Patio doors
Sliding Glass Door Repair
Four small wheels carry the whole panel. When they go, the door stops rolling and starts dragging, and the track underneath pays for it every time somebody opens it.
- Typical visit
- One to three hours
- Usually
- Rollers and track together
- Replacement
- Rarely warranted
- Estimate
- Free, fixed in writing
First question
Whose patio door is this, actually?
New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the country, with a very large share of renters, two and three-family houses and condominium units. Before anything else it is worth establishing whose repair this actually is.
If you rent
Tell your landlord or managing agent first
In almost every tenancy the fabric of the building — doors, windows, frames and the locks in them — is the owner's responsibility rather than yours. We are happy to take the call either way, but a tenant paying out of pocket for a landlord's repair is a thing we would rather flag than quietly bill for.
If you are the landlord
You own it, and the clock may be running
Doors that will not lock, windows that will not open and missing screens are among the most common findings on a municipal inspection at change of tenant. Getting them done between tenancies is both cheaper and considerably less stressful than getting them done against a deadline.
If you are in a condo or co-op
The association may own the opening
In most New Jersey condominium arrangements the exterior of a unit, including windows and entry doors, belongs to the association rather than to you — though interior doors, shower enclosures and interior hardware usually do not. Check your documents before you commission anything exterior.
If you own the house
Then it is simply yours
Which makes it the straightforward case. The only thing worth checking is whether you are in a historic district, because that can affect what you are permitted to change on a street-facing elevation.
Inspections
What an inspection looks for on a patio door
Sliders come up less often than entry doors, but when they do it is almost always about security or escape.
| Common finding | What it usually takes to clear it |
|---|---|
| A patio door that will not lock | Usually the panel has dropped on worn rollers so the latch sits below the keeper. Resetting the height restores it, normally with no new hardware. |
| A panel that lifts out of its track by hand | Anti-lift blocks missing or unset. A genuine security finding, trivially cheap to fix, and almost never fitted correctly from new. |
| A slider that is the only escape from a room | Then it has to open, and open easily. A door that takes two hands is a problem beyond inconvenience. |
| A missing or torn screen panel | Required on openable doors in many municipalities. Rescreened on site in most cases. |
| Water damage at the sill | Blocked weep channels sending water inward. Clearing them is quick; the floor damage underneath is not, which is why it is worth doing early. |
Requirements differ from town to town and they change, so treat this as the pattern we see rather than as your municipality's list. Your local construction or housing office is the authority on your address.
Getting to you
How we actually reach your patio door
The practical problem here is the opposite of a rural state's. Nothing is far away; a great deal of it is simply hard to get at. Telling us which of these you are saves a wasted visit.
Row and attached houses
Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken, Union City and the older parts of almost every town. No side yard, no rear access, and frequently nowhere to put a ladder. Upper-floor work is done from inside with the sash removed, and we plan that before we quote rather than discovering it on the day.
Two and three-family houses
Enormously common across north Jersey. Several tenancies behind one front door, shared entries that take four households' worth of traffic, and access that has to be arranged with people who are at work. Tell us who holds keys when you call.
Apartment and condo buildings
Loading restrictions, service lifts, certificates of insurance for the management company, and time windows when work is permitted. We deal with all of it regularly, but it is much easier arranged in advance than negotiated in a lobby.
Parking, honestly
In a lot of New Jersey there is nowhere to put a van. If you have a driveway, a permit or a spot we can use, that information is worth more to the visit than almost anything else you could tell us.
Permits
Will this need a permit?
This is the part most contractors are vague about, so here is our position in plain terms.
Repairs, generally not
Repairing what is already there — hardware, glass in an existing frame, a sash, a lock, a threshold — does not usually involve a permit anywhere in the state. It is one of the quieter advantages of fixing rather than replacing.
Replacements, often yes
Many New Jersey municipalities require a permit to replace a door or a window, and the requirements and fees differ from town to town. Rules also change. Your municipal construction office is the authority on your address, and it is worth a phone call before you commit to anything.
What we will not do
We will not tell you a job does not need a permit so that it looks cheaper, and we cannot sign off compliance on your behalf — that is the inspector's role. What we will do is tell you plainly when we think a permit is likely to be involved.
New Jersey conditions
What New Jersey does to a patio door
Salt from the roads and the sea, and a wide freeze-thaw swing.
Road salt, carried indoors
New Jersey treats its roads heavily and most of it arrives on boots. It settles into door tracks, thresholds and slider channels, where it corrodes metal and holds moisture against it. In an attached house with a single entrance, all of that traffic goes through one doorway.
Freeze-thaw in a blocked sill
New Jersey cycles above and below freezing repeatedly rather than staying cold. Water standing in a sill that cannot drain freezes, expands and distorts the rail — and then somebody forces the frozen panel and bends it further.
Salt air along the shore
From Sandy Hook to Cape May, salt-laden air corrodes hinges, strikes, rollers, balance springs and every small fixing holding them. Hardware that lasts fifteen years in Morris County can seize in five in a block behind the beach, and corrosion-resistant parts are worth specifying.
Nor'easters and coastal flooding
Winter storms come up the coast with wind and water together, and the shore counties carry the memory of what a serious one does. Doors and ground-floor openings in flood-exposed areas take damage that inland buildings never see.
Questions
Patio door questions
Is it the rollers or the track?
Lift the panel slightly as you slide it. Easier when lifted means the rollers have collapsed. Run a fingernail along the rail — grooves mean the track needs capping as well.
Can a worn track be repaired?
Yes. A stainless cap over the damaged rail gives new rollers a hard, true surface at a fraction of replacing the door.
My door will not lock.
Usually a dropped panel rather than a broken latch. Resetting the height normally restores the lock.
Our panel can be lifted out from outside.
Anti-lift blocks missing. It is a real security weakness, it takes minutes and it costs very little.
Water comes in at the bottom in heavy rain.
Blocked weep channels. Pour a cup of water in the track — if it sits, that is your answer.
Would you ever replace a patio door?
Rarely, and only for a racked frame or structural sill damage. We fit replacements, so we have no reason to avoid saying when one is needed.
Coverage
Sliding glass door repair across New Jersey
A mobile service covering the whole state, from Bergen to Cape May. Pick your town below, or call and we will come to you.
Sliding Glass Door Repair Across New Jersey
Related
Our other services
Ten services, one trade. Whatever else needs doing can go on the same visit.
Next step
Get the slider moving again
Free estimates across New Jersey, with a fixed written price before we start.