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What a French door quote in Cheshire should name
A French door price is the price of a pair of leaves that meet in the middle of a named opening, including the threshold and the glass. Compare quotes that name the pair of leaves, the threshold and the glass.
Last reviewed:A pair of leaves that meet
French doors are a pair. They open on hinges, they meet, and they need somewhere to swing. The quote should say how many leaves, which way each leaf swings, and whether furniture, a radiator or a curtain pole sits inside that arc. A sliding door does not have that arc. If you are replacing a slider with a hinged pair, say so in the first sentence of the job, because the cill, the lining and the floor clearance all change.
The table lists what to ask for. The only pound figure beside it is the VAT registration threshold, which is a tax rule and not a door price.
| Line | Why two quotes diverge here |
|---|---|
| Number of leaves and swing direction | A pair that opens in needs room the slider never used |
| Meeting stile, locks and handles, named | Ironmongery is a specification, not a photograph |
| Threshold, and whether this pair is the main entrance | A dwelling built since 1999 keeps a level main-entrance threshold [S1] |
| Glass in the door and in any side panel | Critical zones are described by the Planning Portal [S1] |
| Opening the same size, or cut wider | Wider can mean a new support. Ask building control |
| Making good the reveals, the floor and the outside cill | A frame-only price stops early |
| Removal of the old frame | Included or a separate line |
| VAT | Included or not. Registration when taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000 [S6] |
Safety glazing in the critical zone
The Planning Portal page on building regulations for doors and windows says safety glazing should be provided to glass in a critical area [S1]. The general view it gives is any panel up to 800mm from floor level, glass in a glazed door up to 1500mm from floor level, and a side panel within 300mm of the door edge up to 1500mm from floor level [S1]. It tells you to see diagram 5.1 in Approved Document K [S1]. A French door is often glazed for most of its height, so the door leaf itself sits in that description. Ask the fitter to write the glass type they will use in those zones, rather than "standard glass".
The same page says that since 1 April 2002 building regulations have applied to all replacement glazing, covering thermal performance, safety, air supply, means of escape and ventilation, and that an external door is a controlled fitting [S1]. The U-value must not be exceeded. The maximum is in Approved Document L. Ask the fitter to write the figure they are working to from that document [S1].
Escape openings and the main door threshold
If an escape window is required, the Planning Portal's general criteria are: either width or height not less than 450mm, a clear openable area no less than 0.33 square metres, and the bottom of the openable area no more than 1100mm above the floor [S1]. When a window is replaced, the opening should provide at least the same potential for escape as the one it replaces, and a larger original opening may be reduced only down to that minimum [S1]. Only one window per room is generally required [S1]. Do not assume a French door replaces that window. Write down which opening is the escape, and ask the fitter not to reduce it below the opening you have unless a building control body has accepted the change.
For access, the portal says that when you replace the main entrance doors in a dwelling built since 1999, the threshold must remain level, or the work does not comply because it makes the threshold worse than when the dwelling was built [S1]. That is about people getting in, including people with disabilities [S1]. If your French doors are the front door, say "main entrance" on the job. If they open from the kitchen to the garden and another door is the entrance, say that too, so nobody applies the 1999 sentence to the wrong leaf.
Planning permission is about appearance and the site
The Planning Portal planning permission page for doors and windows says you do not usually need planning permission to repair doors, or to put in new doors of a similar appearance to those used when the house was built [S2]. Repainting frames is given as a minor improvement that usually stays outside an application [S2]. A French pair that looks very different from the door the house was built with is the moment to ask the local planning authority, rather than to treat the brochure as permission [S2].
Listed buildings, conservation areas, an Article 4 direction and the lease can still restrict the work [S2]. Upper-floor side windows have an obscure-glazing rule, or glazing more than 1.7 metres above the floor [S2]. A ground-floor French pair is not that side-window case. A new bay is the item the same page treats as an extension [S2]. Do not paste the bay sentence onto a flat pair of doors. Ask the planning authority if the house is listed or the street is covered by a direction [S2].
Building control, without a method
The GOV.UK booklet lists replacement of door units among examples to tell a building control body about, unless a competent person scheme installer certifies the work [S4]. It applies to England and was updated on 3 November 2014 [S4]. FENSA is named for replacement windows and doors [S4]. A certificate should arrive within 30 days of completion. If it does not, contact the scheme [S4]. The lists are not complete [S4].
If the brick opening will be wider than the pair it replaces, Lancaster City Council's note of 21 January 2013 says a competent-person installer does not remove the need for a building regulations application where the opening is widened and a new support lintel is installed [S5]. That is a Lancashire leaflet. It is not a Cheshire decision and it is not a price. Propping a wall and cutting a pier belong in the builder's method for building control.
GOV.UK: building regulations approval. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.
How to compare two French door quotes
Citizens Advice says a quote is a promise at an agreed price and an estimate is only a rough guess [S3]. Get the promise in writing. Verbal figures are not something to rely on [S3]. Collect written quotes from at least three traders where you can [S3]. A price much lower than the others may not be the same glass, the same threshold or the same making-good [S3]. The quote should show a fixed total, a breakdown, how long it stays open, and whether VAT is included [S3].
Some firms charge for producing the quote. Ask before they come. On deposits, avoid one if you can. If you cannot, do not agree to more than 25%, get a receipt, and ask about protection if the firm stops trading [S3]. Ask to see public liability insurance that still runs when the leaves are hung [S3]. An insurance-backed guarantee is sometimes sold with replacement doors. Check the cover before you add it [S3].
Cheshire gardens and the swing
QuoteZila is starting in Cheshire, with Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach first. Anyone in the UK can still post a job or register a business [QZ5]. A kitchen in Crewe that opens toward a short yard may not have the swing a brochure photograph assumes. A house beside the River Weaver in Nantwich may have a step that the 1999 threshold sentence would forbid if this pair is the main entrance. Say which way the leaves open, and measure the swing on the floor with a tape before you compare totals. How many businesses reply depends on who has joined [QZ5].
Honest status: QuoteZila is new. We're starting in Cheshire, beginning with Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach, and growing area by area. Anyone in the UK can still post a job or register a business. How fast you get quotes depends on how many local businesses have joined near you. Businesses can register and receive jobs straight away. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire.
Up to five matched local businesses can send quotes [QZ2]. QuoteZila is free for customers and local businesses [QZ1].
Posting a job is not open yet
See glaziers, joiners and builders. Written-price guides already live at plumber cost, fencing cost and driveway cost.
This page is general information, not professional or legal advice. QuoteZila does not check Gas Safe, WaterSafe, NFRC, NICEIC or other registrations against the register on your behalf: look them up yourself.
Jobs you might post
These are examples, not taken from real job posts.
- "Kitchen French doors in Crewe, two leaves, opening in. I will say if they are the main entrance. Please name the glass in the door and any side light."
- "Nantwich. Existing opening stays the same width. I want the threshold described, and a line for making good the floor where the old frame sat."
- "Sandbach rear wall. Please price hinged French doors, and say in writing if you think the opening must be widened. Do not include widening unless I agree a separate line."
Questions about French door quotes
How is a French door different from a sliding patio door?
The leaves hinge and meet, usually with a stile in the middle when they are closed. A sliding patio door runs on a track and does not swing into the room. Ask the quote to say which one is being priced. A hinge, a meeting stile and a swing clearance are not the same lines as rollers and an interlock. Ask for a written price for the product the quote names, and do not compare a hinged pair with a slider.
Where does the Planning Portal say safety glass is expected?
Its doors and windows building regulations page gives a general view: any panel up to 800mm from floor level, any glazed door up to 1500mm from floor level, and any side panel within 300mm of the door edge up to 1500mm from floor level. It points to diagram 5.1 in Approved Document K. Put those zones in the quote as a question for the fitter, not as a number you calculated yourself.
What escape sizes does that page give?
For an escape window, either the width or the height should not be less than 450mm, the clear openable area should be no less than 0.33 square metres, and the bottom of the openable area should be no more than 1100mm above the floor. Only one window per room is generally required. A French door is not automatically that window. Ask whether the room's escape is the door or a window, and do not shrink an existing escape opening on a guess.
What about the threshold on a main entrance?
When the main entrance doors of a dwelling built since 1999 are replaced, the Planning Portal says the threshold must remain level, or the work fails the building regulations by making access worse than it was. A French door used as the main entrance is the case to check. A garden pair that is not the main entrance is a different sentence on the quote. Say which door you mean.
How should I treat a deposit and VAT?
Citizens Advice says some traders charge to prepare a quote, so ask first. If a deposit cannot be avoided, do not agree to more than 25%, and get a receipt. GOV.UK says a business must register for VAT when taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000. Ask whether the total includes VAT.
Does QuoteZila check the businesses?
No. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire. You can report a quote or a business from your job page.
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Related pages
- Front Door Replacement: What Affects Cost. Composite, uPVC, timber or aluminium: what changes the price of a front door replacement in Cheshire, from glass and locks to the frame, fitting and paperwork.
- Glass Extension Cost in Cheshire: What to Ask. A glass extension in Cheshire may be a conservatory or an open room. The rules differ. Ask whether the new room stays separated from the house.
Sources
- QZ1: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila public pricing line.
- QZ2: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila terms, customers.
- QZ5: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila coverage wording.
- S1: Building regulations: doors and windows, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/doors-and-windows/building-regulations
- S2: Planning permission: doors and windows, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/doors-and-windows/planning-permission
- S3: Before you get work done on your home, Citizens Advice. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/before-you-get-building-work-done/
- S4: Building work, replacements and repairs to your home, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-work-replacements-and-repairs-to-your-home/building-work-replacements-and-repairs-to-your-home
- S5: Building Control Guidance Note 05, Lancaster City Council. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.lancaster.gov.uk/assets/attach/1344/Leaflet-5-Replacement-Windows-to-Dwellings.pdf
- S6: Register for VAT, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.gov.uk/register-for-vat