PGT VINYL FRENCH DOORS: KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The PGT WinGuard Vinyl Preferred French Door (FD5555) is PGT’s impact-resistant vinyl French door, built with laminated insulating glass.
- Its look-alike, the EnergyVue FD5455, uses standard insulating glass and isn’t impact rated. On the Gulf Coast, the FD5555 is the one to look at.
- Cellular vinyl frame and panels give you the feel of a wood door without the scraping and repainting.
- It comes as a single or double door, with matching sidelites and transoms, in white, beige, bronze, or black.
- All Glass & Windows is a PGT Diamond Dealer, installing in the Sarasota area since 2009. Every French door is quoted to its opening, so request a quote to price yours.
What Is a Vinyl French Door?
In Sarasota, a French door usually opens onto something worth seeing. The lanai, the pool deck, the backyard.
It’s one or two hinged panels, mostly glass, that swing open instead of sliding on a track. More light, a wider path outside, and a look that reads traditional.
Vinyl is one of the two main frame materials for impact French doors in Florida. The other is aluminum. Vinyl frames don’t need painting, and the frame itself doesn’t carry heat the way metal does.
French doors work inside the house too, between a study and a living room. For exterior doors on the Gulf Coast, though, the glass and the rating matter more than the look. That’s where the product choice gets specific.
Why the PGT WinGuard Vinyl French Door (FD5555)?
PGT makes two vinyl Preferred French Doors that look nearly identical from the curb. The EnergyVue FD5455 has standard insulating glass and isn’t impact rated. The WinGuard Vinyl FD5555 uses laminated insulating glass and is designed to meet Florida’s hurricane code.
Laminated glass has a plastic interlayer bonded between layers of glass. If something hits it, the glass is designed to stay in the frame instead of falling out, which helps keep wind and rain out of the house.
For the full WinGuard line, see our PGT WinGuard guide. For how impact doors fit into a whole-home storm plan, see hurricane protection.
What the FD5555 Is Built With
- Laminated insulating glass: the impact-resistant glass makeup PGT uses across its WinGuard Vinyl line.
- Cellular vinyl frame and panels: the feel of a wood door, without the upkeep.
- Mechanically fastened traditional panel joinery: the look of a wood door, built for strength and durability.
- Multi-point locking system: locks at more than one point and creates a built-in anti-lift device.
- Brushed stainless steel or oil-rubbed bronze hinges: heavy-duty, corrosion-resistant hinges that carry the door’s weight.
- 4-9/16″ frame depth: we measure every opening before anything is ordered.
- Hardware prep: accepts industry-standard handle and deadbolt hardware, including European-style.
Colors, Glass, and Configuration Options
Frame colors: white, beige, bronze, and black. Not every interior and exterior combination is available on every configuration, so we confirm yours during the quote.
Configurations: single or double doors, with matching sidelites and transoms to fill a wider opening with light.
Glass: clear, tinted (bronze, gray, green, azure blue, Graylite II, Solarcool® Bronze), and obscure options for a bathroom or a street-facing door.
Grids: flat grids between the glass, contoured grids, and simulated divided lites.
On a west-facing lanai, the number that matters most is SHGC (solar heat gain coefficient), meaning how much of the sun’s heat comes through the glass. In a cooling-heavy climate like ours, a Low-E coating that lowers SHGC usually matters more than U-factor. PGT offers EnergyShield, EnergyShield Max, and Solar Control Low-E2 on this door, and we’ll match the coating to your exposure. More on that in our energy efficiency guide.
Vinyl or Aluminum French Doors?
Neither is universally better. They serve different priorities.
Vinyl (the FD5555) is the pick if you want a wood-door look with low upkeep. Aluminum is the other route, including PGT’s WinGuard Aluminum French doors, and it comes in more finishes, clear anodize included.
Size limits and design pressures differ by product, so we compare both against your actual opening before recommending one. Our exterior French door buying guide walks through the rest.
Getting a PGT French Door Installed in the Sarasota Area
All Glass & Windows is a PGT Diamond Dealer, and we’ve sold and installed impact windows and doors since 2009.
If your French doors are part of a bigger replacement, we’ll look at the whole house together. If it’s just the one opening, we’ll do that too.
Request a quote or call 941-379-9555.
PGT Vinyl French Door FAQs for Florida Homes
The WinGuard Vinyl Preferred French Door (FD5555) is PGT’s impact-resistant version, built with laminated insulating glass. The EnergyVue FD5455 looks nearly the same but uses standard insulating glass and isn’t impact rated. If you’re comparing quotes, check which model number you’re being quoted.
They can be. Vinyl doesn’t need painting, and PGT offers this door with stainless steel or oil-rubbed bronze hinges. Like any door near salt water, it’ll last longer with regular cleaning.
White, beige, bronze, and black. Interior and exterior combinations vary by configuration, so we confirm what’s available for your door during the quote.
Yes. PGT makes matching sidelites and transoms for this door, which is a good way to fill a wide opening and bring in more light.
PGT’s exterior French doors open outward. On a lanai or patio, that means planning a little clearance for furniture and planters where the panels swing. We’ll check that when we measure.
The door is prepped for industry-standard handle and deadbolt hardware, including European-style hardware. PGT also offers its own handle sets.
It depends on the look you want and the opening you have. Vinyl gives you a wood-door feel with low upkeep. Aluminum offers more finishes. We compare both against your opening before recommending one.
Every French door project is different. Size, configuration, glass, hardware, and the condition of the opening all change the number. Request a quote and we’ll price your opening.