After water damage, a rebuilt landing and a new French door

Water damage, and a landing that no longer held

In a flat in the centre of Bagnères-de-Bigorre, a French doorFrench door (porte-fenêtre in French): a glazed door that reaches down to the floor and opens onto a balcony, terrace or garden, with a solid bottom panel below the glazing. opens onto a terrace, at the end of a small landing. Water had been seeping in for years: the joinery needed replacing, and when the landing floor was lifted, the floor structure turned out to be rotten. You do not fit a new French door onto a floor that is crumbling away: the structure was entirely rebuilt, then the landing got new floorboards.

A wooden French door, made in Pau

The new joinery is in wood, made in Pau, an hour's drive away: a very short supply chain for joinery of this quality. It is two-tone, green outside to match the dormers of the slate roof, white inside. The bottom panelBottom panel (soubassement in French): the solid lower part of a door or French door, below the glazing. Here in two moulded panels either side of a central upright, as on the original joinery. was reproduced identically, in two panels separated by a central mullionMullion (meneau in French): a vertical upright that divides a window or a panel into two parts. On a door, it structures the design of the bottom panel and gives it rigidity.. Drag the gold line to compare, from the landing, before and after:

While the owners were away

Removing the old French door, rebuilding the landing, fitting the new one, finishing touches: it all happened while the owners were far away. They came back to a clean landing, a door that closes, and a terrace they could use again. That is often how I work: a set of keys, a schedule, and a job handed back finished.

The questions I often get asked

How much maintenance does a wooden French door need outside? Why wood rather than uPVC on an old house? Can you change a window or door without redoing the whole opening?

I have practical answers to all of that, and two articles to dig deeper: windows: uPVC, aluminium or wood, how to choose and renovation fitting or full replacement. For your own project, call me: the quote (the French devis) is free. I speak English, so feel free to call or write in English.