How To Remove Stationary Sliding Glass Door

Is your sliding drinking glass door leaky, drafty, or does it jam when yous try to open or close it? Disassembling the door can give way for you to supplant old rollers and tracks, remove droppings from the tracks, or even install a new door if need be. Read on for instructions on how to remove a sliding glass door.

Tools for removing sliding glass door

Here's what you volition need to get the job done:

Screwdriver
Reciprocating saw
Apartment prying bar

Materials

Cream sheets

Footstep past Step Guide on how to remove sliding drinking glass door

Follow these elementary steps to remove a sliding glass door.

Footstep 1. Prepare the work area

Place foam sheets on the floor effectually the expanse where you lot volition be working. This helps to protect the flooring from potential scratches and can prop the glass door from breaking in case it is dropped on the floor. Be sure to remove any piece of furniture, rugs, pots, and other items in the vicinity of the work expanse.

Step 2. Examine the sliding console of the door

Patio drinking glass doors typically have a sliding and a stationary panel. You will need to outset remove the sliding role to make style for the unmovable portion of the door.

Nearly sliding doors take screws at the pinnacle and bottom forth their edge on either side. These attach the door to the tracks. Examine the screws to determine the type of screwdriver yous will need. In most cases, a standard flathead screwdriver gets the task done.

Stride iii. Detach the door from its tracks

Regular sliding doors have tracks on which the door glides back and forth. Well-nigh also come with small merely powerful rollers that enable the door to move effortlessly. Over time, the tracks can warp or collect dirt, or the rollers might suspension, making it hard to open up and shut the door.

Sometimes, all that is needed is to clean and lubricate the tracks to restore normal operations. In case of extensive damage, removing the entire door and replacing the tracks or rollers might be your all-time bet.
To detach the door from the tracks, spin the flathead screwdriver counterclockwise to loosen all the fasteners. Loosening the screws lowers the doors, lifts the rollers at the bottom, and makes it easy for you to lift the door from the tracks. Once you remove the upper and lower screws along the border of the door, stand in front of the door and agree information technology on both sides.
Lift and tip the door to release information technology from the lower tracks and pull information technology out gently. These types of doors might look light because they consist of glass and plastic or aluminum but they can hands weigh over fifty pounds. Every bit such, it is a good idea to have someone assistance you safely lift the door and place it in an out of the way location.

Pace iv. Get rid of the screen door

Some drinking glass patio doors come with a removable protective screen. Once the sliding door is out, simply lift the screen door from the outside and pry out it from the tracks. If it is attached in identify with screws, remove the screws kickoff so lift the door out.

Step 5. Remove the stationary console

The stationary panel is ordinarily held in place by a stopper, which could exist a block of wood, or aluminum or linoleum angled brackets along the top of the track. If you cannot immediately see the stopper, it is probably hidden under a capsule fastened to the door frame.

Utilize a flat prying bar to remove the capsule and betrayal the stopper. Unscrew and popular the stopper out to let the stationary panel to slid forth the runway.
Check if additional screws are withal attaching the door to the frame and unscrew these. Slide the door to where the sliding console was while prying the door from the tracks.
Use a utility knife to get rid of whatsoever paint or debris stuck along the tracks. Finally, tip the door inward and lift to free information technology from the tracks.

Stride six. Remove the door frame

If y'all desire to replace your sliding door with a new i, you will need to get rid of the quondam door frame for the new door to fit properly. Depending on how the frame was installed, expect to do some significant prying to free the frame from the door jamb.

Using a reciprocating saw, cutting through and along the top and sides to remove the shims, fasteners, and other sealings attaching the frame to the jamb. The bottom function will likely be fastened to the floor with a sealant of sorts.
With your partner's assist, tip the frame from the peak while pulling it outside. Meanwhile, pry the frame until you release it from the floor. To dispose of the frame, cut it up into chunks and throw the pieces away.

Extended Tips

Removing a sliding door takes a fiddling bit of time but with the right tools and technique, you should be able to complete the project successfully and save on removal costs. Here are some extra tips to help you minimize harm and make the near of your time:

Avoid forcing the door out

Shims, fasteners, and sealing can brand detaching a door particularly difficult. Excessive pushing and prying increment the chances of breaking the glass pane, ruining the tracks, or damaging the door frame and surrounding skirting, which means extra repair costs.

Try to remove all fasteners and to apply advisable tools such as a reciprocating saw to cut through sealing material to disassemble the door with minimal damage.

Use a heart punch to avoid damaging the siding

Depending on the style the door was installed, the siding and frame might overlap, making it hard to but lift and pull the door. Drilling can aid to separate the overlap without dissentious the siding.

A centre punch is a handy tool when information technology comes to drilling holes accurately. Utilise this tool to punch an indentation along the overlap betwixt the frame and siding and then use the drill to put a pigsty through and suspension the overlap without whatsoever damage.
Echo the process forth the entire frame until it easily separates from the siding with minimum prying needed.

Measure out earlier buying a new door

If yous programme to replace your old drinking glass door with a new one, be certain to get the right measurement to buy a door that fits the opening left past the onetime ane. It is best to mensurate after removing the frame. Place the tape measure from ane side of the door jamb to the other when measuring the width and from the beam to the floor for lengthwise measurements.
When measuring the length, do so starting from the floor upon which the doorsill is installed upward to the beam of the door. This ensures that the new door yous purchase is not too short for the opening.

Maintain sliding doors regularly

The average cost of replacing a sliding door is about $1,000. A piffling maintenance goes a long way in keeping your doors in meridian condition and helps you avoid costly repairs or replacements.

Using a toothbrush, sweep any debris caught in between the tracks. Alternatively, yous can utilise a small handheld vacuum to get the task done faster.
Next, with the door pulled back, spray a silicone-based lubricant forth the rails to get the door to slide back and forth with ease. Silicone lubricants are super glace (which is the desired effect) only they too exercise not gather too much dirt.
We recommend vacuuming the door tracks every time you vacuum the room. Lubricate when y'all observe the door slowing downward. In other instances, lubrication might not be enough as the problem could exist faulty rollers that need replacing.

Enjoy Big Savings By Removing Your Glass Sliding Door Yourself

Whether you lot want to replace the door or set some hardware, removing a sliding glass door requires patience, some DIY know-how, and of course the right equipment. For safety and ease of work, ask someone to help you with securing and freeing the door from its tracks.

Hither's a quick recap on how to disassemble your sliding glass door:

Remove the screws at the top and bottom of the sliding console. Tip the top of the window and lift it off the tracks.
If y'all have a screen door, elevator it and tilt it outward to costless it from the residual of the door
To remove the stationary door, locate and remove all fasteners that might be property door the frame. Firmly, pry the door to release information technology from the frame, slide it along the track, and then lift to release from tracks.

Exercise you have whatever questions or comments? Get out them correct beneath—we'd love to read them!