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We'd like to put in a doggie door (22" high) into or back patio door so our dog can go out to the fenced in patio when she wants to. The door is a French door like this one, the door on the right opens, the door on the left is fixed in place:

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Is there any way to put a doggie door in this style of door? We'd be ok with putting in a platform or step up to the level of the glass in the door, but is it possible (and cost effective) to have a door shop remove the bottom portion of the glass and to install some kind of bracing to support the door?

This is a Condo, and we'd rather not put the door through the wall since that requires HOA approval (and is more permanent than a french door that we could replace upon moving out). We'd also rather not replace the left door with a solid wood door since we like the light from the window.

Any other options? Depending on how costly it is to put a door into that glass french door, we've thought about putting in a sliding door and using a sliding door style pet door.

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This is possible, but its not going to be cost effective unless you can do a majority of the work yourself. The door pictured (and any door sold in the last decade) will have two layers of insulated glass. This means that for what you want, you'll need a custom insulated panel made to fit on top of a wooden panel containing the doggie door.

There are companies that make door-glass-replacement packages for pets such as these:

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From petdoors.com.

A more cost effective solution might be to use a single layer of thick glass as a replacement panel, but you would loose some insulation properties, and you'd need a wooden frame to hold it into the door (because its not as thick as the original). Smaller pet doors are made to fit into a round hole cut into a glass door, providing a very clean install. Larger 22" tall doors might not be an option for this method, but great for people with "cat flaps".

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Last option I can think of is replacing the large panel of glass with a custom made divided-light panel made up of several small windows. You may be able to find off-the-shelf insulated glass panels or have single pane glass cut more economically. The doggie door would simply be framed in place of a lower glass panel.

enter image description here

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  • Great answer, I'll see if I can either find multipane replacement glass, or just a multipane door to replace the fixed door.
    – Johnny
    Dec 9, 2015 at 16:42
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I’m not a professional, but I think that if you cut out part of the glass in the process, it wouldn’t be very possible. However, if you only cut out a section of the wood on the bottom it would work just fine.

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    I think cutting a big hole in the wood would compromise the structural integrity of the door.
    – Steve Wellens
    Mar 23, 2020 at 4:30

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