A sliding door that drags, sticks or needs two hands to open nearly always comes down to three things: dirt in the track, worn rollers, or a door that has dropped out of adjustment. All three are fixable, usually without replacing the door. Lindsay looks at doors, locks and windows around Gawler and the Riverland, and a sliding door that has got hard work is one of the most common small jobs there is.
Why sliding doors get hard to open
- Dirt and grit in the bottom track. Sand, dust, leaves and pet hair build up in the channel the door rolls along. In the Riverland the fine red dust gets in after every windy day.
- Worn or broken rollers. The small wheels under the door wear flat or seize up over the years. When they stop turning, the door slides on its frame instead of rolling.
- The door has dropped. Rollers can be raised or lowered with an adjusting screw. As they wear, or as the house moves a little with the seasons, the door can sit too low and scrape.
- A damaged track. A dent or flattened spot in the aluminium track, often from something heavy being dragged across it, makes the door bump at the same spot every time.
- The lock or latch is out of line.If the door slides fine but won't lock, the latch and the keeper on the frame have moved apart.
What you can check yourself first
- Vacuum the bottom track, including the corners, then wipe it with a damp cloth.
- Slide the door slowly and listen. A grinding or scraping noise usually means the rollers.
- Look at the gap along the bottom of the door. If one end sits lower than the other, it needs adjusting.
- Check the lock keeper on the frame for loose screws.
Skip the oil and grease in the bottom track. It feels better for a day, then holds dust and grit and makes the problem worse. A clean, dry track is what you want.
If the door is still heavy after a clean, leave the rest. Glass sliding doors are heavy and awkward to lift out of the frame, and getting one out and back in safely is a two-person job.
What a repair usually involves
For a typical aluminium sliding door, the fix tends to follow the same steps:
- Cleaning the track properly, top and bottom.
- Lifting the door out to check the rollers.
- Fitting new rollers where they are worn or broken and parts are available for that door.
- Adjusting the roller height so the door sits level and clears the track.
- Dealing with a damaged section of track where it can be repaired.
- Re-aligning the latch and keeper so the door locks again.
Rollers come in a lot of shapes and sizes, and older or less common doors can take a bit of hunting to find the right part. A clear photo of the door, its brand sticker if it has one, and the bottom corner where the roller sits helps Lindsay work out what to bring.
Sliding fly screen and security doors
The screen door that runs beside the glass door has its own small rollers and its own problems. It jumps off the track, it won't close the last few centimetres, or the mesh has torn where the dog pushes on it. Most of these are a roller, adjustment or re-mesh job. Our guide to fly screen repair before summer covers the mesh side.
When it's not a handyman job
- Cracked or broken glass needs a glazier.
- A door frame that has rotted, split or pulled away from the wall may need a builder or a new door altogether. Lindsay can tell you which it is when he looks at it.
- If you rent, the door belongs to the owner, so let the agent or landlord know first. Lindsay works for landlords and property managers too.
Not sure which category your door falls into? Our page on what a handyman can and can't do in SA explains where the licensed trades come in.
Getting it fixed in Gawler and the Riverland
Lindsay works from Gawler and from Waikerie, so sliding door jobs in Gawler, Willaston, Evanston and Roseworthy, and across the Riverland from Waikerie to Renmark, are close to home. He also covers the Barossaand Adelaide's northern suburbs.
Send a photo of the door and the bottom track through the quote form, or call Lindsay on 0481 195 152 for a free quote. If there are a few doors, a fly screen or two and a loose gate, put them all on the one request.