French & Double Doors

French & Double Doors in Miami, FL | Winslow Windows & Doors

French doors bring something to a Miami home that sliding glass simply can’t: a wide, symmetrical opening that makes the threshold between your living room and the patio feel intentional. But in a city where building codes are shaped by hurricanes, a standard French door isn’t enough. That’s why we sell and install paired impact-rated French and double doors with laminated glass in every lite, built for Florida’s wind-borne debris zones. Winslow Windows & Doors has installed these systems across Miami from Coral Gables to Palmetto Bay, and we set every unit to level, plumb, and square per AAMA 2400/2410 practice. Call (863) 946-5039 to talk through your opening.

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Product Overview - French & Double Doors

This profile is a paired door system, meaning two door panels meet in the center and swing open from the jambs. What separates it from a decorative interior French door is the glass package and the locking hardware. Every lite carries laminated impact glass with a PVB interlayer, so the pane is engineered to stay in the frame when debris strikes it. The doors lock at multiple points along the center stile and top and bottom, which matters for both security and wind-load performance during a storm.

Architecturally, these doors fit the homes Miami is known for: Mediterranean revival houses in Coral Gables, mid-century ranches in Westchester, contemporary builds in Edgewater. The sightlines are clean and symmetrical, which is why designers and architects keep specifying them for great rooms, primary suites, and rear elevations facing a pool or garden. You get the open-air feel of a wall of glass, but with an opening you can actually walk through without sliding a panel across a track.

Frames are available in aluminum or vinyl. Aluminum gives you narrow sightlines and a more architectural look, and it’s the material most often chosen for coastal Miami homes with high wind-load requirements. Vinyl performs well thermally and tends to be the more budget-friendly option. Both are built to accept the impact glass packages described below, and both are installed by our crew with the same HVHZ-compliant methods whether you’re in Homestead or Miami Shores. Call (863) 946-5039 to ask which frame suits your elevation.

Technical Specifications

Here’s how this product is configured. The figures below reflect what we order and install for Miami clients most often, and every configuration is verified against its Miami-Dade NOA and Florida Product Approval documentation before we order it.

• Frame materials: Aluminum or vinyl, selected by wind zone and design preference
• Maximum opening width: Up to 96 inches wide for a paired configuration
• Glass options: Laminated impact glass with PVB interlayer, Low-E insulated glass, tinted glass, clear glass
• Finish options: White, almond, bronze, black, and tan
• Locking: Multi-point hardware at the center stile and head/sill for engagement under pressure
• Design pressure: Matched to your wind zone, up to +/-100 PSF, never higher
• Compliance documentation: Miami-Dade NOA and Florida Product Approval numbers issued per configuration, so the exact product on your quote is the one shown on your permit submittal

Hurricane & Compliance Performance

Miami building departments don’t accept “hurricane-rated” as a claim. They accept documentation. Here’s what backs these doors.

Laminated Impact Glass

Every lite uses a PVB (polyvinyl butyral) interlayer sandwiched between glass layers. When wind-borne debris hits, the glass may crack, but the interlayer holds the pane in the frame. That prevents the sudden pressurization that blows roofs off and lets water pour in.

Miami-Dade NOA / Florida Product Approval

These doors carry Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance and Florida Product Approval numbers issued per configuration. The approval is tied to the exact size, glass, and frame combination. Your quote will list the configuration-specific numbers that your permit submittal requires.

FBC / HVHZ Compliance

The system is engineered to Florida Building Code High-Velocity Hurricane Zone requirements. That’s the stricter standard applied in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, not the general statewide wind-load provisions. It governs how the frame, glass, and hardware perform together as one assembly.

TAS 201 / 202 / 203 Testing Context

HVHZ-rated products are tested under the TAS protocol family. TAS 201 covers large-missile impact. TAS 202 covers cyclic wind-pressure loading, which is the repeated push-pull a hurricane puts on a door. TAS 203 covers forced-entry resistance. All three apply to this product’s approval path.

Design Pressure for Your Wind Zone

Design pressures are matched to your wind zone, up to +/-100 PSF, never higher. We don’t sell a single rating for every house in Miami because a home on the water in Key Biscayne faces different loading than one inland in Kendall. Your quote will state the DP for your specific opening.

Energy Performance

Low-E and insulated glass options are available. In Miami, the biggest thermal load isn’t winter cold; it’s afternoon sun and humidity. Low-E coatings cut solar heat gain, and insulated units help keep conditioned air inside where the thermostat can manage it.

Color & Glass Options

Finish color matters more on French doors than on most window lines because the frame is a visible architectural element, not just a perimeter line. Bronze and black reads well on modern and transitional homes, especially in neighborhoods like the Upper East Side or Coconut Grove where darker window frames have become the norm. White and almond feel more traditional and work well on Mediterranean and Key West-style houses. Tan splits the difference when the exterior paint palette leans warm but you don’t want the strong contrast of black or bronze.

On the glass side, clear laminated impact glass gives you the truest exterior view. Tinted glass cuts glare, which is worth considering for west-facing rear elevations in Miami where late afternoon sun pours in. Low-E insulated glass is the choice when the doors face sustained sun and the room behind them carries a real cooling load. You can combine Low-E with tint in some configurations. We’ll walk you through what makes sense for each elevation when you call (863) 946-5039.

Installation by Winslow Windows & Doors in Miami

An impact door is only as good as its installation. The NOA rating assumes the product is set correctly in the opening, and a door that’s racked or shimmed wrong won’t perform the way the test report says it will. That’s why we install every French door in Miami with the same process, whether it’s going into a 1950s Coral Gables ranch or a new concrete-block build in Doral.

We start with a pre-installation inspection of the rough opening. In older Miami homes, that often means discovering settled framing, out-of-square jambs, or termite damage behind the old door. Those issues have to be corrected before the new unit goes in because the door can’t be forced square without stressing the frame and the glass. Then we set the frame level, plumb, and square, shimming at the anchoring points and checking the reveal around each panel before fastening. The perimeter gets sealed with AAMA 812 low-expansion foam, and we follow AAMA 2400/2410 standard practice for the full installation sequence.

After installation, we test the door’s operation and run a water test at the sill. Sill pan details are easy to get wrong in Miami because of wind-driven rain, so we pay extra attention to the interface between the threshold and the finished floor. We also flag any permitting requirements for your jurisdiction. If you’re in an HVHZ city like Miami, Coral Gables, or Miami Beach, your permit submittal will include the NOA or FL Product Approval numbers, and we make sure the product on the permit matches the product on the truck.

Improper installation compromises the entire system. A homeowner who buys an approved product but hires a crew that doesn’t understand HVHZ anchoring and flashing has paid for a rating they won’t get. Our aim is that your doors open smoothly on day one and stay square for decades.

Frequently Asked Questions - French & Double Doors

Get a Quote - French & Double Doors in Miami

If you’re pricing impact French doors for your Miami home, start with an exact quote rather than a showroom guess. We come out, measure the opening, verify your wind zone, and price the configuration that meets Miami-Dade permitting requirements. Call (863) 946-5039 to schedule your free on-site measurement, or tell us about your project and we’ll get the numbers moving.

Written by the team at Winslow Windows & Doors, serving Miami, FL with hurricane-impact windows and doors.