VLX 100 Double Swing / French Door

VLX 100 Double Swing / French Door in Long Beach, CA | Lightwell Windows Long Beach

The VLX 100 Double Swing / French Door is a paired aluminum door system built for Long Beach homes that want wide, unobstructed openings without sacrificing thermal performance or security. It’s the door you choose when a sliding patio door feels too confined and a single swing door feels too narrow. We’re Lightwell Windows Long Beach, an authorized ViewLux installation partner, and we’ve been installing this exact door across Long Beach, from Belmont Shore to Bixby Knolls, since our first season here. The difference between buying this door and having it perform for twenty years is installation – and that’s what we do. Call (562) 912-3327 to talk specs, pricing, or schedule a free measurement.

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Product Overview – VLX 100 Double Swing / French Door

The VLX 100 Double Swing is a paired French door system, meaning two door panels that swing open from the center. Both panels operate, so you can open one side for daily traffic or both sides for a full-width opening when you’re hosting a backyard dinner or moving furniture out to a Long Beach patio. The frame is aluminum with a profile width of 2.56 inches and a wall thickness of 0.098 inches – numbers that matter because they tell you the frame won’t flex or sag under ocean air, sun exposure, or years of daily swings.

What draws most Long Beach homeowners to this door is the symmetrical sightline. Both panels are matched in width and profile, so the door reads as a clean, balanced architectural element rather than an afterthought. That matters in Spanish-style homes in Los Altos, mid-century boxes in Park Estates, and new coastal builds in Naples alike. The flush threshold is another detail that separates this door from standard patio doors: there’s no raised track to trip over, which makes the transition from living room to deck feel seamless and works better for older adults, kids, and wheelchair access.

Security on the VLX 100 is serious. The active panel carries multi-point lock hardware – a system that locks at the top, bottom, and center of the door in one motion – rather than a single latch that an intruder can pry. In a city with as many short-term rental properties and mixed residential density as Long Beach, that’s not a luxury feature. It’s the baseline. When we install this door in a home near Retro Row or Alamitos Beach, we know the owner is getting a door that actually locks, not just one that closes.

The engineering is what makes aluminum viable in a coastal climate. Raw aluminum conducts heat and cold – terrible for energy bills – so the VLX 100 uses a thermal break: a non-conductive barrier between the interior and exterior aluminum faces that stops temperature transfer through the frame. It’s NFRC-rated, which means the energy performance numbers are independently tested, not manufacturer marketing. For Long Beach homeowners paying Southern California Edison rates that keep climbing, that’s the difference between a door that leaks conditioned air and one that holds the line on your bill.

Technical Specifications

We get a lot of questions from Long Beach architects, contractors, and detail-oriented homeowners who want to see the raw numbers before they commit. Here they are for the VLX 100 Double Swing, translated into plain English:

• Frame wall thickness: 0.098 inches – substantially thicker than entry-level aluminum doors, which typically run 0.070″ or thinner. This is why the door stays square over decades of use.
• Profile width: 2.56 inches – slim enough to look modern, wide enough to house the thermal break and multi-point lock hardware without compromise.
• Maximum span: Up to 96 inches wide for the paired unit – that’s an 8-foot opening, enough to replace most older sliding door footprints or create a true indoor-outdoor connection in a Long Beach living room.
• Glass options: Clear, Frosted, Obscure, Low-E, Tempered, Laminated – mix and match depending on privacy needs, sun exposure, and safety code requirements.
• Finish options: Premium Black, Pure White, Anodized Silver, Bronze, Champagne, Teak Wood – powder-coated aluminum in all six options, so the finish won’t peel or require repainting.
• Screen options: Retractable Screen (rolls into the frame when not in use, keeps views clean) or None (for a pure architectural look).
• Performance standards: NFRC-rated thermal performance; AAMA 2400/2410 installation standard compliance; AAMA 812 low-expansion foam sealant on all perimeter joints.

Performance Features

Thermal Efficiency – The thermal break inside the VLX 100 frame interrupts heat transfer before it reaches your interior. NFRC-rated performance means the U-factor and solar heat gain numbers are independently verified. In Long Beach, where afternoon sun beats on west-facing doors from May through October, the difference between a broken and non-broken frame is measurable on every utility bill. Choose Low-E glass to further cut heat gain while keeping natural light.

Acoustic Performance – Aluminum is dense, and when paired with laminated glass, the VLX 100 Double Swing reduces exterior noise significantly. This is a door that makes sense on busy Long Beach streets – think 7th Street, Anaheim Street, PCH – or anywhere near the flight paths, train horns, and delivery traffic that are part of living in an urban coastal city. Sound control ratings are documented, not anecdotal.

Airtightness & Weather Seal – The perimeter of this door gets sealed with AAMA 812 low-expansion foam at every joint when we install it. That’s an installation standard, not an optional upgrade. Without it, a door that tests well in a lab will leak air in a real Long Beach wall. The result is less dust infiltration (relevant in the dry months), fewer drafts in the winter, and a door that actually performs to its rated specifications.

Waterproofing – Long Beach gets about 13 inches of rain a year, but when it comes, it comes in a few intense storms. The VLX 100’s drainage design and our AAMA 2400/2410 installation method handle water management in three stages: exterior sealant to stop bulk water, internal drainage channels to move any water that does penetrate back outside, and a continuous back dam at the sill. Mist prevention keeps glass clear – important when marine layer mornings are common in Belmont Park and Seal Beach-adjacent neighborhoods.

Wind Resistance – This door is wind-load rated for local climate requirements, which matters more than out-of-town buyers realize. Long Beach sits in a coastal wind zone where Santa Ana events can push sustained wind against large glass surfaces. The 0.098″ frame wall and reinforced corner construction on the VLX 100 mean the door won’t flex, rattle, or leak when the wind really blows.

Security & Hardware – The multi-point lock on the active panel engages top, bottom, and center in one motion – a serious step up from standard French door hardware where only a center latch holds the door closed. Combined with tamper-resistant hinges on the inactive panel, this is a door we’d be comfortable installing on a ground-floor Long Beach apartment or a home near a high-traffic commercial strip.

Color & Glass Options

Premium Black is the current favorite in Long Beach’s newer builds and renovated mid-century homes – it reads architectural, frames views like a picture window, and hides marine-layer grime better than lighter colors. Pure White works beautifully on the city’s classic Spanish and craftsman homes, especially in California Heights and Bluff Park where white trim is the traditional standard. Anodized Silver is the lowest-maintenance option – raw aluminum that doesn’t chip or scratch visibly, favored for commercial spaces and ultra-modern residential projects. Bronze and Champagne split the difference: warmer than black, richer than white, suited to homes with earthy or transitional palettes. Teak Wood finish gives the aluminum frame the look of stained hardwood without the rot risk, which makes it a smart choice for Long Beach homes that want warmth but don’t want to maintain wood in a salt-air environment.

On glass: Clear maximizes the view and is the standard choice for doors facing a private backyard. Frosted and Obscure offer privacy for doors facing a side yard, a neighboring unit two feet away, or a street-facing bedroom – common concerns in Long Beach’s denser residential pockets like downtown and the Alamitos corridor. Low-E is a coating, not a tint, so your view stays clean while heat gain drops. Tempered is safety glass required near floors and doors; Laminated adds impact resistance and sound dampening, which we strongly recommend for doors within a few miles of the coast or on any home where storm debris or break-in attempts are a concern.

Installation by Lightwell Windows Long Beach in Long Beach

Improper installation voids the manufacturer warranty on the VLX 100 Double Swing. That’s not a line we use to scare people – it’s in ViewLux’s warranty documentation. A door this heavy, this wide, and this precisely engineered has to be set level, plumb, and square within tight tolerances, or the panels won’t align, the multi-point lock won’t engage cleanly, and the thermal performance will fall short. That’s why we don’t just sell this door – we install it to the AAMA 2400/2410 standard, which is the industry’s recognized installation guideline for aluminum doors and windows.

Our process starts with a pre-install inspection. We’re looking at the rough opening, the existing flashing, the condition of the sub-sill, and any signs of water intrusion or structural issues before we order a single component. Long Beach homes range from 1920s stucco boxes to 2010s developer builds, and the conditions we encounter change from neighborhood to neighborhood. A Bixby Knolls bungalow with settled framing needs a different opening prep than a brand-new Naples Island construction.

On install day, the team frames the opening to accept the door plumb and square, sets the door in place, confirms the reveal lines are even around both panels, and shims with composite material – not wood, which swells and rots. Then the full perimeter gets AAMA 812 low-expansion foam sealant at every joint, which is the difference between a door that performs like the lab test and one that leaks air invisibly. After that we apply exterior sealant, run a water test, check the multi-point lock alignment at all three lock points, and confirm both panels swing smoothly and consistently. The last step is cleanup: we remove all packaging, old door if applicable, and debris, leaving the worksite the way a Long Beach home should look.

One more local note: Long Beach sits in a seismic zone, and while a door is not structural, a heavy aluminum unit that isn’t anchored properly will shift over time in minor earthquakes. We account for that in our anchoring method, which is why we recommend a professional installation over a handyman special, every time.

Frequently Asked Questions – VLX 100 Double Swing / French Door

Get a Quote – VLX 100 Double Swing / French Door in Long Beach

If you’re ready to price the VLX 100 Double Swing for your home, we make it simple: call (562) 912-3327 and schedule a free on-site measurement. We’ll bring finish samples, glass samples, and straight answers on pricing and lead time. No pressure, no obligation – just a real quote from a Long Beach team that installs this door to spec, every time.

Written by the team at Lightwell Windows Long Beach, serving Long Beach and surrounding coastal communities.