Not French, not Dutch, but....
April 29, 2011 8:51 AM

Please help me with a name for the kind of door I want to get replace a current standard size exterior door. It would look like a closet door I have that is a standard size door but is in vertical halves and opens towards you on two sets of hinges. It's not a Dutch door, because that is cut horizontally, and I usually think of a French door as being two doors with a lot of glass.
posted by mmf to Home & Garden (14 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
Double-leaf or double-leaved.
posted by Perplexity at 8:53 AM on April 29, 2011


bi-fold door. I doubt you will find an exterior grade bi-fold door, because the design is inherently difficult to seal.
posted by cosmicbandito at 8:54 AM on April 29, 2011


Are you just thinking of a double door?
posted by phunniemee at 8:59 AM on April 29, 2011


Yes. Bi-fold door. For whatever it's worth, I've never seen a bi-fold door that did not suuuuuuuuck.
posted by adamrice at 9:10 AM on April 29, 2011


Yep, bifold. Unless you have the budget for a custom-made door and live in a mild climate where a poor weather seal is acceptable, give up the search.
posted by jon1270 at 9:13 AM on April 29, 2011


I've always called them accordion doors....
posted by Lucinda at 9:22 AM on April 29, 2011


Bi-fold doors have both of the doors attached to one another and are basically impossible to properly seal, I suspect this isnt' what you're after. You're probably looking for a very narrow double door and will probably have to go to a door manufacturer in your area for something custom.

Pics:
Bi-Fold
Accordion Door
posted by jjb at 9:38 AM on April 29, 2011


If it's just a French door minus the glass, then you'd just call it a double door. Some manufacturers call French doors "patio doors" or some other euphemism.
posted by LionIndex at 10:04 AM on April 29, 2011


It's not a bifold door.

I think that "narrow french door" is the closest description.
posted by davey_darling at 10:28 AM on April 29, 2011


Double-leaf door.
posted by Corvid at 10:42 AM on April 29, 2011


In Spain they have these but usually for the old windows. At the center hinge there is a hook which clamps into a recess on the door frame on the top and bottom. They are specially made to be somewhat air-tight but then the climate isn't extremely cold. In these cases there is an inner and outer door.

Modern doors are just called folding doors and are weatherproof.
posted by JJ86 at 11:05 AM on April 29, 2011


THanks so much. It's double leaf or narrow French door.
posted by mmf at 11:10 AM on April 29, 2011


I have a beautiful one in my 1830's Vermont house and I've never known what to call it, but definitely NOT bifold. It's actually a great solution for a door in a small hall. A regular sized door would have to block one of the other doors when it was opened, but the halves of this door are just the right size so they block nothing. I'm glad to know names for these doors.
posted by bumpcat at 11:49 AM on April 29, 2011


By the way, not sure if this would be applicable for you, but you can get these in asymmetric sizes so that you have a regular 'door' that when necessary can open up the entire width of the doorway. Ex: 1. 2. For a high-traffic door that needs to be mostly closed, this can be a little better than a too-narrow French door pair.
posted by dhartung at 3:38 PM on April 29, 2011


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