Patio doors
Patio Door Replacement in Independence, MO
A patio door that drags, fogs up or lets the wind through is usually past adjusting. We do patio door replacement in Independence, MO: the old sliding or hinged door comes out down to the framing, the sill is flashed and leveled, and the new door rolls with one hand and locks tight.
Signs the door is done
- Fog or streaks between the panes that can't be wiped off. The glass seal has failed.
- The panel grinds or jumps even after the track is cleaned. The track itself is worn or the frame has gone out of square.
- Daylight or moving air at the meeting stile or along the bottom.
- Soft flooring, stained carpet or swollen trim at the inside corners of the sill. Water has been getting past it.
- The lock no longer lines up, so the door is latched but not secure.
New rollers will fix a door whose only problem is rollers. That's a repair, and a handyman is the person for it. Once the frame, track or glass has failed, a new door is the fix.
Sliding or hinged
A sliding door takes no floor space and gives the most glass, which is why most houses have one. Hinged French doors open the full width and suit a dining room, but need swing clearance on one side or the other. A middle option is a hinged door with one fixed panel, which looks like a pair and costs less.
Standard openings are five, six and eight feet wide. An eight-foot opening can take a three-panel slider with a wider walk-through.
Flashing and leveling the sill
A patio door sits at floor level, right where rain off a deck or slab splashes back. Under the new door goes a sill pan, a waterproof tray turned up at the back and ends, so any water that gets past the door drains outside and not into the subfloor. Then the sill is shimmed level along its whole length and supported fully underneath, because a sliding panel on a sill with a dip in it will never roll right.
If the old door leaked, the subfloor and the bottom of the framing get checked with the opening empty, and rotted wood is cut out and replaced the same day.
Glass, screens and locks
Door glass is tempered by code and comes with the same low-E, argon-filled double pane used in windows. Blinds sealed between the panes are a popular add: nothing to dust and nothing for a dog to wreck. Ask for a multi-point lock on hinged doors and a foot bolt or secondary lock on sliders. A screen that rides on metal wheels, top-hung where the line offers it, outlasts the plastic-wheeled kind by years.
Patio door replacement in the same opening, or a wider one
Most replacements match the existing width and height, which keeps the job to a day and needs no permit. Converting a window to a door, or widening a six-foot door to eight, means a new header and a larger opening, and the city does require a permit for that. See the Independence permit rules on the home page.
Patio door questions
Can you replace a patio door yourself?
A handy person with a helper can, but the door is heavy and the sill work is unforgiving. A sill that is a quarter inch out of level makes a new door roll badly from the first day, and a missed flashing detail shows up later as a soft floor.
Can a sliding door be swapped for French doors?
Usually, yes, in the same opening. Check that the swing has room: an inswing door needs clear floor inside and an outswing door needs clear deck or patio outside.
How long does a patio door replacement take?
A same-size swap is typically done in half a day to a day. Rotted subfloor at the sill or a change in opening width adds time.
Can I choose which panel slides?
Yes. It is set when the door is ordered, viewed from outside as left-hand or right-hand. Pick the side that keeps the walkway clear of furniture and puts the handle away from the grill.
Door sticking or leaking?
Send us the opening width if you know it, and whether it leads to a deck or a slab.