When new flooring is installed in a room with a sliding patio door there can be a problem if the installers do not provide an "expansion gap" adjacent to the door track. This thin gap should run the entire length of the door track and is often conceiled by a thin strip of matching trim, such as a quarter round.
This gap is to allow for the seasonal expansion and contraction of the flooring. But, if the installers do not make provisions for such a gap, the flooring will force the track wall against the patio door during periods of expansion. This pressure will make the door more difficult to operate, if not impossible.
This situation is only of concern when the moving patio door is designed to operate on the interior side of the adjoining stationary patio door panel. When the operating door moves on an exterior track, such as with the Pella brand, lack of an expansion gap is of little concern.
When the lack of an expansion gap has caused a patio door to be difficult to move freely there is often a remedy.
First, we must understand the construction of the bottom patio door track. It is typically an extruded aluminum channel with a raised bead in the center on which the door rollers travel. The track walls (the legs of the channel) often incorporate a thin weatherstrip the entire length to provide a weather seal against the door when it is closed. The system is designed to allow just enough clearance for the door to slightly compress the weatherstip to prevent a draft, but not enough to cause drag as the door moves.
When floor expansion has resulted in sufficient drag to restrict the door operation, this weatherstrip can be removed. An awl, lightly tapped with a ballpein hammer, can access the underside of the weatherstrip and slide it out from its retaining sleeve.
Sometimes, this weatherstrip is not on the track wall, but on the interior side of the door. In this case, the door will need to be removed to access the strip for removal in the same manner.
If removal of the weatherstrip is still not enough to permit the door to move freely, then a "hand seamer" tool is suggested to slightly bend the track wall away from the door. The door should be removed when using this tool to gain access to the entire length of the track wall.
Note: A hand seamer is ineffective on vinyl patio door tracks.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Why Am I So Cold?
In the winter, are you a bit chilly when you sit near your sliding patio door?
We'll be very happy to explain why.
Over the years, weatherstripping around the doors can wear and the doors can become mis-aligned allowing air to seep through where the panels interlock when closed.
Replacing the worn weatherstripping and aligning the operating door will take care of these concerns.
Sometimes, aligning the door by adjusting the rollers may not be possible due to deterioration of the rollers themselves and then roller replacement is necessary. This situation is often quite apparent as the operating door most likely has become more difficult to move than it had been in the past.
Even if the door is aligned properly and sufficient weatherstripping has been properly installed, but the framing of the patio door system is aluminum, you will still feel cold air emanating from the metal. Aluminum is a poor insulating material... wood is better.
Also, if you see a little condensation or cloudy glass in spots that you can't clean, it's because it's inside between the glass panes, telling you the Thermopane has lost its seal and insulating properties. The surface of the glass inside the home will now be colder.
So, even if all is insulated well, but the aluminum framed glass has lost its seal, it's going to be cold. And, it will be even colder if the patio door faces north.
But, you say... "I am telling you I can feel a draft!"
If you are near a north facing, aluminum framed patio door on a cold day and you are wearing just slippers (most often in the bedroom and kitchen) YOU CAN FEEL A DRAFT.
But, the draft is not coming from the outside. It's "CONVECTION".
As the warm air in the room rises to the ceiling (as it is light) it naturally migrates to the coldest surfaces, which are the cold patio door frame and glass. When it come in contact with the patio door at the top, the air gets cooler and heavier... and, begins to cascade down the glass...cooler and cooler, heavier and heavier and faster and faster... until it reaches the floor as a breeze and right up your jammies. This "convection" breeze is more predominant on uncarpeted floors. (ie. wood, tile)
There are now only four solutions left. (1) Move your chair further away from the patio doors. (2) Install lined curtains or drapes. (plastic vertical blinds don't do it) (3) Go to Florida for a few weeks. (4) Replace the glass and/or the entire system with a solid wood framed design. (These are in order of cost, low to high.)
Finally, certain individuals are more sensitive to patio door cold in the winter. These include, but are not limited to, people with very little body fat, people that are used to a much warmer environment, people that are living in a home with less than desirable humidity and the elderly.
We'll be very happy to explain why.
Over the years, weatherstripping around the doors can wear and the doors can become mis-aligned allowing air to seep through where the panels interlock when closed.
Replacing the worn weatherstripping and aligning the operating door will take care of these concerns.
Sometimes, aligning the door by adjusting the rollers may not be possible due to deterioration of the rollers themselves and then roller replacement is necessary. This situation is often quite apparent as the operating door most likely has become more difficult to move than it had been in the past.
Even if the door is aligned properly and sufficient weatherstripping has been properly installed, but the framing of the patio door system is aluminum, you will still feel cold air emanating from the metal. Aluminum is a poor insulating material... wood is better.
Also, if you see a little condensation or cloudy glass in spots that you can't clean, it's because it's inside between the glass panes, telling you the Thermopane has lost its seal and insulating properties. The surface of the glass inside the home will now be colder.
So, even if all is insulated well, but the aluminum framed glass has lost its seal, it's going to be cold. And, it will be even colder if the patio door faces north.
But, you say... "I am telling you I can feel a draft!"
If you are near a north facing, aluminum framed patio door on a cold day and you are wearing just slippers (most often in the bedroom and kitchen) YOU CAN FEEL A DRAFT.
But, the draft is not coming from the outside. It's "CONVECTION".
As the warm air in the room rises to the ceiling (as it is light) it naturally migrates to the coldest surfaces, which are the cold patio door frame and glass. When it come in contact with the patio door at the top, the air gets cooler and heavier... and, begins to cascade down the glass...cooler and cooler, heavier and heavier and faster and faster... until it reaches the floor as a breeze and right up your jammies. This "convection" breeze is more predominant on uncarpeted floors. (ie. wood, tile)
There are now only four solutions left. (1) Move your chair further away from the patio doors. (2) Install lined curtains or drapes. (plastic vertical blinds don't do it) (3) Go to Florida for a few weeks. (4) Replace the glass and/or the entire system with a solid wood framed design. (These are in order of cost, low to high.)
Finally, certain individuals are more sensitive to patio door cold in the winter. These include, but are not limited to, people with very little body fat, people that are used to a much warmer environment, people that are living in a home with less than desirable humidity and the elderly.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Thermopane Glass Failure
History
Insulated glass, sometimes called by the old LOF trade name Thermopane, has been sold in the United States since the 1950s. Since then, the fundamental concept hasn’t really changed.
Design
Insulated glass still consists of two or more pieces of glass which are bonded to, yet separated from one another through the use of a spacer on all sides. The space between them insulates as “dead air space”. This sandwich is glued together with sealant designed to keep the glass together and moisture out. The spacer contains a dessicant that removes moisture which might remain from manufacturing.
Thermal Improvement with Insulated Glass
The resulting assembly reduces heat loss by about one half over a single pane of glass. For you R-value fanatics, by insulating the glass, you improve the R1 of single glass to a whopping R2 for insulated glass. When you add a Low-E coating, you can get about R3. If you then add argon gas in the airspace, about R4 is possible.
Seal failure
This occurs when moisture penetrates the spacer seal and wets the airspace.
Seal Failure Conditions
Despite a good track record for insulated glass in general, you can eventually expect failures. A moderate failure will look like a cloud of moisture that has condensed on one of the inner surfaces of the glass in the airspace. It might come and go depending on the outside temperature. A serious failure will involve the permanent presence of moisture in the airspace.
Fixing Insulated Glass Failures
When seal failures occur, the glass must be replaced. There are some people out there who attempt to fix the failed unit by drilling holes in the spacer, forcing dry air into the airspace, and resealing the hole, but future failures are very likely. And, typically the glass cannot be cleaned of the stains from the condensation.
Insulated glass, sometimes called by the old LOF trade name Thermopane, has been sold in the United States since the 1950s. Since then, the fundamental concept hasn’t really changed.
Design
Insulated glass still consists of two or more pieces of glass which are bonded to, yet separated from one another through the use of a spacer on all sides. The space between them insulates as “dead air space”. This sandwich is glued together with sealant designed to keep the glass together and moisture out. The spacer contains a dessicant that removes moisture which might remain from manufacturing.
Thermal Improvement with Insulated Glass
The resulting assembly reduces heat loss by about one half over a single pane of glass. For you R-value fanatics, by insulating the glass, you improve the R1 of single glass to a whopping R2 for insulated glass. When you add a Low-E coating, you can get about R3. If you then add argon gas in the airspace, about R4 is possible.
Seal failure
This occurs when moisture penetrates the spacer seal and wets the airspace.
Seal Failure Conditions
Despite a good track record for insulated glass in general, you can eventually expect failures. A moderate failure will look like a cloud of moisture that has condensed on one of the inner surfaces of the glass in the airspace. It might come and go depending on the outside temperature. A serious failure will involve the permanent presence of moisture in the airspace.
Fixing Insulated Glass Failures
When seal failures occur, the glass must be replaced. There are some people out there who attempt to fix the failed unit by drilling holes in the spacer, forcing dry air into the airspace, and resealing the hole, but future failures are very likely. And, typically the glass cannot be cleaned of the stains from the condensation.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Weep Holes
If your floor or carpeting gets wet near your sliding patio door every time it rains, there is a little maintenance procedure that might help.
Your sliding patio door actually "rolls" on a raised center track. On either side of the track there are "walls" about an inch high. An inside wall and an outside wall. The outside wall should have "weep holes"... little slits at the bottom of the wall several feet apart. These weep holes are to drain the water in the track when the rain cascades down the glass.
These weep holes often get clogged with dirt and leaves requiring periodic cleaning. Sometimes, an over-zealous contractor may have accidentally "caulked" closed these holes during an effort to tuck point or provide external weather sealing.
Get a pipe cleaner, coat hanger, popsicle stick or just about anything else that will fit through the weep holes and clean them out.
Once clean, you should be able to pour a small pitcher of water into the track and watch it migrate to the weep holes and trickle outside.
Older tracks without weep holes may need to have some drilled. They do not need to be larger than the diameter of a pencil.
Your sliding patio door actually "rolls" on a raised center track. On either side of the track there are "walls" about an inch high. An inside wall and an outside wall. The outside wall should have "weep holes"... little slits at the bottom of the wall several feet apart. These weep holes are to drain the water in the track when the rain cascades down the glass.
These weep holes often get clogged with dirt and leaves requiring periodic cleaning. Sometimes, an over-zealous contractor may have accidentally "caulked" closed these holes during an effort to tuck point or provide external weather sealing.
Get a pipe cleaner, coat hanger, popsicle stick or just about anything else that will fit through the weep holes and clean them out.
Once clean, you should be able to pour a small pitcher of water into the track and watch it migrate to the weep holes and trickle outside.
Older tracks without weep holes may need to have some drilled. They do not need to be larger than the diameter of a pencil.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Sagging Header Problems
SOMETIMES, THEY DON’T BUILD THEM LIKE THEY USED TO!
When a new home is being built an opening is often framed out for the sliding patio door. But, before the assembly can be inserted into the opening, a substantial “header” support beam is placed in the wall above to prevent the second floor wall from collapsing onto the door as the house settles.
Years ago, this beam was steel. You will often see the edge of the steel beam on the outside of older Chicago homes just above the sliding door’s upper framework.
In recent years, a heavy timber has been used… or a pair of 2” x 12” planks. These are an expensive part of the whole job as these wooden headers can be anywhere from eight feet to fifteen feet in length or more.
When large housing developments or sub-divisions are being erected and hundreds of homes are involved, the contractor can save thousands by cutting a few corners. And, a common area to reap savings is in the header beam. Four to six smaller sized beams are considerably less expensive and can be concealed in the wall before the building inspector makes his next round.
These smaller sized beams, even though they take up the same space, are much weaker than the solid timbers specified by the architect.
So, a few years down the road, as the house settles, the header begins to sag to the point where it rests atop the upper track of the sliding door… which eventually comes in contact with the top of the doors.
The sliding door then begins to drag under the weight. And, scraping marks can be seen on the under-side of the top track. Eventually, the door will no longer move at all.
Sliding patio doors do not seal at the top of the door. The weather seal is on the sides of the upper track and there should be about a ¼” or more of space above the door. This space allows the door to be lifted off the lower track for service. In situations where the upper track is resting on the patio door, removal of the door may require a “floor jack” to lift up the header enough to get the door out.
The most cost-effective solution to this “sagging header” problem is to remove the door and plane a ¼” off the top of the door. This can be accomplished whether the door is wood or metal. This will give many more years of “life” to the patio door system since the fixed sliding door panel will provide supplemental support. However, if the house continues to “settle”, the weight of the wall can, in another decade or two, actually shatter the glass.
The sagging header problem also puts more weight on the wheels (rollers) built into the bottom of the sliding patio door. The ball bearings in these rollers will experience a shorter life and often require replacement at the same time the door is planed.
Got a sliding patio door? Check the space above the door and look for scrape marks.
The cost to remedy sagging header problems is always less than 10% of the cost of replacing the entire system with a new header.
UPDATE:
It may have appeared that we were solely blaming contractors and builders for the numerous sagging header problems, however, although some building contractors are surely to blame, we have discovered that the problem is far more expansive that just some bad apples cutting corners.
It was discovered back in the mid 1990's that the achitectural standards for calculating header load was incorrect and header support beams have been typically undersized for decades.
So now, since 2000, with the new upgraded standards and the development of "engineered wood beams", these situations should no longer be as prevelent as in the past.
When a new home is being built an opening is often framed out for the sliding patio door. But, before the assembly can be inserted into the opening, a substantial “header” support beam is placed in the wall above to prevent the second floor wall from collapsing onto the door as the house settles.
Years ago, this beam was steel. You will often see the edge of the steel beam on the outside of older Chicago homes just above the sliding door’s upper framework.
In recent years, a heavy timber has been used… or a pair of 2” x 12” planks. These are an expensive part of the whole job as these wooden headers can be anywhere from eight feet to fifteen feet in length or more.
When large housing developments or sub-divisions are being erected and hundreds of homes are involved, the contractor can save thousands by cutting a few corners. And, a common area to reap savings is in the header beam. Four to six smaller sized beams are considerably less expensive and can be concealed in the wall before the building inspector makes his next round.
These smaller sized beams, even though they take up the same space, are much weaker than the solid timbers specified by the architect.
So, a few years down the road, as the house settles, the header begins to sag to the point where it rests atop the upper track of the sliding door… which eventually comes in contact with the top of the doors.
The sliding door then begins to drag under the weight. And, scraping marks can be seen on the under-side of the top track. Eventually, the door will no longer move at all.
Sliding patio doors do not seal at the top of the door. The weather seal is on the sides of the upper track and there should be about a ¼” or more of space above the door. This space allows the door to be lifted off the lower track for service. In situations where the upper track is resting on the patio door, removal of the door may require a “floor jack” to lift up the header enough to get the door out.
The most cost-effective solution to this “sagging header” problem is to remove the door and plane a ¼” off the top of the door. This can be accomplished whether the door is wood or metal. This will give many more years of “life” to the patio door system since the fixed sliding door panel will provide supplemental support. However, if the house continues to “settle”, the weight of the wall can, in another decade or two, actually shatter the glass.
The sagging header problem also puts more weight on the wheels (rollers) built into the bottom of the sliding patio door. The ball bearings in these rollers will experience a shorter life and often require replacement at the same time the door is planed.
Got a sliding patio door? Check the space above the door and look for scrape marks.
The cost to remedy sagging header problems is always less than 10% of the cost of replacing the entire system with a new header.
UPDATE:
It may have appeared that we were solely blaming contractors and builders for the numerous sagging header problems, however, although some building contractors are surely to blame, we have discovered that the problem is far more expansive that just some bad apples cutting corners.
It was discovered back in the mid 1990's that the achitectural standards for calculating header load was incorrect and header support beams have been typically undersized for decades.
So now, since 2000, with the new upgraded standards and the development of "engineered wood beams", these situations should no longer be as prevelent as in the past.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
WANNA SELL YOUR HOME SOMEDAY?
Experts will tell you little things are important to prospective buyers… A neat interior, clean carpeting, a nice kitchen and a pleasant aroma of coffee or cookies. But, there are less obvious areas that are often overlooked… home idiosyncrasies to which you have become accustomed can subconsciously be a turn-off to someone new. You wouldn’t think something that costs only a few bucks to improve could put the kibosh on a sale. But, it can. A squeaking hinge, a toilet that “runs”, a slightly torn screen, an encrusted shower head or a sliding patio door that requires effort to open. That’s where we come in! Sliding patio doors don’t slide… they roll. There are heavy-duty wheels (rollers) in the bottom of the door. The ball bearings in these wheels don’t last over 20 years. So, every twenty years, just have the rollers in the sliding patio door replaced. All patio doors should move in either direction with a “toothpick”. If you need to exert more pressure than that… or your handle is loose from the strain… It ain’t gonna get better. Caught in time, a sliding patio door can be made to function better than new for less than 10% of the cost of replacement.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
THE ENVIRONMENT
At SLIDERS®, we take our responsibility to have a positive influence on the environment very seriously.
1. Our service vehicles are four-cylinder, regularly maintained and our appointments are scheduled to reduce travel time whenever possible.
2. When addressing sliding patio door concerns, weather-stripping and caulking are important areas of concentration to reduce air infiltration. Ignoring such conditions can increase heating and air conditioning costs.
3. During the track and glass cleaning portion of our service call, only non-toxic, environmentally friendly products are used. All our aerosols are non-chlorinated with a C02 propellant. Our cleaning cloths are recycled and our paper towels are biodegradable.
4. We never use any petroleum based lubricants or caustic chemicals.
5. When replacing sliding screen doors, the scrap metal is always recycled.
6. Depending on the location of their patio doors, our customers are encouraged to take advantage of the solar gain in colder months and consider window tinting or solar screens to reduce the sun’s rays during the summer. When purchasing window treatment for their patio doors, our customers are asked to take the insulating features of the products into consideration. There can be substantial heat loss even with patio doors that are sealed well, just because of the large area of glass.
1. Our service vehicles are four-cylinder, regularly maintained and our appointments are scheduled to reduce travel time whenever possible.
2. When addressing sliding patio door concerns, weather-stripping and caulking are important areas of concentration to reduce air infiltration. Ignoring such conditions can increase heating and air conditioning costs.
3. During the track and glass cleaning portion of our service call, only non-toxic, environmentally friendly products are used. All our aerosols are non-chlorinated with a C02 propellant. Our cleaning cloths are recycled and our paper towels are biodegradable.
4. We never use any petroleum based lubricants or caustic chemicals.
5. When replacing sliding screen doors, the scrap metal is always recycled.
6. Depending on the location of their patio doors, our customers are encouraged to take advantage of the solar gain in colder months and consider window tinting or solar screens to reduce the sun’s rays during the summer. When purchasing window treatment for their patio doors, our customers are asked to take the insulating features of the products into consideration. There can be substantial heat loss even with patio doors that are sealed well, just because of the large area of glass.
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