Experts will tell you little things are important to prospective buyers… A neat interior, clean carpeting, a nice kitchen and a pleasant aroma of coffee or cookies. But, there are less obvious areas that are often overlooked… home idiosyncrasies to which you have become accustomed can subconsciously be a turn-off to someone new. You wouldn’t […]
All sliding doors require periodic maintenance and cleaning. Each manufacturer provides detailed information about how their products are best maintained. http://www.steinerhomesltd.com/manuals/windows/jeldwen_vinyl_windows_care.pdf Unfortunately, home owners rarely take the time to access such information.
In the winter, are you a bit chilly when you sit near your sliding patio door? We’ll be very happy to explain why. Over the years, weatherstripping around the doors can wear and the doors can become mis-aligned allowing air to seep through where the panels interlock when closed. Replacing the worn weatherstripping and aligning the operating door […]
In the last decade, there seems to have been a large number of all-vinyl sliding doors installed in our area. Most have been manufactured by virtually unknown companies who sell to builders’ supply distributors for resale to independent contractors looking for a product they can sell for less to the consumer. Even some major manufactures have developed an all-vinyl line to […]
Maintenance reports verify that repairs to sliding patio doors within some room additions can be the most expensive. The main reason is that the typical room addition is too often not built to the same standards as the original home and will eventually sag, shift and sink enough to make any sliding door repairs difficult at best. When bare […]
Thieves love patio doors! Since most residential sliding patio doors lead to a patio, deck or back yard, they are a preferred point of entry for burglars. These patio doors are rarely visible to neighbors and street traffic as they are usually behind the residence. Also, they can be camouflaged by fences, trees, BBQ grills, […]
When your sliding patio door was new, it moved left and right along a level track. But, now it sinks in the middle and on one end. The track is so low at one point that there is now an air gap at the top of the door. And, every time the door moves across […]
A common situation with metal framed sliding doors occurs after a few years when the house has shifted slightly during settling. It’s hard to open. Metal framed sliding patio doors are designed to open with ease and close snuggly between fiber weatherstrips in the vertical channel on the jamb. But, if the jamb tilts just 1/16 […]
First of all, “sliding doors” don’t slide! And therefore, don’t need grease. They Actually Roll ! Built into the bottom frame of the door, there are two to four wheel assemblies with ball bearings, called “rollers”. There are over 300 different combinations of roller material, designs, sizes and styles for the various sliding doors that have […]
WHY DOES MY SLIDING PATIO DOOR SCRAPE AT THE TOP AND DIFFICULT (if not impossible) TO MOVE? When a new home is being built, an opening is often framed out for the sliding patio door assembly. But, before it can be inserted into the opening, a substantial “header” support beam is placed in the wall […]
YOUR HANDLE KNOWS… 90% of all sliding patio door handles are designed to only withstand the normal pressure of opening and closing the door when the door itself is in good operating condition. A loose or broken handle is the first sign that something else is not right. If you replace the handle without determining the underlying cause, which […]
Once the style and color of extruded aluminum framing is selected and precise measurements have been taken, the mitered components are delivered to the job and the screening jig erected for final assembly. The frame is pressure fit at all four corners. It is important that all corners be square. The frame assembly is complete. […]
If your solid wood core sliding patio door is in close proximity to a pool, pond, fountain, stream, river, lake, waterfall or ocean… it will eventually rot. It doesn’t matter whether your door has external cladding or not. The deterioration and swelling of the wood core is most apparent at the bottom frame of the operating door(s) and/or stationary […]
Some brand new sliding patio doors (usually solid wood core) have been found to leak air where the operating door interlocks with the stationary panel. This often does not become apparent to the owner until cold weather sets in. The reason cold air is felt blowing in around this interlock area is because the doors […]
Sliding doors don’t slide… they roll. And, the rolling part is a main factor in all patio door problems including drafts, misalignment, loose handles, scraping noises and dragging. The secret is hidden in the base of your sliding patio door. In a slot or wide groove (out of sight) in the bottom horizontal frame of […]
The immovable stationary panel(s) of a wood-core sliding patio door system should be secured to the jamb, however, over the years, if not secured properly, it can work its’ way out of the jamb revealing an air gap. These panels are usually kept in place by angle brackets at the top and bottom of the panel […]
The majority of sliding screen doors have rollers (wheels) that ride upon a raised track rail and the door itself is merely held onto the track rail with gravity. Occasionally, there may be some spring-loaded rollers or devices at the top of the screen door to provide additional downward pressure. If the screen keeps popping […]
If you are feeling a draft from under your sliding patio door on those icy winter nights, it is likely that your weatherseal has worn away or been stolen by gremlins. The solution can be as simple as replacing the weatherseal for less money than it is costing you in heating bills each year. Here are […]
When new flooring is installed in a room with a sliding patio door, there can be a problem if the installers do not provide an “expansion gap” adjacent to the door track. This thin gap should run the entire length of the door track and is often concealed by a thin strip of matching trim, […]
It is not unusual for someone with a big heel to step on the composition molded track of a sliding patio door system and break off a chunk. Compatible replacement tracks are virtually impossible to find. But, alas, these tracks can be repaired in less than an hour and be twice as strong as the […]
When the operating (moving) sliding patio door closes and locks, the other end should interlock with the stationary door (fixed panel) to seal out wind and drafts. There can be several reasons why this interlock may not perform as designed… 1. The weather seal has worn and needs to be replaced. 2. One of the […]
History Insulated glass, sometimes called by the old LOF trade name Thermopane, has been sold in the United States since the 1950s. Since then, the fundamental concept hasn’t really changed. Design Insulated glass still consists of two or more pieces of glass that are bonded to, yet separated from one another through the use of a […]
There is something you should know before you call a painter to spruce up your sliding patio door. If the operating door is not removed prior to painting, it will be difficult for the painter not to get paint on the weather-seal and this will adversely affect the ability of your door to keep out the cold. And, […]
