Five decisions. That is almost every steel French door that leaves our Burnaby shop — size, glass, grid, finish, hardware. Get those right and you get a door that looks like the reference photo. Get one wrong and you get a quote revision, a rework, or a finished door you quietly wish you had specified differently. This guide walks each decision in order, with the exact trade-offs we see play out every week in 2026.
1. Size: the decision everything else follows
Most homeowners start with the glass pattern. They should start with the opening. A standard residential steel French door in BC lives between 60″ and 80″ wide (double) and 80″ to 96″ tall. Go wider than 80″ on a double and the centre stiles start to feel substantial; go taller than 96″ and weight becomes a real hinge-and-frame conversation.
Measure the rough opening — not the finished opening — and measure it in three places: top, middle, bottom. A rough that is 3/8″ out of square is fine. An inch out and we have framing to talk about before we cut steel.
2. Glass: clear is not the only option (and might not be the right one)
Clear tempered glass is the default for interior French doors, and for most rooms it is the right call — it’s what makes the door do its job of moving light without moving air. But the alternatives matter more than people think.
Reeded / fluted glass reads as privacy without feeling opaque; it’s a beautiful choice for powder rooms, primary bath entries, and the ever-popular home-office partition. Seedy / restoration glass warms the whole door and reads older and softer — we ship a lot of this into character homes in Kitsilano and New Westminster. Frosted is the most private and, to my eye, the least flattering at scale; it works for a single lite, not a full grid.
3. Grid: the applied mullion pattern shapes the whole feel
A 15-lite grid (3 wide × 5 tall, per leaf) is the classic. It’s what people mean when they say “French doors.” A 2×3 or 2×4 is more transitional and reads cleaner in modern homes. A single full-lite reads most contemporary — but a full-lite door is also the least forgiving of finish flaws, so it has to be perfect out of the shop.
If you want a deeper look at the grid patterns BC architects are actually specifying, we pulled seven real installs into a photo piece last month.
One rule that will save you a rework
Match the grid rhythm to the room, not just the door. If the adjacent window has a 3-wide pattern, the door should echo that. A door that ignores the room’s existing lines will always read as an add-on, even when the quality is right.
4. Finish: black isn’t one colour
“Matte black” is the most-ordered finish in our 2026 book and it is, quietly, five different finishes. Flat black reads graphic and modern. Textured black has a fine orange-peel that hides fingerprints. Micaceous iron oxide has a warm, almost bronze-tinted depth that reads best under incandescent light. Soft black (what we call “iron grey” in the book) reads closer to a deep warm charcoal.
For interior doors the finish is a durability conversation as much as a visual one. Powder-coat survives daily contact with kids and dogs. Wet-spray paint gives you richer depth but is more repair-prone. For exteriors, the conversation gets more specific — we cover that in the finishes guide.
5. Hardware: the last 3% that makes or breaks the whole door
A steel French door has a narrower stile than a standard wood door — typically 2″ to 2.5″. That rules out about half of the residential Emtek catalog. Do not commit to a hardware style until the door is spec’d and the stile width is locked. We have walked people out of a gorgeous handle three times this year because it physically couldn’t mount.
Multipoint is worth it on exterior steel doors in BC. It is not always worth it on interior. On an interior partition door, a single mortise and a surface bolt at the top is plenty, and it looks cleaner than a full multipoint you’ll never latch.
Putting it together
Here’s the order we walk every client through: opening size → glass style → grid pattern → finish → hardware. Treat it as a sequence, not a checklist. Each decision narrows the next. A 3×5 grid in reeded glass with a matte black powder-coat and an Emtek Stretto in matte black is a signature pairing, and we ship variations of it weekly.
Want a second pair of eyes before you commit? Email me your rough measurements and the three reference photos you keep coming back to. Half the value of this process is someone looking at your specific opening and telling you what’s going to work.
Frequently asked
How much does a custom steel French door cost in 2026?
A single-leaf interior steel French door in Burnaby ships between roughly $2,800 and $4,400 depending on size, glass, and hardware. A double at 64" × 84" with standard grid and matte black finish typically lands between $5,200 and $6,800 installed. Exterior doors with multipoint hardware and thermally broken frames run higher. We publish more detailed ranges in our Vancouver pricing piece.
Are steel French doors energy efficient?
For interior partitions, energy efficiency isn't usually the spec driver — the door is dividing conditioned space from conditioned space. For exterior or patio applications we use thermally broken frames and high-performance IGUs (insulated glass units) so the door performs to BC Building Code climate zone requirements. Ask for the spec sheet before you assume.
How long does a custom steel French door take to build?
Our standard lead time in 2026 is 5 to 7 weeks from deposit to ship, which includes finish. Rush is available on certain finishes. See the week-by-week breakdown for what happens in the shop during that window.
Can I install a steel French door myself?
Most homeowners shouldn't. The frame is heavy, the reveals are tight, and a steel door that's out of plumb by more than 1/8" will bind or gap. We maintain a list of installers we trust across the Lower Mainland; email us for a referral in your city.