French Door Installation With Simpson Doors

Hello and welcome to the blog!! Today I am sharing my most recent DIY home project, the installation of my new Simpson French doors. To say I am happy with how the doors look is a huge understatement! I am over the moon with how these Simpson French doors turned out and look!! The amount of character they added to my cookie cutter tract home is amazing.  Not only do Simpson custom doors add character to your home, but they also add value. My Simpson Thermal French Doors are made out of Douglas Fir and have a WaterBarrier Technology on them. This is an upgrade that you can add to your Simpson Door. I’ll tell you more about it further in the post.

As usual before we can get to the pretty pictures we first have to get through the before and not nearly as pretty pictures! Here are the doors I originally had on my office. Now by no means are these French doors not pretty. The problem with this door was, one the locking mechanism broke and cost almost as much as a new door to fix, and two it leaked! The other thing that I did not enjoy about the door was that they were just like all the other doors in my house and all the houses in my neighbor. That’s the biggest struggle I face with living in a tract home. Literally my next door neighbor’s house is my exact same floor plan! Just Three houses down is my exact exterior design! So trying to make my house a little different from the masses is a big priority for me. Simpson Doors are amazing because they are all made out of quality wood which means you can stain or paint them whatever color you want! Hello customizable doors!

Here is a quick overview of how we installed my new Simpson Thermal French Doors.  My uncle/contractor installed my new doors. Please consult or use a professional for the removal and installation of your doors.

The first step you need to do when deciding to install new exterior doors is to properly measure and order your new doors. The proper measurement is essential when replacing your doors. The easiest way to install new doors is to use the existing door frame. Then it’s just a matter of removing the old doors and adding hinges on the new door in same place and hanging the new doors. It wasn’t possible for us to reuse the existing door frame because as I mentioned before the door leaked. So that problem needed to be fixed. Once your doors arrive the process of removing the old doors begins. First you need to remove the stucco around the existing door. So you can access and remove the screws and nails from the existing frame. You can use a Roto Hammer with chisel like we did, or you could use a hammer and chisel.

Once you have the stucco removed and the flashing pulled back you will start to remove all the nails and screws from the existing frame. Let me tell you there were a lot of screws to remove!

You will also most likely have a tar layer under the threshold. Be careful not to step on that! It gets tar everywhere and is a pain to remove. I speak from experience!

You will also have to remove the trim around the inside and outside of the door. I was happy to see my interior trim go. It was small and I didn’t like the design on it. I was excited to get to pick out my own trim.

Now comes the putting it all back together part. You will need to build your new frame and install it into the opening. You can use an aluminum threshold or wood like we did. My Uncle, who installs hardwood floors for a living, went with an oak threshold that would match my existing hardwood floors.

After you get the frame installed and level using shims, you’ll mark where the hinges will go. This step is a lot of measuring twice because once you cut the openings there’s no going back.

Now that the hinges are all marked you will need to router the openings. This is a very neat process to watch. I always like watching the router in action! Another great thing about Simpson doors is that not only the paint and stain colors are customizable but you can put your hinges wherever you want and use any door handle you wish too.

Here my uncle is chipping away at the hinge openings. We did also have to plane a little off the bottoms of the doors so they fit perfectly. Thankfully since my Simpson doors are made out of Douglas Fir it was easy to shave a little off. I really like using wood doors because you can adjust them so easily.

Alright new hinges were installed, and up went the new Simpson Thermal French Doors. My Uncle also installed a metal door style, the middle metal piece, that holds the doors together. I knew I wanted to paint the doors black so I used black hinges and style.

You will also need to install new flashing. This is what helps keep the door and door frame nice and dry.

On goes the new exterior trim. This goes over the flashing. I was happy to add new trim. My previous door had no exterior trim. I feel the trim gives the door a little more detail and makes it look more finished.

And up goes the interior trim! I was so excited to have larger trim around the door.

Of course you can’t forget the door sweep. This helps keep your new Simpson Doors water and air tight. And don’t forget to add the weather striping.

Aww we’re getting closer to the pretty pictures!! The stucco all got repaired and my Simpson French Doors are starting to look amazing!

Eek!! It’s time to paint!! The nice thing was that my Simpson Thermal French Doors came pre primed and the windows were already taped off. So that saved a lot of time. I decided to have a professional paint the door and finish off the stucco texture. That way my doors could be sprayed, which I think looks best on doors. I went with TriCorn Black by Sherwin Williams in their Pro Line.

There she is!! I am so happy I chose to go with black on my Simpson Thermal French Doors! The contrast between the doors and white trim is just beautiful.

As mentioned in the beginning I opted to add WaterBarrier Technology to my Simpson Door. Here is some more info on this great upgrade option.

What is WaterBarrier^® Technology?

• One-piece of Medium Density Overlay (MDO) on outside for the very toughest exposures – commonly used on concrete forms and street signs
• Minimizes the possibility of stile and rail separation
• Eliminates checking on the face of the door
• Excellent durability and resists moisture absorption
• Overlay has thermoset acrylic latex primer topcoat, resulting in superior paint application
• Can use water or alkyd-based paints on finish
• Choose any species to match interior architecture
• Available for virtually any Simpson door. To see if your door can accept WaterBarrier technology, visit Find a Door.
• Five year limited warranty, no overhang required

Simpson Door Company has been making doors since 1912 in the Forrests of Washington state. It has been family owned for generations. I can attest to the quality of their doors. Simpson doors are made to last and they stand behind every door.

Simpson Door Company offers a large selection of doors to choose. From a standard design to a one of kind design. Simpson Doors are available at National Retailers.

My previous doors were vinyl. At first I was a little hesitant about switching to wood doors. I was afraid the wood wouldn’t hold up as well as the vinyl. Once the doors arrived that fear went out the window. The Simpson Doors are so well made. The solid wood construction is fantastic and the doors have great insulating properties. My office used to be very hot or very cold. Since installing my Simpson Thermal French Doors my office stays a nice consistent temperature. The glass on the Simpson French Doors has 3/4″ Insulated Glazing as well. Simpson Door Company has perfected the wood door over the years. It’s no wonder they have been in business for over 100 years!

I am so excited to have a set of exterior doors that I love! I can finally decorate my porch area in front of my office for holidays. Everyone that has seen my new doors can’t believe how much they have improved the curb appeal of my home.

The entrance to my office just feels so much more welcoming now that I have my Simpson French Doors on.

The view from the inside of my office isn’t so bad either! I just sit at my desk now and look at my beautiful Simpson Doors. I love the contrast of the black doors against my all white walls. The doors just pop!

This view has never looked so good!

Thank you for stopping by the blog and taking a look at my new Simpson French Doors! I hope you found this post helpful and inspired you! A big thank you to Simpson Door Company for sponsoring this post and giving me the opportunity to work with them! Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss a post.