uPVC French Doors Across Yorkshire & Lancashire
The sympathetic patio door — slim meeting stile, PAS 24 security, and the kind of glazed area that makes a back room feel like a garden room. Made to measure by 313 Glass.
Why French Doors Still Win on the Right Opening
French doors have been the standard rear-elevation patio door across British housing for over a century — and despite the rise of bi-folds and sliders, they're still the most appropriate choice for the vast majority of UK rear openings. The reason is simple: most rear openings sit between 1.2m and 1.8m wide, and at that width a hinged pair of French doors gives you more daylight, a tighter weather seal, and a more sympathetic appearance than any other option.
Every set we install at 313 Glass is built around a six-chamber Eurocell profile, steel-reinforced through both leaves, and locked with full-height shootbolts on the passive door and a TS007 3-star anti-snap cylinder on the active door. The same security spec used on our composite front doors — applied to a glazed product without compromise.
We've installed French doors on Victorian terraces in Headingley, stone cottages in Hebden Bridge, 1930s semis in Lytham St Annes and new-build townhouses in Wakefield. The product flexes to all of them — provided the survey, the colour and the bar pattern are right for the property. That's the bit we obsess over.
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Why Homeowners Choose French Doors Over Bi-Folds
Bi-folds get the marketing budget; French doors get the openings they're actually suited to. Here's where they win.
Maximum Glazed Area for the Opening
For openings up to 1.8m wide, French doors deliver more daylight per pound spent than any other patio option. The slim meeting stile and shallow frame mean glass is what you see — not aluminium or uPVC.
Genuine Two-Leaf Security
Shootbolts top and bottom on the passive leaf, multi-point hookbolts on the active, plus a 3-star anti-snap cylinder. We test-fit every set on the bench before installation to make sure the keep plates align and the door pulls in tight.
Warm to Stand Next To
Modern uPVC French doors no longer feel cold to sit beside in winter. A 1.2 W/m²K whole-door U-value with warm-edge spacer technology means no condensation on the inner pane and no cold zone at the threshold.
Sympathetic to Period Homes
With astragal bars, traditional handles and the right colour, French doors fit a Victorian terrace or stone-built farmhouse far better than a modern bi-fold ever will. We see this constantly on jobs around Saltaire, Hebden Bridge and the Ribble Valley.
Tighter Seal Than a Sliding Door
Compression seals on a hinged door close harder than a sliding door's brush seal. If draught performance matters — particularly on exposed sites in the Pennines — French doors will outperform an equivalently-priced patio slider every time.
Lower Maintenance Than Timber
Traditional timber French doors look beautiful but need stripping and repainting every 5–7 years in Yorkshire's climate. uPVC foiled French doors give you the look with none of the upkeep — a wipe-down twice a year is all they ask.
Configuration & Colour Options
The detail decisions that turn a competent French door into one that flatters the building.
Foil Colours
All foils are heat-bonded to the uPVC substrate (not painted) and carry a 10-year colourfast warranty. Anthracite Grey accounts for roughly 60% of what we install across Yorkshire; cream and Chartwell Green dominate the conservation and cottage market.
Sidelights & Fanlights
Add full-height fixed sidelights or a transom fanlight above and you can take the overall opening up to 3.6m wide and 2.7m tall as a single composite assembly. We pre-build these in the workshop and deliver as one frame wherever access permits.
For openings any larger than that, we'd be moving you onto a bi-folding door or sliding door system instead.
Glazing Choices
Standard is 28mm argon-filled with low-E. Optional upgrades include acoustic laminate (worthwhile near A-roads or rail lines, common requirement around Leeds and Manchester), self-cleaning external surface, integrated blinds within the sealed unit, and full triple glazing for sub-0.9 U-value performance on north-facing rear elevations.
Bar Patterns & Astragals
Internal Georgian bars (typically 8 panes per leaf) for traditional properties, cottage-style bars (2 over 1) for cottages and farmhouses, or no bars at all for contemporary properties. We always check the bar pattern matches the windows on the same elevation — getting that wrong is the most common own-goal in patio door installs.
What Goes Into a 313 Glass French Door
Every french door we install is engineered as a system. The frame, core, glazing, seals and ironmongery are specified together so the finished door performs as one — not as a collection of parts.
70mm Multi-Chamber uPVC Profile
We specify Eurocell Logik or equivalent six-chamber profile in 70mm depth. The extra chambers trap still air, which is what does the insulating work — and the deeper section gives the leaves the rigidity they need over taller patio openings without sagging at the meeting stile.
Galvanised Steel Reinforcement
Both door leaves are reinforced internally with galvanised steel along the full perimeter. Critical for French doors because the active leaf takes its own weight every time it swings, and you can't have the frame flexing as the locking points engage.
Slim Astragal Meeting Stile
The vertical stile where the two doors meet is engineered as slim as we can responsibly go — typically 80–110mm combined — so you keep as much glazed area as possible. A slim meeting stile is what makes a French door feel like a French door rather than a pair of solid leaves.
Shootbolt + Multi-Point Locking
The passive leaf is held by full-height shootbolts top and bottom (mortice-driven, not surface-mounted). The active leaf runs a multi-point hookbolt and roller mechanism. Both leaves are then secured by a TS007 3-star anti-snap cylinder — the spec your home insurer expects.
28mm Argon-Filled Double Glazing
Standard glazing is a 28mm sealed unit: 4mm toughened outer / 20mm argon-filled cavity with warm-edge spacer / 4mm soft-coat low-E inner. Triple glazing is available where you're chasing a sub-1.2 U-value on an exposed elevation.
Co-Extruded EPDM Seals
Two lines of EPDM gasket run the full perimeter of each leaf, plus a centre seal where the leaves meet. EPDM stays elastic in Pennine winters — unlike cheaper TPE seals that go brittle and let draughts in by year three.
Finishes Worth Looking At Twice
The difference between a good door and a great one usually comes down to the finish. These are the details we obsess over.
Foiled Woodgrain Finishes
Anthracite Grey on a smooth foil is the runaway favourite across our Yorkshire installs, followed by Chartwell Green for cottages and Cream for traditional terraces. All foils are 10-year colourfast warranted and bonded under heat, not painted on.
Astragal Glazing Bars
Internally bonded Georgian or cottage bars replicate the look of true divided lights without compromising the U-value of the glazing unit. We can match existing window bar patterns on the same elevation so the rear of the property reads as one composition.
Chrome, Black or Brushed Hardware
Lever handles, T-bar pulls or traditional knob sets in polished chrome, satin chrome, matt black or graphite. We always pair the hardware finish across the doors, windows and any rooflights on the same elevation — a small thing that signals a considered job.
How a French Door Actually Performs
Indicative figures for the systems we typically specify. Final values vary by glazing pack, frame size and configuration — we confirm them in writing on every quote.
Indicative whole-door figure with our standard 28mm argon-filled unit. Drops to ~0.9 W/m²K with a triple-glazed pack on the same frame.
Tested as a pair, including shootbolt engagement on the passive leaf and full hookbolt engagement on the active. Meets Approved Document Q for new-build use.
Air permeability Class 4 and watertightness to 1500 Pa — important on west-facing Pennine elevations where driving rain is the real test.
Is a French Door Right For You?
We won't sell you a door that doesn't fit your project. Here's an honest view of when this product is the right call — and when it isn't.
Period and traditional properties
French doors are the sympathetic choice for Victorian terraces, Edwardian semis and 1930s detached homes across Leeds, Bradford, Halifax and Harrogate. They sit in a standard rear opening (typically 1200–1800mm wide) without the lintel and tracking work a bi-fold demands.
Modest rear openings, 1.2m to 1.8m wide
If you've got a standard double-door opening at the back of the kitchen or dining room, French doors give you the most glazed area for that width — a bi-fold over the same opening loses too much glass to frame stiles to be worth the extra cost.
Homes where you mostly want light, not full-open access
Honest reality of UK weather: most homeowners open their patio doors fully on maybe 30 days a year. The other 335 days you want light, a view of the garden, and a draught-free seal. French doors do that brilliantly and for considerably less money than a bi-fold.
Listed and conservation area properties
Around Haworth, Knaresborough, Wetherby, Skipton and Clitheroe we work on properties where the conservation officer will not approve a bi-fold or sliding system. A timber-effect French door in Painswick or Chartwell Green typically gets signed off.
Property Types We Install Most Often
Based on the last 12 months of jobs across Yorkshire and Lancashire.
Why Choose 313 Glass for French Doors?
Most patio door problems we get called to fix on other firms' installs come down to the same two things: an opening that wasn't surveyed properly, and a frame that's been packed rather than properly fixed into the structure. We don't subcontract our surveys, and our fitting teams have been with us long enough to handle stone, brick, render and timber substrates without fudging.
Every French door we supply is FENSA-registered on completion, comes with a 10-year insurance-backed guarantee, and is priced as a single fixed quote with no add-on charges for handles, cill upgrades or trickle vents — those are included as standard.
From Lytham St Annes to Skipton, Halifax to Harrogate, 313 Glass installs French doors that fit the property, the budget and the warranty paperwork — in that order.
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Ready for a French Door That Fits Your Home?
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