# french doors



## msvalentine (Sep 24, 2005)

How hard would it be to install french doors where there is currently only a window?  Here's what I have:  a single standard sized window in my dining room looking out to the garden in my back yard.

Here's what I would like:  french doors where the current window is going out to the garden.

Would this be a difficult, expensive, and/or time consuming project?

Thanks in advance for your help!


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## FirTrader (Sep 25, 2005)

MSV (Val for short??) if you have a window which is wide enough, then putting a door in instead is really easy.  Windows and doors are framed basically the same, which is to say that above them, you'll find a beam or lintel, and directly beside the window you'll find a stud that holds up that beam, and beside that stud, a stud which goes right to the top of the wall.  So if you have a window that is sitting in a 5 foot opening, and you want to put a 5 foot wide set of doors instead, then you literally need only to pull out the window, (get all the trim off, inside and out, and pull any nails in the flange, and run a sawzall around the window between it and the studs to free it up).  Then you just cut the wall below the window out with a sawzall (CHECK FOR WIRING FIRST!!!!).  Once that wall is cut out, install your door.  It took me 3 hours to go from window to sliding door, not including finishing, last time I did one.  Just make sure your dimensions are going to work out for you.


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## Bill (Oct 11, 2005)

Just as th previous note.  you can cut wider and install a header in the wall above the door opening and support that header with a support on each side of the door.  You will have to cut the header above your existing window.  This can be done with a sawsall and a long blade.  If you are carefull you can cut the nails by cutting between the sheetrock and the wood and cause minimal damage to the sheetrock.  Good Luck!


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