How To Adjust And Repair Sliding Patio Doors
Sliding patio doors are a great option for homeowners who want easy access to the outdoors without compromising space or style. But what happens when a door slides off its tracks and you’re left with a costing repair job on your hands? When choosing windows and doors that are going to work for you in the long run, you don’t want to avoid thinking about possible repairs or replacements from Raleigh’s Renewal by Andersen, especially if you’re working within a fairly conservative budget. Luckily, in the case of an off-the-track sliding patio door or even a broken lock, you can figure out a way to get your doors working smoothly once more without spending a ton of money on repairs. Working to make your sliding doors safer and more efficient won’t just help you protect your home from intruders, it will help increase the resale value of your home, helping you to build your home into the ultimate long-term investment. If you’re dealing with a broken or faulty sliding door, here are a few tips to try.
Check for Gaps
If you have a vinyl or wood sliding door, it’s not uncommon to deal with slight warping and swelling during different seasons. This is totally normal. However, because of this, you might find that your sliding doors aren’t closing flush and are leaving gaps. This is something you’ll need to deal with immediately so that your home doesn’t end up falling prey to burglars. In order to adjust your door, you’ll need to take a flat head screwdriver along with a Phillips head screwdriver to get your door back on its sliding track. Before you do anything, try checking the area around your door for gaps. If it’s not closing flush and you’re noticing too wide of a gap, you’ll need to realign your door. Luckily, with the right tools, it’s simple.
Raise the Door
At the foot of your door, you’ll see two screws. To raise your door, screw the bottom screw in a clockwise motion or a counter-clockwise motion to lower it. This should give you a good amount of control over where your door is going on the track. As long as the top gap and bottom gap of your door match, you’ll know that your door is on the right track and won’t end up dislodging itself. However, if you’re dealing with a more nuanced problem due to a bent or faulty track, you may have to take your sliding doors, along with your screen doors, out of the track to examine the problem. A bent track is something you’ll need to call in a professional to deal with since you’ll most likely need to examine your track for damage. However, the issue can often be much more simple, such as a track that’s gotten too dirty from a lack of consistent cleaning, or a rubber lip on one of your doors that has begun to wear down. Removing your door will help you get a better look at what’s really going on in this case.
Clean Your Track
If you can’t figure out what’s going on with your track, the best course of action is to give it a thorough clean. You door won’t be able to function properly on a dirty track, especially if it’s never been cleaned. While it might not seem like a big deal, even a small amount of dust can end up congealing and creating security problems for your sliding door. You can use a household all-purpose cleaner to get deep into the grooves and crevices with a detail brush or old toothbrush. When you’ve started to make progress, use a small attachment on your vacuum to suck up the debris. When you have a fully clean track, you can use WD-40 or another lubricating agent to liberally spray the area. This will help your door open and close with ease.
Adjust the Latch or Rollers
When your door is misaligned, it might not be the fault of the door or the track. After you’ve checked your track for dirt or warping, check your door’s rollers to see if they need to be replaced or simply re-aligned. You can try cleaning them as well for a smoother process. In the case of a door that closes flush at the top but doesn’t perfectly align with the door lock, you can actually raise and lower the latch manually to be able to protect your lock and keep your door completely closed at all times.
