Are two doors better than one? It’s a question we get asked a lot. Double doors certainly add grandeur to your house and not just when they’re installed at the entrance of your home.
Double doors connect spaces - whether that’s adjoining rooms or leading into an outdoor area.
Of course, doors need to be functional and to easily swing open and close, so you need to have the right gap between your double doors wherever you fit them.
Double doors can be installed with a rebate or without. Exterior doors generally have a rebate which is a section along the vertical edge of the door, so the two doors can fit snugly together. Around half the thickness is taken off so they can easily interlock.
With interior double doors, you’ll probably want them both to open at any time, so you won’t need that rebate.
Mind The Gap
Most door installers look for a gap in the middle of double doors between 3mm and 5mm – that’s less than ¼ inch. This means the doors will swing correctly and there’s no risk of them hitting one another.
Any gap between doors bigger than 5mm is too much and will look out of place. The larger the gap, the more light will come in. If they are too close, you could always plane them down a little.
Tradies working in the building industry have an ingenious way of checking this gap between double doors. They use a two-dollar coin as guidance. A two-dollar coin is just less than 3mm in thickness, so if you can pop it through this gap, it is the right size.
When fitting double doors, you should also allow 3mm on both hinge sides and 9mm clearance from the floor - known as the threshold gap.
The Rise Of French Doors And Double Doors
You can have double doors wherever you like whether that be your main entrance, leading into a dining room, or out into a garden. The gap in the middle shouldn’t deviate between 3mm and 5mm thickness.
Double doors are sometimes known as French doors. As the name suggests, they date back to the French Renaissance era and back then, usually opened out onto a balcony.
French doors are sold in pairs and house panels of glass to allow light in, so you can enjoy an unobstructed view.
Double doors are appealing to the eye because they’re balanced and architecturally impressive, plus you can’t beat them for functionality. If you want to move furniture inside and out, double open doors create a wider passageway.
Whatever your door requirements, speak to the team at Door Stop. We are the door company of choice in Perth. Whether you’re after French doors, double entrance doors, pivot, sliding or bi-fold doors – why not pay a visit to one of our showrooms in Joondalup and Osborne Park. Take a look at our reviews and discover why people are choosing Door Stop for their new doors.
