French Patio Door Installation, Labor Only — Hinged Patio Doors
A hinged patio door is two doors that have to meet in the middle, on a sill that takes every Minnesota storm. We set it plumb, panned and flashed so it locks smooth and stays dry.
JMB Builders does French patio door installation labor only across the Twin Cities metro. You buy the hinged patio door; we pull the old unit, check the rough opening, set a sill pan, flash the sides and head, set the frame plumb and square so both panels meet clean at the astragal, engage the multipoint lock, foam, seal and trim inside and out. Priced per door, quoted from photos within one business day.
- Priced per door, labor only
- Sill pan, flashing and astragal set right
- Quote from photos in 1 business day
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
An exterior French door is the least forgiving door on the house. A single entry door can be a little off and still latch. A pair cannot. If the frame is racked even slightly, the two panels meet at the astragal with a gap at the top and a rub at the bottom, the multipoint lock will not throw, and the weatherstrip never seals. Everything about the install comes down to getting the frame dead plumb, square and flat in an opening that usually is none of those.
The other half of the job is water. A patio door sill sits at floor level, often under a roof edge, facing rain, snowmelt and sprinklers. Without a sill pan and flashing that laps correctly over the housewrap, water gets under the sill and into the subfloor, and the first sign is a soft spot in the floor a few years later. We see it on doors that were set with foam and a bead of caulk and nothing else.
JMB Builders installs hinged patio doors across the Twin Cities metro as a labor-only job. Buy the unit at Menards, Home Depot, Lowe's, a lumberyard or online. Send us the spec sheet before you order and we check the rough opening, jamb depth, swing and which panel is active. Then we install it the way we would install one we sold you.
What you supply
- The prehung French patio door unit: inswing or outswing, active panel side, rough opening and jamb depth confirmed before you order
- The handle set and multipoint lock trim if they are not in the box (most units include the lock; the handle is often separate)
- Exterior trim preference: brickmould, flat PVC, or matching what is on the other doors
- Paint or stain — painting is quoted as a separate line, or leave it primed and caulked and paint it yourself
What JMB supplies
- A check of the unit's specs against your opening before you buy
- Removal and haul-away of the old patio door or slider
- Sill pan, preformed or built on site with flashing tape, plus head and side flashing lapped into the housewrap
- Shims, structural screws through the hinge side, low-expansion foam, backer rod and sealant
- Framing or subfloor repair at the sill when we find rot, quoted from the photos
- Interior casing in a standard profile or matched to the room, and exterior trim in wood or PVC
- Adjustment of hinges, astragal, strike and multipoint keepers until both panels close with one hand
- Painting or staining of the door and trim when you want it done, quoted as its own line
- Photos of the finished door in your job folder
How it is priced: per door
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- Same-size swap into a sound opening vs. resizing the opening for a wider or taller unit
- Sliding door coming out and French doors going in, which often changes the sill height and threshold detail
- Rot or a soft subfloor at the old sill, common on doors that never had a sill pan
- Out-of-square openings that need the frame shimmed and packed to get both panels to meet
- Siding type at the exterior: vinyl and lap siding are quick, stucco and brick take more time to cut back and seal
- Sidelites or a transom on the unit, which add width and more flashing
- Interior and exterior trim: standard profile vs. matching an existing one
- Painting or staining if you want it on the quote
Send a straight-on photo of the old door from inside and outside, a close-up of the sill and threshold, and the spec sheet or box label of the new unit.
How long it takes
A same-size French patio door swap: most of a day. Add time for opening changes, subfloor repair or stucco cutback. Trim and adjustments are done the same visit.
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 quote within one business day. We only come out to measure first when the job needs a tape measure — no pressure, no games.
- 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
Sliding door out, French doors in
The most common request. A patio slider opening is usually close to a standard French door size, but the new unit's sill is a different height and depth, so the threshold, flooring edge and exterior trim get reworked. We tell you from the photos whether the opening needs to change.
Inswing vs. outswing
Inswing is the usual choice for a deck door. Outswing seals harder against wind and keeps the door out of the room, but snow piling against it on a deck can block it, and the hinges sit outside. We install either; we just want you to pick with the Minnesota winter in mind.
Vinyl, fiberglass or clad wood units
Big-box vinyl and fiberglass units, or clad wood from a lumberyard. Heavier units need longer screws through the hinge jamb into framing and more care getting the frame flat. The flashing and sill pan are the same on all of them.
Out-of-square openings in older homes
Settled framing means the rough opening is a parallelogram. We shim the frame plumb and square inside it, pack the gaps, and trim to hide the difference, so the doors meet at the astragal even though the wall does not agree.
French Patio Door Installation, Labor Only — Hinged Patio Doors: questions, answered
Do you install exterior French doors I bought myself?
Yes. Buy the hinged patio door wherever you like and we install it as a labor-only job across the Twin Cities metro. Send the spec sheet or box label before you order and we check the rough opening, jamb depth, swing and active panel against your wall. On install day we pull the old unit, set a sill pan and flashing, set the frame plumb and square, foam and seal it, hang the hardware and trim both sides.
Can you replace a sliding patio door with French doors?
Yes, and it is one of the most common patio door jobs we do. The width is often close, but a French door sill sits differently than a slider track, so the threshold, the flooring edge and the exterior trim all get reworked. If the new unit is wider or taller than the slider opening, the framing changes and we quote that from the photos before you order.
What is a sill pan and does a patio door need one?
A sill pan is a waterproof tray under the door sill, either a preformed plastic pan or one built on site from flashing tape, with a back dam so any water that gets under the sill drains out instead of into the subfloor. Every exterior door should have one, and patio doors need one most because they sit at floor level facing the weather. Most rotted subfloors at patio doors trace back to a missing pan.
What is the astragal on a French door and why does it matter?
The astragal is the vertical strip where the two panels meet. On most units it is attached to the inactive panel and carries the weatherstrip, the flush bolts that lock that panel top and bottom, and the strike the active panel latches into. If the frame is racked, the gap at the astragal runs wider at one end than the other and the doors rub or will not latch. Setting the frame square and getting the astragal plumb is most of the skill in the job.
My opening is out of square. Can a French door still be installed?
Yes. The frame has to be plumb, square and flat; the rough opening does not. We shim and pack the frame inside the opening, fasten through the shims into the framing, and foam the gaps. The casing and exterior trim hide the difference. When an opening is out enough that the frame will not fit with normal shim gaps, we resize it, and we tell you that from the photos.
Do multipoint locks need special installation?
Not special, but careful. A multipoint lock throws bolts at the top, middle and bottom of the door, and all three have to line up with keepers in the frame. If the door or frame is off by a little, one bolt drags and the handle is stiff. We set the frame, hang the panels, and then adjust the keepers and hinges until the handle lifts and the lock throws with one hand. Bring the handle set that matches the lock; it is often sold separately.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough. You hear back within one business day. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed September 24, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All doors pages
Where we work
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Based in Zimmerman, scheduling across the Twin Cities metro. Closest first: