French Door Sizes: Standard Dimensions for Exterior French Doors

Standard French door widths

A pair of French doors is described by its total width. The most common pairs are:

• 60" (5 ft): two 30" leaves. Common on smaller patios and bedroom exits.
• 64": two 32" leaves. A little more room to walk through.
• 72" (6 ft): two 36" leaves. The most comfortable size for main patio doors and the same width as a standard double front door.

Single French doors (one glass leaf) usually run 30" to 36" wide. Wider openings are filled with sidelights or multi-panel systems.

Standard French door heights

• 80" (6'8"): the traditional standard, common in older homes and 8-foot ceilings.
• 96" (8'): increasingly the norm in new Texas homes with 9- and 10-foot ceilings. Taller doors bring in more light and look more custom.
• Taller pairs: 108" to 120" for two-story rooms and grand patios, usually as a custom build.

Rough opening vs door size

The rough opening is the framed hole in the wall, and it is always larger than the door itself to leave room for the frame, shims and sealing. That is why you should measure the opening, not the old door, when you replace French doors or a sliding patio door.

For a quick measurement, take the width at the top, middle and bottom, and the height at the left, center and right, and write down the smallest numbers. Add photos from inside and outside. Our step-by-step guide on how to measure a door opening covers the details, and we confirm everything on site before fabrication.

When to go custom

Stock French doors work when your opening matches a standard size. A custom door makes sense when:

• The opening is a non-standard width or height, common in older homes and remodels.
• You want an arched or eyebrow top to match the architecture.
• You want taller doors than stock sizes offer, or a multi-panel set across a wide opening.
• You want the doors to match iron or steel front doors and windows in the same finish and grid.

Every Blackline French door is built to the measured opening, so standard and non-standard sizes cost the same way: by size and options.

Swing direction and clearance

Size is only half the plan; the doors also need room to open. An in-swing pair of 36" leaves sweeps about three feet into the room on each side, so check furniture, rugs and nearby walls before you settle on a width. Out-swing doors keep that space inside and resist wind-driven rain better on exposed walls, but they need clear patio space and the right hinges.

If neither works, a slimmer pair, a single French door with a sidelight or a sliding system may fit the room better. We recommend a swing for each opening when we quote.

Sizes for exterior iron and steel French doors

Iron and steel French doors follow the same widths and heights, with one advantage: the frames are slim, so more of each size is glass. A 72" × 96" steel pair, for example, gives you more view than the same size in wood or fiberglass. Steel also makes tall and arched pairs practical, because the frame stays rigid at large sizes.

As a ballpark, our custom iron and steel doors run around $145 per square foot of door, so a 72" × 96" pair lands near $7,000 before glass upgrades and site work.

Choosing the right size for your patio

For a main patio door, 72" wide is the most comfortable for daily traffic and moving furniture. Match the height to your ceiling and your windows: if the windows next to the door are 8 feet tall, a 96" door keeps the line consistent. For pool and courtyard openings wider than about 8 feet, consider sidelights, a three- or four-panel French door system, or bifold patio doors.

See layouts on our iron and steel French doors page, compare steel French doors vs wood and fiberglass, or send your measurements through the quote form.