Real Estate

Sliding Glass Door Replacement

This article will cover how to replace an old sliding glass door with a modern vinyl framed sliding glass door. If you currently have French doors and want to replace them with sliding doors, or vice versa, future articles will cover that topic.

The first thing we need to do is measure for the replacement door. You want to measure the bottom, center, and top of your existing door frame to find the narrowest dimension. Start outside and measure to the point where the old door frame ends and the exterior material begins. That material can be stucco, siding, or brick. Measure crosswise at all 3 locations: bottom, middle, and top. Record the smallest dimension. Then go inside and do the same. You want to measure where the frame ends and the drywall, plaster, or plaster begins. Take all six measurements, find the narrowest, and subtract 3/4″. That’s the width of the new door. Now when you measure the height, you can just measure the outside. Measure the left, center, and right sides from the floor where the bottom rail sits, to the top where the old frame ends and the exterior material begins. Take the narrowest dimension and subtract 1/2″. That’s your new door height. Next, determine which side the slider should be on. The fixed panel is designated by the letter “O” and the slider is an “X”. In most areas of the country, you indicate this by looking at the door from the outside and reading from left to right. So if you were outside looking at your door and wanted the sliding panel to close to the right wall, you would ask for an “OX”. However, since I recently discovered that not all parts of the country do it this way, my suggestion is to ask the dealer how they read the aperture before placing your order.

Next, you need to decide if you want an upgrade frame or a replacement frame. If the old frame is flush with the exterior material, such as stucco, then you want to get the upgrade frame, which comes with the exterior fin. That will eliminate the need to trim the exterior. If you have brick or siding around the opening, then you need to get a replacement frame and trim the exterior yourself. You can use wood, vinyl, or other composite materials available at most major hardware store chains. You should also measure the depth of the old frame. Most vinyl replacement doors have a frame depth of 4 3/4″. Most door openings, when framed, are 5 1/2″ deep to the innermost surface of the door. wall, whether plaster, plaster or anything else. . Therefore, when you install the new door, you will need to add some type of trim product to build up the inside of the door frame so that it is flush with the wall surface.

You want to be sure and order all the materials you’ll need to get the job done at the same time you order the replacement door. That way, when the new door comes in 2-4 weeks later, you’ll have everything ready to do the job. In addition to the necessary trim, you’ll also need caulk, a roll of R-13 insulation, liquid rail nails, 4″ deck screws, shims, dust masks, and safety glasses. Once the new door arrives, It will be time to remove the old door.

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