French Door Retractable Screens Lehi

Screens Built for Lehi's Wind, Sun, and Dry Air

Lehi sits right where the Wasatch Front opens into Utah Valley, so a west-facing set of French doors takes full afternoon sun and the canyon gusts that roll through in the evening. We install Mirage retractable screens because they roll away into a slim housing when you are not using them, which keeps the mesh out of the UV and out of the wind instead of leaving it stretched across the opening year round.

That matters more here than most people expect. Dry desert air and constant sun are what break down fixed screen material, and a screen that spends most of its life retracted simply lasts longer.

How a French Door Pair Works

French doors need two screens, not one. We install a matched pair of Mirage 1750 retractable screens, one on each door, meeting in the center with a magnetic closure so the pair reads as a single clean opening when they are extended.

Each screen retracts independently, so you can open one door or both
The center closure holds the pair together without a visible post or track across the threshold
Housings mount to the door casing and powder coat to match your existing door color
Nothing hangs in the opening when the screens are retracted, so the doors look the way they did before we showed up

You can see the full product details on our French door screen page if you want the specifics before we come out.

Why the Measurement Matters More on French Doors

A single-door screen has a little tolerance. A pair does not. If the two housings are set even slightly out of plumb with each other, the screens will not meet cleanly in the middle, and you get a gap that lets bugs through and makes the closure feel sloppy.

We measure both door leaves separately, check the casing for the settling that older Lehi homes near the historic downtown tend to show, and account for any out-of-square before we order. Precision at the measuring stage is the whole job on a French door install.

Mesh Options for How You Actually Live

Most homeowners here go with standard fiberglass mesh, which keeps the view open and the airflow high. If you have a dog or a cat that treats a screen like a suggestion, we use Mirage's TuffScreen pet-resistant polyester instead. It is a heavier weave that stands up to claws and shoulders without tearing out of the track.

Families with a back patio and a lot of traffic through those doors usually find the pet mesh worth it on the door pair even if the rest of the house has standard screening.

Effortless Retract, Not a Slam

The retraction on these is speed controlled, so the screen returns into the housing at a steady pace instead of snapping back. That is a small detail until you have kids running in and out on a summer afternoon, at which point it is the difference between a screen that survives the season and one that does not.

We set the tension during installation and check it before we leave. If it drifts after a season of use, we adjust it.

Installed for Utah Weather, Not Generic Conditions

Lehi's temperature swing between a July afternoon and a January morning is hard on hardware. We use components rated for that range and set the housings so that thermal movement in the door frame does not bind the track. Snow load is not really a factor on a door screen, but wind is, and we position the pair so a gust hitting the opening pushes the screens closed rather than into the frame.

Homeowners often pair a French door screen with a larger project. If you are screening more than one opening, our retractable screen work across Lehi covers entry doors, sliding patio doors, and large openings on the same visit. Shading the patio those doors open onto is a related conversation, and our Lehi patio shade options handle the sun side of it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need two screens for a French door, or will one work?

Two. Each door leaf gets its own retractable screen, and they meet in the center. A single screen across the whole opening would block one of the doors from swinging.

Will the screens block my French doors from opening fully?

No. The housings mount to the outside of the casing and the screens retract completely, so both doors swing through their full arc exactly as they do now.

Can the housings match my door color?

Yes. Mirage housings come in a range of powder coat finishes, and we match to your existing door and trim so the hardware reads as part of the door rather than an addition to it.

How do the screens hold up to Lehi's summer sun?

Better than a fixed screen, mainly because they spend most of the year retracted inside the housing and out of direct UV. That is the practical advantage of retractable screening in a high-sun, dry-air climate like ours.

What if my door frame is not perfectly square?

That is common, especially in older homes. We measure each leaf independently and shim the housings during installation so the pair still meets cleanly in the center.