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When Do You Need To Repair Your Sliding Door?
Having a sliding door is a joy to have in a home: they give a great view of the outdoors, add great ambiance to a home, the sliding aspect is fun as well as convenient, and they often can easily get repaired. All of this is exactly why so many homes have them and get them installed in their homes. Sliding doors come in all shapes and sizes: from the typical glass ones that lead out to a patio, to the mirror sliding closet doors in bedrooms, and versatile screen doors that often accompany their glass counterparts. Each door function in similar ways, but also have peculiarities that influence how and why they are used.
There will come a time when they will need repair; this can stem from various issues such as damaged rollers, broken locks, the shifting of a house, bent tracks, and more. Since sliding doors are typically used frequently, this also contributes to wear and tear on them which creates issues with them working as they should. Knowing when these problems occur, and why, will only make it easier to understand when to call a sliding door repair expert to get the problem fixed.
Damaged Rollers
The rollers of a sliding door are the core element which allow them to slide along the track. Over time, they will get worn down from the wear and tear of opening/closing a door. A tell-tale sign of damaged rollers is when the door seems abnormally heavy when trying to slide it back and forth. Dirt, pebbles, leaves, and other objects can severely damage a roller, and sometimes even break them completely. Rust from water and moisture is another common issue that plagues rollers, and will cause them to cease functioning altogether; in this case, replacement is the best option as a rusted roller cannot be repaired and even lubricating them does not resolve the issue. Once the rollers start degrading, it is in your best interest to have a specialist assess and repair or replace them. It is especially important as using damaged rollers without fixing them will lead to track damage and force them to need to be replaced as well. It can be quite confusing, however, with the hundreds of types of rollers that exist, as well as the myriad assortment of door types and how they function. Sliding door repair from a highly trained specialist is the best solution to remedy any damage rollers.
Dirt On The Track
A build-up of dirt on a track will progressively make the door harder and harder to slide. Most people barely notice at first and simply use more force to keep sliding the door back and forth. However, this will add more wear and tear than usual, and result in damaging the track as well as the rollers. With more force, it becomes increasingly likely that the rollers will get chipped and stopped working. In addition, the added force can also cause the track to become bent; in this case, even once clean the door can still be problematic to slide. It doesn’t stop there either, as the frame itself can become warped and damaged by the added force of a door having to be forced open and closed routinely over time. While a seemingly simple fix, it is still highly suggested that you call in a specialist to inspect the situation and determine what issues the door has. This will resolve any current issues present, as well as prevent serious damage that could end up in the door having to be replaced outright.
Damaged Tracks
As previously stated, dirt can cause a track to be bent and damaged. However, there are unfortunately innumerable ways a track can get damaged. Dropping a heavy piece of furniture on it, attempting DIY repair, reckless pets, and the list goes on. WD-40 is one of the more common “fixes” attempted; but ask anyone who has used it, and they can testify how it actually worsened their track issues overall. Over time and with constant use, the track will get worn down and cause the door to go out of alignment, or even get stuck in one position permanently. It can often be difficult to tell how damaged a track is on your own, as it could be everything from elusive debris to the track itself being warped. Luckily however, track repair and replacement is a viable option and saves you the cost of installing a brand new door.
Aggressive Use Of The Door
Whether its young boys being careless or slamming the door open out of frustration, rough use of a sliding door is a culprit for causing damage that will need to be repaired. At first some slight tugging of the door will be overlooked or ignored, and become something people will simply deal with. However, a sliding door should never be difficult to open or close; the longer a door is forced along the tracks or slammed shut, the worse the problem will get. The frame itself might get damaged, the track could become bent, the handle might come loose, or the door could come off the track altogether. All of these are issues that seem slight at first but progressively get worse; it’s not recommended to continue using the door if excessive force is required. Once a door becomes difficult, it is in your best interest to seek out professional sliding door repair from a specialist.
Sagging Of The House
Everyone is taught about our planet’s shifting plates that cause earthquakes, as well as the various types of landscapes people choose to live on. All of this greatly affects our buildings, as earthquakes and erosion cause our buildings to shift slightly over time. A house built on the edge of a cliff or on soft soil will fall victim to the moving earth; often this goes unnoticed, or people don’t realize the profound effect it has on their sliding doors. This affects sliding doors progressively over time: as the house shifts, the frame and other elements of the door can shift as well. This will cause the door to not line up correctly, become hard to slide, and another factor in a track getting bent out of shape. A common issue that arises from this is a gap in the door, which can exist either where the door closes or along the top or bottom. This is a definite issue you will want to contact a specialist for as soon as possible.
Broken Handle & Damaged Locks
Sometimes the door slides just fine, but the handle has broken or the lock doesn’t work anymore. These are issues you will want to resolve as soon as possible for several reasons. Without a handle the door can be difficult to operate, and this can lead to frustration and rough handling of the door which will only cause even further damage. Water and moisture create rust in locks rather easily as well, and are a common reason why many locks seize up and stop working. A tricky aspect when handles and locks aren’t working correctly can actually be linked to other problems; when a door is misaligned and does not close correctly, it can be difficult to tell whether the lock simply is broken or if it’s an issue where the lock cannot catch the other side and therefore does not lock. A broken lock can be a security issue as well as prevent the door from closing correctly which allows air and bugs to get in. Just like rollers and tracks, there is a huge assortment of locks/handles and navigating which ones work is a daunting task our sliding door repair specialists can help resolve.
As you can see, sliding doors are a blessing but possess various underlying elements that need to be maintained as well as repaired or replaced. Ideally, a sliding door should open with ease and require almost no force to slide along the track with just the slightest push of the finger. However, the above issues remove this aspect and can cause them to become a headache. On top of that is the fact that it can be difficult to determine what the exact issue is, and attempting to repair it yourself might lead to making the problem worse instead of better.
This does not have to be the case though; our technicians are highly skilled in every aspect of sliding doors and can easily resolve all of the issues mentioned here. They have seen and repaired every kind of problem out there: replacing rusted locks, installing brand new locks for added security, slight adjustments, complete track and roller replacements, repairing incredibly large doors, and even more. Whether you need to know what the problem is, need a lock or handle replaced, or require new rollers, EZ Sliding Door Repair is invested in resolving your door issues and ensuring that your sliding door works like a brand new door.