town! They are acquiring buildings everywhere to restore. I thought it was good to see but apparently some of the locals don't like it.
Mike
I don't see how you could do sliding screens on a outswing.
You need to open the screen before you can open the door. Fine if you are on the outside, but not if you are on the inside.
The only solution that I can think of is to have spring hinged doors and no latch. Then you have abumper or link on the door so that the screen opens with it. Make be a maintace problem with wind catching it.
The only other thing that I can see is to reverse the door switng.
Retractable screens might work for you. I've seen them and they are'nt as flimsey as you would expect. DIYScreens.com
I've installed the retractable screens for this very reason on a job two years ago. You should look into them because they are very functional and unobtrusive. Just follow the instructions carefully. I think Larsen makes them....not sure.