Take a look at these pics: French door install problem

I just installed a set of patio doors yesterday. The right side door (the one that opens for use) does not hit the top of the weather seal. Basically it seems as if the top of the door doesn't close all the way even though it latches tight. The door is very plum, I was so surprised that I hardly had to do any shimming, etc to get the door plum. Well after everything is said and done, caulked, sealed, etc. I notice daylight coming through the top of the door. Take a look at the pics and tell me what you all think. Hope the pics work:

 

The top weather strip should not be exposed like that. Did you have to assemble all door components or was it ready to install? What I see has nothing to do with plum or square. Its obviously a factory mistake or installation error. 3/32 to 1/8 inch is plenty clearance for a door. It looks like you got a 3/4 to 1 inch gap there. Take your pictures back to the dealer and compare with the display model.

 

Something's goofy with the astragal. In pic #2, you can see that the astragal weatherstrip is not lined up with the top weatherstrip- for some reason it appears to be too long, and it is sliped behind the top weatherstrip. Maybe the astragal weatherstrip just needs to be cut to length? At any rate, it looks like the passive panel needs to be closed farther and then locked in place. Only then will the active panel be able to close the rest of the way. Then you can see how plumb the doors are with each other.

 

The door was already put together. All I had to was slip the frame and door in, shim and nail, etc. I think the passive door itself is out of whack. I can't figure out what could be causing this?? The door is shut, and latched tight every where else but for some reason doesn't hit square at the top where the weather stripping is.

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

Like I said, something looks goofy with that astragal. The astragal weatherstrip should not run up behind the top weatherstrip, as the 2nd pic obviously shows. I'd remove that weatherstrip entirely- the one on the doorknob side of the operating door- (it should just pull out of its kerf) and see if the door shuts tight on top like it's supposed to. If it does, there's your problem. Fit the astragal weatherstrip back in place and cut it shorter, if need be. From the 2nd pic, it also looks like the astragal (the entire passive panel) needs be be pushed out another 3/8" or so. You can see that the back side of the astragal isn't lined up with the rest of the jamb. It certainly could be a factory mistake- maybe it was installed incorrectly, but I would think it's repairable.

I'd also be interested to see some pictures of the bottom of the door. And a picture of the door when it is almost closed... to see if there is, say an 1/8" gap on the bottom and a 3/4" gap on top, before the door even reaches the weatherstrip.

 

Xsleeper, what exactly is "astragal"?

I'll get some pics up in a day or so.

 

The astragal is the molding between your doors. From the outside it is the piece that appears semi-circular in shape. In the 2nd pic, the back side of the astragal is obviously not lined up with the rest of the jamb like it should be. To me, this indicates that the fixed door is not closed tight enough- perhaps due to that weatherstripping on your astragal that appears to be too long.

You could also check the hinges to see if they are adjustable. The top hinge may be adjusted too far to the interior, which would make it miss the weatherstrip, even on the hinge side. I rarely see adjustable hinges anymore, so I doubt that's a factor.