If you already have a sliding patio door, you surely love it for its great looks, its ability to open up your space, to provide a much wider view of the surrounding nature. However, the time will inevitably come when your door will have to undergo extensive repair or when you will need to replace your patio door – here are some signs that tell you that time is not very far away.
The Door Becomes More Difficult to Move Each Day and It Gets Stuck Frequently
Sliding doors move on rollers made from plastic and metal. When the rollers get dirty, broken or when metal rollers develop rust, the door becomes stiff. In some cases, the problem can be fixed with some cleaning and the application of some sort of rust removal method, but if the rollers are damaged, the best solution is to replace them.
Misalignment
If your door keeps jumping off its track, the problem will lead to the misalignment of the entire door system. Usually caused by the damage of the screws that hold the rollers, the problem can be sometimes solved with the replacement of those screws. However, if the entire door has become misaligned, the best solution might be to find door replacement near me.
Broken or Damaged Glass Panes
Whether your sliding door features grills and many smaller, individual pieces of glass or it is composed of one or two larger panes, the glass in the frame is permanently exposed to the elements, which is hard for even the strongest pane. When the glass in your sliding door becomes fogy, cracked, chipped or dented, the best thing to do is to get rid of the damaged glass and to choose an adequate solution, either to get the entire door replaced or to replace only the damaged element.
Heat Loss around the Door and Draftiness
Door materials can shrink when exposed to harsh weather for too long, the damage being usually signaled by the appearance of gaps between the door and the framework around it. The gaps around the door let heated air slip out in winter, they let in the summer heat and they provide easy access points for insects. The problem will cause air movement inside the room, too, leading to draftiness. In most cases, the problem cannot be fixed through repair, the only solution being the replacement of the old door with a properly sealing, energy-efficient new one.
Hiking Energy Bills
If you notice a considerable rise in your energy expenses without having added a large appliance to your system, the culprit might be the sliding door. Older doors, manufactured before modern energy-efficiency standards, do not prevent energy exchange as effectively as new, modern products and the older the door, the less efficient the insulation it provides. While the replacement of your old, inefficient patio door might seem like a big investment, it is the best solution to prevent unnecessary energy loss from your home, to increase the comfort in your home and to reduce the environmental footprint of your property.
