Sliding Patio Doors

[HuskyHawk]

We haven’t had one of these threads in some time. Still summer so I thought I’d see if anyone has had good or bad luck.

We use our slider from Kitchen to the deck all the time. We replaced an old door that wasn’t working with an expensive, fancy JenWeld door about 3 years ago. I’ve tinkered with it. Hired contractors to take it out fix it and put it back. The slide weight is probably north of 30 pounds. Wife and daughter need two hands go move it. Tried cleaning and silicone lubricant and the roller adjustments. Nothing works.

So we are going to chalk it up as a costly mistake and currently are looking at Anderson 200 series. I don’t want a repeat. Any experiences with it? Any others to recommend? It’s a mid grade door. I don’t want another super heavy high grade door like the one I have. Home Depot installer is coming next week. Current door was from Lowe’s and I’ve had bad luck with their installers.

 

[tomtom80]

I installed 3 full Anderson sliders at my place in Vt 7 yrs ago. They still work great. You can push the open or close with 2 fingers.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Renewal By Anderson is a really good company. I’d give them a call

 

[HuskyHawk]

I installed 3 full Anderson sliders at my place in Vt 7 yrs ago. They still work great. You can push the open or close with 2 fingers.

This is what we want. Opening the slider we have is like going to the gym.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Renewal By Anderson is a really good company. I’d give them a call

They do windows. That we took care of

 

[UConnSwag11]

They do windows. That we took care of

And doors. We’re getting one put in by them

 

[HuskyHawk]

And doors. We’re getting one put in by them

Ok, looked it up and they use the same doors. Which are you getting?

 

[Hurleyman216]

Ok, looked it up and they use the same doors. Which are you getting?

Renewal by Anderson is CRAZY overpriced. I’m talking 2-3X more expensive than what most people pay. Get yourself a good Harvey sliding door and find a contractor to install it for you. Harvey makes a great product. Most of the builders I know won’t use anything else for windows and doors.

 

[jibsey]

There are slider window businesses that will take the door off and put new ball bearing rollers on. I had it done to my sliders in Fla. and they work with just a finger push. Don't know if it can be done with your brand. It was about $170 per door to do that and I ended up doing 5 doors. Worth every penny.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Renewal by Anderson is CRAZY overpriced. I’m talking 2-3X more expensive than what most people pay. Get yourself a good Harvey sliding door and find a contractor to install it for you. Harvey makes a great product. Most of the builders I know won’t use anything else for windows and doors.

Renewal is the service. Anderson at a Home Depot isn’t that expensive. I’ve got one Harvey window in my garage. Have used their doors. Usually a value brand so contractors like them.

 

[CL82]

This is what we want. Opening the slider we have is like going to the gym.

I have to believe it's either off the rack, or the bottom rollers are broken or missing.

Edit: Seems like it's pretty easy to do:


For what it's worth I have an Anderson slider that is one of the principal ways onto our deck and is used constantly. It's probably going on to about 20 years old now and it still works flawlessly. The only thing I've ever done to it is swap out the hardware (handle, lock, and kick lock) when we redid our kitchen to update it.

 

[ucp990411]

Worked with various window and door companies over the years. Anderson, Pella, Marvin, Jeldwyn and others. My opinion is that the Anderson 400 series is the best. Pricey though.

 

[Edward Sargent]

I have 40 year old sliders in Florida and we decided to have them serviced rather than replaced. It was cheaper to install hurricane shutters. The guy who cam in replaced the ball bearings and weather proofing and now can open and close them with one finger, so I would have to say something went wrong with your service. One piece of advice about large double pane glass doors is that there is a lot of yardage for the seals to leak and once that happens condensation build up between the panes or fogging occurs. We have replaced a few using The Glass Doctor.

 

[Ratso]

did a great work on my philly deck, i’ll post a pic

 

[Ratso]

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[Hoophound]

There are slider window businesses that will take the door off and put new ball bearing rollers on. I had it done to my sliders in Fla. and they work with just a finger push. Don't know if it can be done with your brand. It was about $170 per door to do that and I ended up doing 5 doors. Worth every penny.

This is the first move. You already have a very high quality door. I’d blow $300 on seeing if a slider guy can replace the rollers first. It’s one of those things where you need a guy that’s seen it all to take a shot at it. A lot of installers only know how to put one in. They have no experience fixing older doors.

 

[jibsey]

If the only reason is poor sliding don't spend $2500 without seeing if new rollers will do it.

 

[HuskyHawk]

This is the first move. You already have a very high quality door. I’d blow $300 on seeing if a slider guy can replace the rollers first. It’s one of those things where you need a guy that’s seen it all to take a shot at it. A lot of installers only know how to put one in. They have no experience fixing older doors.

If the only reason is poor sliding don't spend $2500 without seeing if new rollers will do it.

This is why I hired a contractor to take it out of the frame, check it and put it back. It got slightly better. But it was heavy even when new.

I can check and see if it’s viable to replace the rollers.

 

[gtcam]

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Nice deck. I know things in Philly these days are extremely dicey but barbed wire on the top of your fence

 

[nomar]

Check out this helpful vid:

 

[CL82]

This is why I hired a contractor to take it out of the frame, check it and put it back. It got slightly better. But it was heavy even when new.

I can check and see if it’s viable to replace the rollers.

It appears to be pretty easy to do


Before I bother taking the door off and swapping out the rollers, I would see if just raising them up solves your problem. If it's always been that way, it seems more like an adjustment issue.

 

[jibsey]

The best ones now are ball bearing rollers. Moving my slider required great strength. Now nothing.

 

[HuskyHawk]

It appears to be pretty easy to do


Before I bother taking the door off and swapping out the rollers, I would see if just raising them up solves your problem. If it's always been that way, it seems more like an adjustment issue.

Taking the door out is not easy to do. Mine probably weighs over 100 pounds on each side. The contractors got it done but it's not easy. This one. https://www.jeld-wen.com/en-us/products/patio-doors/custom-wood/sliding

 

[jibsey]

Taking the door out is not easy to do. Mine probably weighs over 100 pounds on each side. The contractors got it done but it's not easy. This one. https://www.jeld-wen.com/en-us/products/patio-doors/custom-wood/sliding

Right, because the videos online look like cake but it isn’t if you’re not used to doing it. When I watched the guy do my doors as easy as it looked, the thought of that glass crashing down..plus these companies guaranteed the rollers. It’s a different roller than what is sold in Home Depot I think.
I would ask if they would guarantee the result before they do the job.

 

[CL82]

Taking the door out is not easy to do. Mine probably weighs over 100 pounds on each side. The contractors got it done but it's not easy. This one. https://www.jeld-wen.com/en-us/products/patio-doors/custom-wood/sliding

I would try just adjustments initially. Drop the ruler of quarter inch and see if that helps anything. You might need someone to lean against the top of the door to take a little of the weight off it.

I have an equivalent Anderson and the movement on it is effortless.