Center-Hinged Patio Door Replacement
The slider is done and you do not want another one. A center-hinged door is the swap that looks like French doors, fits the same hole and has one door in the middle to walk through.
Reply within one business day. Or call / text 763-250-3621.
A center hinged patio door replacement puts a three-panel unit where the slider was: a fixed glass panel on each side and one hinged door in the middle that swings in or out. It fits the standard slider width, looks like French doors and has no track. JMB Builders orders and installs it across the Twin Cities metro, priced per door. Send photos and we reply within one business day, or book a free in-home estimate.
- Middle panel swings, sides are fixed glass
- Fits a standard six-foot slider opening
- No track to freeze or fill with grit
A center-hinged patio door is a three-panel door in one frame. The two outer panels are fixed glass, narrower than a door, and the panel in the middle is a full door on hinges, swinging in or out. From a distance it reads like a French door with sidelites. In use it is one door in the center of the opening, which is where people walk anyway.
It is built in the width of a standard six-foot slider, so the swap from a slider is a same-size replacement: no reframing, same header, same siding cut. Compared with a true French door pair it has one moving door instead of two, one set of hinges and locks to adjust, and a screen that is simple because only the center panel opens. Compared with a slider it has no bottom track to freeze in January or fill with grit in July, and the seal is a compression seal at the stop, which is tighter than a sliding seal.
Install is a patio door replacement: the old slider out, the subfloor and rim checked for rot, a sill pan the full width, the unit set plumb and square, foamed, sealed and trimmed. Swing direction is decided at the measure; outswing keeps the floor clear inside, inswing keeps the door out of the wind on an open deck.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough: a reply within one business day, or ask for a free in-home estimate. Or text the photos to 763-250-3621.
What you supply
- Photos of the current patio door from inside and outside, and a close-up of the threshold and floor
- Swing: in or out, and which way the door should hinge
- Glass: clear, privacy or grids, and the finish color inside and out
- Hardware finish, and whether you want a screen on the center door
What JMB supplies
- Measure of the opening, the swing that suits the room and deck, and the floor condition
- The center-hinged unit, ordered through ABC Supply with your swing, glass and finish
- Removal and haul-away of the old patio door; rot at the subfloor or rim repaired
- Sill pan the full width, flashing tape, low-expansion foam, sealant and shims
- Exterior trim or capping and interior casing
- Handleset or multipoint lock adjusted; screen fitted if ordered
- Painting quoted as a separate line, or leave it primed and caulked
- Photos of the finished door in your job folder
How it is priced: per door
Quoted in writing from your photos, with a reply within one business day. What moves the number:
- Material and finish: steel vs. fiberglass vs. clad wood, factory finish vs. primed
- Glass: clear vs. privacy vs. grids, and triple pane if wanted
- Inswing vs. outswing, and a screen for the center door
- Rot at the subfloor or rim joist once the old door is out
- Siding type and exterior trim, and the threshold-to-deck detail
- Hardware: handleset vs. multipoint lock
Send a photo of the opening from inside with a tape across it, and tell us whether anything inside would block an inswing door.
How long it takes
One center-hinged patio door in a sound opening: about a day on site. The unit is built to order; lead time runs with the line.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized reply within one business day. Prefer a look in person? A free in-home estimate is always an option.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Inswing center door
The middle door swings into the room. Out of the wind on an exposed deck, and the screen goes on the outside of the center panel.
Outswing center door
The middle door swings onto the deck or patio. Keeps the floor and furniture inside clear; the screen sits on the room side.
Center door with grids
Colonial or prairie grilles through all three panels, matched to gridded windows on the house.
Center-hinged with venting sides
The side panels open as casement-style sashes with screens instead of fixed glass. See our hinged patio door with venting sidelites page.
Center-Hinged Patio Door Replacement: questions, answered
What is a center-hinged patio door?
A three-panel patio door in one frame where only the middle panel is a hinged, swinging door and the two outer panels are fixed glass. It is built in the width of a standard slider and looks like a French door with sidelites, but there is one door to open and no track.
Will a center-hinged door fit where my slider was?
Yes, in most cases. The common unit is built to the same width and height as a standard six-foot slider, so the rough opening, header and siding cut stay the same. We measure the opening before ordering and tell you if your slider is an odd size.
Does a center-hinged door swing in or out?
Either, chosen when it is ordered. Outswing keeps the door out of the room and is the usual pick where a table or island sits near the door. Inswing keeps the door out of the wind on an open deck and puts the screen outside. Both seal the same way at the stop.
Does a center-hinged patio door have a screen?
Yes, on the center panel. Because only the middle door opens, the screen is a single hinged or sliding screen on that panel, on the room side of an outswing door or the outside of an inswing door. It is simpler than screening a French door pair.
Is a center-hinged door better than a French door for a small room?
Often. A French door pair swings two doors into the room; a center-hinged unit swings one narrower door, or none if it swings out. The look from across the room is close to French doors, and the fixed side panels let more light in than a solid wall would. For a dining room or a small kitchen it is the easier door to live with.
Is a center-hinged patio door a custom order?
Yes. The unit is built with your swing, hinge side, glass, finish and jamb width after the order goes in. We give you the lead time with the quote and schedule the install when it arrives.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners and the builders we work with. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
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Read morePage reviewed October 27, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All doors pages
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