HELP with replacing sliding glass doors with french doors!!!

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diychickie

I have a 1999 Palm Harbor doublewide. I have sliding glass doors on the backside of my house. I HATE my sliding glass doors. The only reason I got the doors was so there would be an opening there in the future so that we could put in french doors. Well it's almost 8 years later, and we're finally doing it. The problem is that my opening isn't large enough for the doors I want to install. I need a rough opening of 78x80. My sliding glass doors are on the back f my house, which means they're located on the lowest point of the wall. Is it possible to still put in french doors? The doors I want are at http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=p ... lpage=none. Has anyone actually DONE this (installed standard sized french doors) on the LOW SIDE of their house?

Any info at all would be most appreciated. Thank you!!! :)
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Greg
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DIY, It CAN be done, the thing you want to be concerened with the height. You will need to make sure you have enough room for a top header that will support the weight. Make sure you have the room before you get started. Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
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Yanita
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Hi,

We did not replace sliders with patio doors, but we did install patio doors.

As Greg said it is imperative that you have enough room at the top for a good solid header, thats quite a span.

What is you ceiling height?

~Yanita~
The difference between success and failure is who gives up first!
diychickie

I just measured and my ceiling height looks to be 90". I know I need enough room for the header, but the question is, how much room do I need? I need a 78x80 opening for the door/frame.

I talked to a guy at Lowes today and he said that the doors I want to buy can't be used in mobile homes b/c my walls are only 2 something inches deep. I don't know what the heck he was talking about. I just can't believe that everyone that installs patio doors or french doors (is there a difference?) in their mobile homes are actually buying mobile-home-doors and NOT getting doors from places like Lowes, Home Depot, etc. All I know is that I'm worried sick that these doors aren't going to fit, and I don't know what I'm gonna do if that's the case.

So does anyone know how much height I'm going to need for my header? I'm cutting it close in height, aren't I?
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Yanita
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Hi

I am a little confused...

You said the wall that the doors are to be installed in is the lowest point of the wall...all your walls are the same height???

Patio doors/ French doors..French doors both will open, patio doors, one side is in a fixed position, the other side opens.

In your last post you said your ceiling height "looks to be" 90 inches, make certain that you are getting an exact measurement. If your measurement is exact then yes you have enough room to put in a header.

Your exterior walls need to be at least 2x4 walls, and yes we purchased our french doors from Lowe's, these we had installed in our previous home.

In our current home we have custom ordered patio doors, I like them better. They look exactly like the french, but with only one true door they come with a screen door. I found with the french doors we never had both sides opened at the same time. Also the movement during the different seasons seemed to cause some trouble with the doors not sealing tight.

Good luck and keep us posted on your project.

~Yanita~
The difference between success and failure is who gives up first!
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Sylvia
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We have normal patio doors in our kitchen. As with any "normal" door you do have to make adjustments to the surrounding wall area. It's much taller and wider than the nasty door that came with it. It doesn't stick out too far, it's just fine. I guess it would depend on the thickness of your outside walls as I would think that could vary by mh manufacturers and the age of the home. I would think that even "normal" homes could have thinner walls. Our cottage, a stick built home c 1890 is built far worse than this place.

Thankfully, on retrospect, it worked at our house because it would have been terribly cold the past few winters with the big, big hole.

I wouldn't think that french doors would be different than our patio doors. Our door is a Pella slider that looks like a french door.

There is a picture in my uploads of my kitchen and the door.
diychickie

Yanita,

What I meant when I said the "lowest point" is that the doors won't be installed on the end of the house (where the ceiling is taller). The doors will be installed on the back on the house. I do have 2x4 exterior walls, so that's good.

I am really stuck on this particular style of door, but if I can't get it, then I'll have no choice but to special order patio doors.

I remeausred the walls, and the height is definitely 90".

I filled out my profile so that you guys will have a better idea of what I'm working with. Plus, I'm sure I'll have more questions b/c there's a lot I want to do. This forum is awesome!!!! :D
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gram2logan
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We have that exact same style of french doors! We gutted our dining room, took out the single door and window that was already there and installed the french doors. We LOVE them!! Here's a picture of my dining room now:

Image

Our home is REALLY old and we also have 2x4 exterior walls. Good luck with your project. You will really like the doors!
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diychickie

Thank you, Barbara! I LOVE your dining room, and the doors look awesome! Did you pay someone to do this, or did you diy?

I can't tell you how ready I am to get these doors in. I feel like if I have to look at my sliding glass doors for one more day, I'll scream! The thing barely wants to open and is just a real pain in the rear!

We have someone coming either today or early next week to give us an estimate on how much it will cost for him to install the doors. (First he's got to tell us whether it can be done or not, but now I KNOW it can be done!!) :)
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JD
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In my area, the header schedule for 6'-8' spans is 4x8, which would fit. There are also other considerations when installing a header. The wood needs to be better than stud grade, #2 or better. Kiln dried is a good way to go. Needs to be less than 12% moisture content. Simpson ties (metal plates) at top and bottom of king and jack studs and header joint. Also, when installing this door near the eave wall (short side of gable end) there may be other considerations that pertain to sway support. Your local building inspector would be the best person to get all the details from as code can vary from UBC (require more) in certain areas.

JD
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All information and advice given is for entertainment and informational purposes only. The person doing the work is solely responsible to insure that their work complies with their local building code and OSHA safety regulations.
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Yanita
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Hi,

Now that you have confirmed your height and the exterior wall size, yes, definitely can have the doors you want. As you see Sylvia and Gram has them and so do I. :wink:

LOL, it must be a women thing for these doors. I have a large (for a MH anyways) foyer entrance, this is where we had the sliders removed and patio doors installed. Love the amount of light and the view, makes the area so much brighter.

As mentioned in one of the previous post there may be some creative trim work to do after the install, but nothing that you can not over come.

Gram, your dining room looks great, it's been awhile since I have been to your site. The color came out great, love the white accents, what a real pop!

~Yanita~
The difference between success and failure is who gives up first!
diychickie

I'm looking forward to the trim work. I actually want to replace all of the baseboards and trimwork around the doors throughout my house. I already have 3" crown molding, which I like, so I won't be replacing that.
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gram2logan
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diychickie:

We did them ourselves. Well, my hubby, my son, and my son's friend (who does construction work) did it. Of course I don't know what all they had to do to make them fit, but they are wonderful. We are going to get screens for them too so we can open them up and get the fresh air inside. Why have french doors if you can't open them up? LOL

Keep us posted and take pics too!
Stop talking before people stop listening!
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Sylvia
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Yanita mine just look like french doors. They're actually a sliding patio door too. It made more sense as we have the table in front of the door.

We are putting french doors in what is the master bedroom and will be the dining room into what is my walk in closet and what will be a little office nook. Does that count? :~)
diychickie

Well the guy came today and said that it would be no problem installing the doors. (This just isn't something hubby feels comfy doing as he's never done any type of construction, etc.) So he'll be coming in a couple of weeks. I cannot WAIT! I can't even begin to convey how excited I am!

I will definitely post before and after pictures!

Thank you so much to everyone that's posted to me. You guys are SO helpful! I've been lurking on this forum for several weeks now, and my only regret is that I didn't register sooner. I have more questions, so I hope you guys don't mind me asking! :lol: There's obviously a wealth of information here!
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