Home improvement topicsBrowse Categories:Full list »French Doors – Built In BlindsFrench Doors with built in blinds between the glass panels are great. Typically French Doors don’t provide much privacy because of all the glass. If you wanted privacy with a French Door in the past you would have to install some type of blind or a curtain attached to the door. You no longer have to settle for that option because you can now buy most all French Doors with the blinds built in.When I designed our new home my wife was concerned about having French Doors in our breakfast nook. She was worried about privacy and shading from the afternoon sun. She has never been a huge fan of mini-blinds because she hates cleaning them. When I told her I could order the French Doors with the mini-blind built into the insulated glass she was very interested in trying the product.I’m happy to say we’ve been very pleased with this feature. The blinds have two controls on the door, one to raise and lower the blinds and another to control the tilt of the blind blades.
The great benefit of these blinds is they never need to be cleaned because they are contained within the sealed void between the pains of glass. The cost was similar to buying a set of mini-blinds so in my opinion you’d be crazy not to order a door with this feature. If you want full light from the window just open up the blinds all the way and you don’t even know they are there.How Mini Blinds Between Glass WorkBuilt-in mini blinds between the glass on windows and doors is pretty easy to manufacturer when you see a typical section. The photo to the right is a section through a Pella window that offers the blinds between the glass. As you can see in the photo, the window has a traditional insulated double pane on the exterior of the window followed by a larger space for the built-in blinds. Lastly there is another piece of glass the encloses the blind system. mon Problems with Built In BlindsBuilt in blinds are far less susceptible to damage compared to the old fashion standard window blinds.
However, when they do break it can be really hard to fix them. There are a couple common problems with built in blinds including:Control Handle Disconnects – On many of the new models now available the control handles on the outside of the glass are connected to the internal controls with powerful magnets. This allows the controls to be used without compromising the energy efficiency of the glass. What typically happens is if you try to move the blinds up and down inside the glass while the blinds are in the “closed” position there is too much tension on the system and the magnet lets go. The control handle will likely slide down to the bottom. This can be fixed by moving the handle up to the position when it let go. Next be sure to “open” the blinds before moving them up or down.Control Cable Breaks – In some situations the internal cables can break. If that happens you’ll have to get a new glass insert. Most all of these built in blinds are sold in sealed glass panels that cannot be repaired.
Contact your vendor and see what options are available. The good news is replacing the glass panel is typically quite easy after removing a few screws and trim pieces.Blinds Between Glass ManufacturesI know several door manufacturers now offering blinds between the glass on French Doors. Check out the following manufacturers (we have Therma Tru doors in our new home).Jeld-Wen Windows and Doors – Jeld-Wen Blinds Between GlassPella Windows and Doors – Pella Designer SeriesTherma Tru Doors – Therma Tru Internal BlindsI highly recommend this type of product if you’re planning on buying a new French Door.If you’re looking for information on how to repair doors with built in blinds then please read:Can Blinds Between Glass Be Repaired?About the authorNot what you're looking for? Search for more articles here. Enter keywords like, 'insulation' or 'kitchens' etc to find your topic.96 Comments View Color Chart and Warranty Here Select Size First (width x height):Let us help you find your perfect storm door
Use our easy selection tool. Find Your Storm Door Shop from thousands of choices available at The Home Depot® Buy online or in store. The Andersen and EMCO family of brands offer a full line of quality, low maintenance storm doors featuring a wide array of style combinations featuring a broad selection of glass, ventilation, color and hardware options. Our innovative features make our storm doors easy-to-install, easy-to-use, secure and durable. Doors are a little harder to explain than windows. I needed to use a lot of pictures. I only used these pictures to illustrate certain points to you guys. I AM NOT ENDORSING ANYTHING on the websites where the pictures came from. Please ignore the URLs :) The time has come….get ready for… A NOTE ON PRICING Door Pricing is literally ALL OVER THE PLACE. It depends on the Material of the door itself, the color and or grain of the door, the style, amount of glass, and quality. If your not sure about a price you got PM me with the specs/price and we'll talk about it!
A NOTE ON SECURITY This is a topic that a lot of my customers inquire about and I tell them all the same thing – if you want to be safe pick a door (Any Material) with NO GLASS. Pretty much any Exterior Door will offer a similar level of security. More importantly, if someone REALLY wants to get in, they’re going to get in. There are four basic types of doors on the market today! Fiberglass Doors are becoming the most popular type of entry door in the marketplace. Even in high-end homes and neighborhoods you will see Fiberglass Doors. From a price stand-point these things can range from $1,200 installed for a simple back door with a little glass to $8,000 to $10,000 for a double entryway with full stained glass panels. You generally will see Steel doors applied to certain situations – Back Doors, Side Doors, Garage Doors, and anywhere there is a fire-rating requirement. A lot of people think Fiberglass Doors are more expensive than any other type of door…and this is not really the case.
Steel and Fiberglass Doors are pretty much in the same range. (Give or take literally less than $100 for the same style Steel or Fiberglass Door) Vinyl Entry doors make up the smallest piece of the Entry Door Market. They are generally seen as “low end” solutions but they are growing in popularity. You can still by solid wood doors but they require maintenance. This should not be a surprise. We generally only sell them in areas that are higher-income. They are a “premium” product in the business. That said, there are manly high-grade Fiberglass Doors that (visually) give solid wood doors a run for their money. I’m not going to spend much time on Wood Doors just for the simple fact that if you can afford a solid wood door and it’s maintenance there is not much “quality” discussion to be had. As far the material itself goes the days of cracking, chipping, and bulging Fiberglass Doors is pretty much over. The main thing is that the door is Fiberglass on at least 5 sides.
As you can see there is no damage to the skin of the door itself but the door’s support system is exposed wood. Many factories sell doors like this. You have this nice Fiberglass skin that will never rot or mold but the edge of the door will be wood. Basically This IS NOT WHAT YOU WANT. This is what you want the sample to look like The edge of the door to either needs to be a composite material or Fiberglass. You also want solid foam filling as seen in the photograph. You want the THICKEST gauge Steel skins you can find. You want BELOW 25 gauge used in the door’s Steel Skins. Lesser chance of denting and waving. Cut-away of a Steel Door should look like This THE FOLLOWING INFO GOES FOR STEEL AND FIBERGLASS DOORSYou should see a sample like This. I see new doors (less than 3 or 4 years old) with a ROTTED frame (this is actually called a brick-mould) If you don’t see something like this ask about getting the brick-mould CLAD, CAPPED, OR WRAPPED.You should see something with a composite backing like This.
What you should not see is ANYTHING WITH WOOD. I DON’T CARE IF IT’S PRESSURE TREATED. IF YOU WANT TO USE A LOCAL FACTORY PLEASE POST YOUR STATE AND OR MAJOR METROPOLITAN AREA Here is a list of all the Door manufacturers that I have complied. As with my Window Megapost,these are factories, not retailers. NOTE Also unlike my Window post, most doors are available nationally. Windows cannot be shipped over certain elevations because the glass units will fail via the pressure change. But door factories ship their doors all over the country with the glass units installed locally. So unless otherwise specified, you can get these doors anywhere. NOTE Some of the companies on this list provide components to other companies the list. This is something that makes this process a little more difficult than my window post. For example, Plastpro supplies several of the companies on my list. ProVia (Entry Doors, Patio Doors, and Windows.) ThermaTrue (Entry and Patio Doors)
WeatherKing (Entry Doors, Patio Doors, and Windows. Polaris (Entry Doors, Patio Doors, and Windows) Albany Doors (Entry Doors. Located in Washington State.) HOW TO FIND A GOOD CONTRACTOR , and Google/Bing reviews.These should be given without question. Above all else you must like them and be comfortable :-) Alrighty guys…this is it for today. I’ve been working on this for a couple hours and I’m running out of steam. Doors are much more complicated than windows in a couple places so it’s a lot more involving. (Plus many of these websites are terrible!) As with my window post this list will always grow. I will add anything I find as I find it. Anything anyone suggests that meets my requirements I will add. EDIT Too many edits to count EDIT - STORM AND SCREEN DOORSUsually less than half the price of anything Pella or Andersen and a better/longer warranty. They are easy to install and available everywhere. They've been around a long time.