Modern Black Double Entry Door in a New CMU Home in SWFL

This is the front entry of a new concrete block home in Southwest Florida. The design is modern: a pair of flat black door panels, each with one tall, narrow glass lite and a long vertical bar pull. Our part was setting the door in the block opening while the house was still under construction, so the stucco could finish around it.

The first photo is from inside. Daylight comes through the two slot lites and lands on the slab. Above the door you can see the precast lintel, stamped Cast-Crete, spanning the opening and carrying the block above. The opening is lined with a pressure-treated wood buck, and the door frame sits tight to it. Leaning against the wall is a length of corner bead, the trim the plasterers will use for crisp stucco edges. The lock hardware sits on the active panel between the two pulls.

The second photo is the outside. The stucco base coat is on the walls around the entry, and the ceiling of the covered porch is sheathed in yellow DensGlass, a glass-mat board made for exterior soffits and ceilings. The door frame sits inside the wood buck, and you can see metal fasteners along the buck at intervals. Notice the hinges are on the outside face. The doors swing out.

Out-swing doors are common on Florida homes for a reason. Under hurricane pressure, wind pushes an out-swing door into its stops and weatherstrip instead of trying to force it open. That is one reason many impact entry doors carry higher design pressure ratings in the out-swing setup. It also means the threshold and the area in front of it have to be planned. The landing has to be large enough for the doors to clear, and the sill has to be set and sealed so water runs away from the house.

Doors in block openings follow the same rules as windows. The frame is anchored through the buck into the CMU at the spacing in the door's Florida Product Approval or Miami-Dade NOA. Glass in the door, even a narrow slot, has to be impact-rated in the wind-borne debris region. The door should be set and sealed before stucco so the plaster finishes against the frame. And it pays to check the details early: swing direction, hardware, lock type, and the finished floor height so the threshold lines up with tile or pavers later.

Before you order a double entry door, ask your installer which product approval covers it and in what swing, what design pressure it is rated for, and how the threshold will be sealed to the slab. For a modern door like this one, also ask about the finish, since a dark door in direct Florida sun runs hot.

We install impact entry doors, double doors and modern entry systems in new construction and remodels across Southwest Florida. Call for a free in-home estimate.