My house was built in 1963 and the original (high quality) double-paned sliding glass door to the screened porch was an absolute nightmare to use. If I threw all my weight behind it, it would move. Closing it required help from a buddy, pushing it toward me.
I've gotten quotes to replace it and apparently because of the way the sill is embedded into the concrete floor and the size of the door (8'), the cost is high -- between $3,000 and $4,000. So, my boyfriend and I set out to remove the doors and see if we can make it work. With a little careful investigation, we figured out that the stationery door had to come out first. So we removed the 2 screws that held it in place and lifted it up and off the track (not easy but do-able). Then we adjusted the sliding door's screws (in the bottom of the door, near the track) so that it was riding higher than normal and lifted it up and off the track.
Turns out, part of the weatherstripping had bunched up under one wheel -- no wonder it didn't move easily! Plus, the wheels (metal, still in fine shape) were dirty and the track was filthy. We scrubbed the track clean and realized that when the wood floors were re-done, the polyurethane had gotten all over the metal sill and left a dried yellow film (making it appear even dirtier than it really was) and adding drag to the slide. We scraped that off too. We used white lithium grease on the wheels and installed new weatherstripping and then lifted the doors back into place. With a little testing and adjusting of screws at the bottom of the sliding door and a little more grease, the door moves nicely now! I wouldn't say it is EASY to move it -- it's heavy and will never be easy. But I can sell the house now without a home inspector flagging it as non-functional.
Time invested = about 2 hours. $ invested = $9.89 (new weatherstripping). Savings = $3500 approx.
Woo hoo!!!
