Hello, looking to see if anyone has had a similar problem that they've found a solution for. We're trying to replace some spent rollers in our sliding glass doors original to the house (early 90s build). Unfortunately, even with the rollers fully adjusted up we don't get enough clearance over the lip of the frame to be able to remove the rolling door inwards. It looks as though the stationary door may need to be removed first in order to remove the sliding door outwards instead, however we haven't been able to find a way to do this either.I've attached some photos to show the kind of door. Any help much appreciated! Thanks 🙂
Upper trackLower track with high lip insideLower trackOuter frame and doors
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @emheff. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about removing a sliding door.You didn't mention it, so I'll go over how this door would typically be removed. Once you've retracted the rollers fully on the top and bottom, get a helper and each lift up the door. It should recess into the top track far enough for the bottom to swing away from the frame. Once out, the door can be lowered.
I suspect you might have already tried this, but I wanted to ensure you had. I've never seen a sliding door system where the outside panel needs to be removed first.
Remember your PPE when handling glass, including cut resistant gloves, safety glasses, a long-sleeved shirt and trouser and enclosed footwear. Be careful not to tap the glass or place it on a hard surface, as these panels can easily shatter. If in doubt, please enlist the services of a professional.Please let me know if you have already tried that method.Mitchell
Hi Mitchell,
Thank you very much for your reply. Sorry I didn't clarify in the original post but yes definitely tried this and the door won't clear the high part of the frame at the bottom. The metal of the door is right up to the metal of the frame at the top so not an issue of rollers not being properly retracted as far as we can tell, it simply doesn't fit out. All the doors in the house are of this design, so don't think it is an issue of the frame shifting/sinking either.
All we have found for removing doors has been as you said, hence why we've become quite stumped by it.
Thanks again!
Emily
Interesting @emheff. So, how close do you get to the top of the frame with the bottom of the door? Are you a few millimetres off getting it to jump over, or nowhere near it? If you could try another door to see if it comes out as expected, that might qualify if something has gone wrong with the top rollers. There's a chance they've broken and are impeding the door from being fully pushed up.
I haven't seen this before, but try the technique with the door fully retracted or in different positions. Perhaps there is something in the top runner preventing the door from being pushed up fully.
Mitchell
Thanks Mitchell, we're still at least 5mm or more from getting it over. We also don't seem to have any top rollers as even though there is the hole for adjusting them as for the bottom of the door, there is no screw for adjusting inside this, which is the same for all 3 doors like this in the house, none of which we are able to remove. We're getting someone in to have a look though as may be a bit beyond us. Thank you very much for taking the time to message!
Hi @emheff
Please keep us updated with your progress, it would be interesting to know how the professional trades person will take the door off. Make sure to take notes.
Eric
Hi @EricL We've had someone out this morning, they did have to take the stationary glass panel out in order for the sliding door to be pulled outwards. Required a bit more prying than we were willing to risk ourselves to get the panel out as over the years with grime etc it had become fairly well stuck to the frame. There is only a single screw to remove as far as I saw. They had to do the same for another property near us, so may be an issue common to the door suppliers in our area, of that era. Thank you again for your time in replying!
Thanks for the update, it's good to know that the sliding doors can be taken off.
Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing your sliding doors repaired.
If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.
Thx for taking this on - I have the same issue (exactly). What trade did you get in. I got in some door people who couldn’t work it out? Appreciate your help.
Hi @Tim693,
A warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community and thank you for your question.
A glazier would be your best bet for this kind of job. As they work with glass and glass frames, I'm sure they'd be able to help.
I imagine you'd be able to find one operating in your area by using a service such as HiPages or True Local.
Let me know if you have any further questions.
Jacob
A version of Wunderlich sliding doors (wunderlich shown on the door handle) requires that the fixed panel be removed first. The pictures show how the fixed panel is secured. The second picture with the door shut shows the inside security screw (black arrow) holding the upper fixed panel bracket. The next picture shows the (green arrow) other screw holding the upper bracket. Next is the lower bracket (green arrow) holding screws. The fixed panel is slid towards the center and raised to clear the track and tilted out from the bottom. With the fixed panel removed the door can be removed by lifting and pulling the bottom out. The new roller units are not inserted into the door from the bottom but are slid in to the bottom rail from the end and to do this the bottom rail should be eased away from the glass slightly after removing the required screws. More details at www.poppasplace.auwunderlich sliding doorblack arrow remove screwgreen arrow remove screwremove green arrow screws
Hello @pedrodeswift
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with the community in regards to the sliding doors. I'm sure the information will come in handy for those members who have run into a similar issue with their sliding doors.
Were keen to hear more about all your projects and plans around the house and garden. Please feel free to reach out whenever you need assistance or would like to share a project with the community.
Hi All
I have a very similar door to Emheff, identical in fact except it has this strip to infill the bottom track recess where you walk in and out. It prevents the fixed panel being slid to the middle (or even the little bit needed to clear it from the vertical end track that it nestles into) to be removed, so my guess is the first step is to remove this strip that I will call the 'threshold strip'. It rocks slightly so you can tell it is a separate component. It is looser ar the door jamb than it is where it meets the fixed panel. You remove the rubber insert in the top of the threshold strip to find the screws that hold it in place, only to find there aren't any. It has no visible fixings. There as a plastic plate about 2mm thick between it and the fixed panel, which looks like it is fitted incorrectly, or has half fallen out, but on closer inspection it is clearly meant to be like that as it has a vertical groove that aligns with the fixed panel.There is a rubber bung at the jamb end, which it fits against (i.e. the bung does not fit over it, as you can tell when you rock the threshold piece slightly).
Rolltrak are stumped. Has anyone managed to remove this Threshold Strip?
I would add that both the Threshold Strip and the fixed panel would need to come out to allow the sliding panel to be removed. The Threshold Strip has on its inner side a brush seal that meets the sliding panel when in its closed position.
Managed to pop it out. It has a slight lip that hooks under the profile of the bottom track but yields to a bit of pressure. The 2mm plastic bit has a plug into the fixed panel, and can be pulled out, rotated and lifted out of the bottom track. Next is to remove the bracket and security screw of the fixed panel (thank you Pedrodeswift) etc
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @psmithdale. It's wonderful to have you join us and many thanks for jumping into the discussion.
Thanks for the update, and for taking the time to share the solution with the community.
It's great to hear you were able to remove the threshold strip. Your description of the retaining lip and the plastic insert will no doubt help future members who encounter the same door and find themselves stumped by the lack of visible fixings.
I also appreciate you confirming that both the threshold strip and fixed panel need to be removed before the sliding panel can be taken out. That's exactly the sort of practical information that's difficult to determine without firsthand experience.
Please keep us posted on the next stage of the process. I'm sure your findings will be valuable to anyone needing to service or replace rollers on this style of door in the future. Mitchell
Hi I have a similar problem to @emheff except these are a later model double-glazed 2-panel aluminium sliding door from Polar eco-view. Installation arrangement is the same as yours but the fixed panel is pocketed into the vertical frame edge & sealed in with silicone on vertical & bottom edge, not screws :( Supplier insists that the sliding panel should lift out but I have installed 6 sets of these. None of them allows the sliding panel to clear the bottom lip. BTW there are no rollers at the top. Incidentally @psmithdale the Polar eco-view doors also have a threshold strip - It just clips in/out onto the rails. Supplier keeps asking me to check if upside-down/frame sagged/ followed instructions…. The first 5 sets all open/close fine. Number 6 door seems to have lost a roller & rides the leading edge on the frame ( other roller is OK), hence the need to remove & repair. I told supplier I had a single-glazed set which I removed to install the double-glazed one., that the single-glazed one had no removal issues…They say they never had a single-glazed model….I bought all of them via Bunnings - 2x single 2008-1010, 6x doubles 2022. I measured the heights - allow for some parallax. The frames are the same The double-glazed sliding panel is 20mm taller (2075mm v 2055mm) (2085mm v 2055mm??) !!! The height of the inside lip to the top lip is 2045mm. The inside clearance above the top lip to the inside top of the frame is 30mm
I am dreading the work to remove the entire assembly from the opening so that I can remove a side aluminium reveal to separate the side of the frame to get the door panel out & repair the roller arrangement… and the reverse to reinstall it.
TI** I stand corrected - I was reminded that we did not buy the single-glazed doors from Bunnings, but from another local window/door supplier. They look identical in colour, frame size, all the fittings, even the instructions, except for the sliding panel height. The issue of removal still remains!
Hello @surilox
It appears that you've already tried a number of removal procedures. Would it be possible for you to post a photo of the doors and the bottom sliding frame. This will give our members a better idea of its actual configuration.
Let me call on our experienced members @Dave-1, @Nailbag, @TedBear, @Noyade, @pedrodeswift and @psmithdale for their ideas and recommendations.
I had a slider that was difficult to remove and it turned out the wheel at the bottom was spring loaded. so when I lifted the door, the wheel extended out stopping the door from coming out. I had to get a screwdriver under the wheel to hold it up while I was lifting the door!
Hi @surilox
Last year I spent several hours helping a mate lift out a slider with all efforts in not damaging the frame or breaking the glass. His house was having its first open for inspection first thing the next morning so, we were on a mission to get this sorted.
Typically, additional clearance can be achieved by either levering up the spring loaded carriages with a flat blade as in @R4addZ scenario. But with larger heavier doors like in our case the carriages which look like this can be lowered via screwdriver access points at the bottom of each end. Unfortunately, with the screws fully unwound, there was still no clearance to lever the wheels over the outer edge of the bottom frame. It was like the frame was too small for the door to start with. If we managed to get one end out, the door was wedged on the frame by nearly 5mm and forcing things further put the glass at risk.
Eventually, our only resolve was to use a fine grit flap wheel along the top edge lip to get it low enough to lift the door over. To protect the door I slotted in-between the door and frame a flat plate I had. Before putting the door back in once the carriages were replaced, I cleaned up and resprayed the entire length of the outer-frame with a close-enough matching spray-paint. Nobody was the wiser then next day.
Nailbag
Hi @Nailbag I thought of lowering the lip but was considering using a grinder/cutting wheel to take a few mm off. Again dreading the quality of cut & repair to the powder-coating. I hadn't thought about a flap wheel. Thanks for the tip about protecting the slider. This might be the quickest solution.
Good Morning @surilox
I am afraid I dont have any experience in getting those sliding doors out. I have one that slides on the rails (yeah the wheel has gone) but intend to replace the whole door one day so ity can stay the way it is :) Watching to see how you succeed.
Dave
One other point here is that I could also only get the door out with it fully open, as if the fixed panel was supporting the frame and maintaining the clearances.
The only sliding doors I had - you insert a Phillips screwdriver in the 'hole' provided at the bottom - and mechanically lower the roller.
@R4addZ makes a good point. I have also found that sliding the door along sometimes finds a sweet spot that allows it to be lifted over. Probably indicates the frame isn't sitting square. Good luck
