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    The two wood-to-wood overlap connections add greatly to water and air tightness. There are never any open seams visible like a traditional 'Americana' square cut door where it is virtually impossible to fit the sash perfectly into the frame and see the exact same seam width on all sides. This visual imbalance in symmetry is exacerbated over time when the normal slight tiring of hardware and slight settling of wood structure cause the door leaf and frame to move slightly. Often the seams grow to be wider at one end than the other. Open seams expose locking and latching hardware which is not only unsightly but more prone to exposure and corrosion.
       The Euro step down profile incorporates a hidden groove to install multipoint locking which by its nature has many moving parts so protection from the elements is essential, and, indeed another great advantage to the home owner. Other important advantages are the overlapping profiles which offer much higher STC ratings in sound proofing as well as stronger security against the intruder with burglar's tools. Lastly, designers like the minimalist stile and rail possibilities with Euro systems.
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A French door is designed to give light, so the less wood width the more glass light available. Euro stiles and rails tend to be thicker inside to outside. Two and one-quarter inch thickness is the most common standard. This along with much stronger corner joinery allows the profiles to be narrower in sight lines. Anywhere from 3 inch to 4 1/8 inch is common, whereas common square cut doors require stiles of 5 inches or more and are limited to the single mortice and tenon corner joint.
An example of a Euro over-lapping sash to frame as found on tilt &turn window and balcony doors.
View French Doors and Tilt & Turn Windows in the Products section for more photos!
The term Euro profile refers to the milled wood shape of the sash and frame members of a door. It is only over the past twenty years that the U.S. has adopted the advantages of the European 'overlapping' sash-to-frame design for doors and windows, and even now these high performance profiles are offered mostly by the custom high end manufacturers. Essentially, the sash has a 'lip' that overlaps the frame and the frame on the opposite side also has a lip that overlaps the sash.