Outswing Patio Door Replacement — Hinged Doors That Open Onto the Deck
The table sits right where the French doors swing. An outswing patio door opens onto the deck instead, and gives the kitchen its floor back.
Reply within one business day. Or call / text 763-204-2099.
An outswing patio door is a hinged single door or French pair that opens out onto the deck, so the swing takes no floor space inside, which is why it fits a small kitchen or dining nook. JMB Builders measures in person, orders the unit with security hinges and an outswing sill, 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.
- Priced per door, unit included
- Swing goes outside, kitchen floor stays free
- Security hinges and an outswing sill
Most hinged patio doors in Minnesota swing in. In a small kitchen that means a pair of doors sweeping across the floor where the table or the island stool wants to be. An outswing patio door is the same hinged door turned around: it opens onto the deck, and the inside floor is free right up to the glass. If you like the look of hinged doors but cannot spare the swing, this is the way to keep them.
Turning the door around changes a few things. The hinges end up outside, so they come with pins that cannot be pulled from outside. The sill is an outswing sill built to shed water away from the house. Wind pushes the door into its weatherstrip rather than away from it, which helps it seal. The screen goes inside, usually a retractable screen, since the door swings out where a sliding screen would sit. And the deck in front of the door has to stay clear: no grill or planter in the swing, and snow kept off in winter, unless a roof or deep overhang covers the door.
An inswing door cannot be rehung to swing out. The sill, stops and weatherstrip are built for one direction, so the change is a new unit in the opening. Hinged patio doors are offered in the Andersen 400 Series Frenchwood, A-Series and E-Series lines, and Masonite lists its full-lite VistaGrande fiberglass doors as prehung inswing or outswing. The Andersen 200 Series hinged door is listed as inswing. Which line comes outswing in your size is confirmed with our ABC branch before the quote is final.
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 763-204-2099.
What you supply
- Photos of the door from inside showing the floor in front of it, and from the deck showing what is outside
- Where the table, stools or cabinets sit, and how much floor you want to free up
- Single door with a sidelite or a French pair, and which side should open first
- Paint or stain color for the interior trim if we are finishing it; painting is quoted as a separate line
What JMB supplies
- One in-person measure of the opening, the deck height and the floor inside
- The outswing unit ordered with security hinges, outswing sill and a matching screen
- Old door and frame removed, sill and subfloor checked for rot and repaired
- Sill pan, flashing lapped to the housewrap, unit set plumb and square
- Lock, astragal and strikes adjusted so the pair latches and seals
- Floors covered inside, old unit hauled away, photos 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:
- Single door with a sidelite vs. a French pair
- The line and finish: vinyl-clad, fiberglass, or wood inside with clad outside
- Whether the line you want is offered outswing in your size
- Rot in the sill, subfloor or rim under the old door
- Deck boards too close to the new sill, which may need trimming back
- Interior screen: retractable or hinged
- Painting or staining trim, quoted as its own line
Send the width and height of the old door frame, one photo from inside and one from the deck, and the distance from the door to the nearest table or cabinet.
How long it takes
Usually one day per patio door, longer if the sill or subfloor is rotted. The opening is closed and locking before we leave. Lead time depends on the brand and is written on the quote.
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
French pair, outswing
Two hinged panels opening onto the deck, one active and one fixed until you release it. The widest opening and the classic look, with the most deck space in the swing.
Single outswing door with a sidelite
One hinged panel and one fixed glass panel in the same frame width. Half the swing on the deck, and easier to keep clear of a grill or a step.
Outswing under a roof
On a covered porch or under a deep overhang, snow and rain stay off the door and the deck in front of it, which is where an outswing door works best in Minnesota.
When a slider fits better
If the deck is narrow or has steps right outside the door, a sliding patio door takes no swing on either side. We point that out at the measure.
Outswing Patio Door Replacement — Hinged Doors That Open Onto the Deck: questions, answered
Can I get a French patio door that swings out?
Yes. Outswing French patio doors are made for exactly that, with the hinges and sill built for an outward swing. Not every line offers outswing in every size, so we confirm the line with our ABC branch before the quote is final.
Are outswing patio doors a good idea in Minnesota?
They work well under a roof or a deep overhang and on a deck you keep shoveled. Snow drifted against an outswing door can keep it from opening, so an exposed deck takes more care in winter. Wind pushes the door into its weatherstrip, which helps it seal.
Are outswing doors less secure because the hinges are outside?
Outswing units come with security hinges whose pins cannot be pulled from outside. With those hinges and a multi-point lock, the door stays locked even with the hinges exposed.
Where does the screen go on an outswing patio door?
Inside, since the doors swing out where an outside screen would be. Most people choose a retractable screen that rolls into the side of the frame. We order the screen with the door.
Can my inswing patio door be changed to swing out?
Not by rehanging it. The sill, stops and weatherstrip are built for one direction, so the change is a new outswing unit in the same opening. The interior trim usually goes back on with minor patching.
Will an outswing door hit my deck boards?
It can, if the deck sits close to the sill height. We measure the gap at the estimate. If the boards are too high, the boards in the swing are trimmed or the door is set to clear them, and the quote says which.
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 9, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All doors pages
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