Does your sliding glass door open slowly? Mine was tough to move and our young daughters could barely budge it.
I decided enough was enough and I had to figure out this problem.
So today I’m going to share 5 simple tips that will help you get your sticking sliding glass door running smoothly again.
Before we start here’s a list of supplies you’ll need:
- Toothbrush or
- Wire Brush
- WD-40 or
- Silicone Based Lubricant
- Steak Knife (this is actually an awesome tool)
- Vacuum
- Screwdrivers Phillips & Slotted
- These Amazon and Home Depot links support HRT…gracias
As you can see this type of quick fix is inexpensive, won’t take long, and will help keep your sliding glass door, well, SLIDING 😉
Step 1: Clean the Sliding Glass Door Track
Standard sliding glass doors all have tracks. The track acts as a guide for the door and also allows roller wheels to help the door run smoothly.
Over time the sliding glass door track accumulates dirt and grime. This slows down your door considerably.
Use a toothbrush or wire brush to clean the inside of the sliding glass door track. I tried using a toothbrush at first but then switched over to the wire brush I use for cleaning my golf clubs. If you know someone who golfs you could borrow this kind of wire brush from them.
Once all the dirt is cleared from the track use a vacuum to suck it up.
Step 2: Lubricate the Sliding Glass Door Track
Use WD-40 or a silicone based lubricant and spray the entire track.
As some fans of Home Repair Tutor know, I love using Blaster’s Garage Door spray lubricant because it’s silicone based and doesn’t attract dirt buildup. It costs about $5 and can be found at any Home Depot or Lowes here in the states.
Make sure to wipe up any overspray that lands on the floor. It will create quite a slippery surface.
Step 3: How to Adjust Sliding Glass Door Rollers for a Smoother Ride
Inside a standard sliding glass door there are adjustable rollers that help it slide back and forth on the track. There are holes on your sliding glass door that conceal the adjusting screws to these rollers.
On my door the holes had plastic plugs in them. I used a steak knife to pry the plugs loose. There are two sets of rollers on each side of the sliding glass door.
I used a phillips head screwdriver to turn the roller adjusting screw. This adjustment screw will move the roller height up or down and thus, your sliding glass door height will go up or down by as much as 1/4 inch or 1/2 cm. Tinker around with the roller screws to see if the door glides better when it’s at a lower or higher height.
At this point it may not be a bad idea to spray some lubricant into the adjustment screw opening. This will help the sliding glass door rollers operate a bit better.
What’s Next
Our other tutorial shares how to update sliding glass door hardware without spending tons of money.
If you’re doing a bathroom remodel and need help, join one of our online courses – they’ll make your bathroom renovation much easier!
Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll do my best to help.
Cheers,
Jeff
I never knew about those adjustment screws. Hmm, probably could have saved ourselves some headaches when we had sliding doors. Pinning this for possible future doors! 🙂
Thanks Sheila for the Pin. Those adjusting screws are really great to know about. I hope you’re having a great weekend 🙂
Thanks for the great advice. I didn’t know that it was fixable. I wish I had seen this years ago. I lived in a rental house for years and we never used our back deck because the sliding door stopped working. I thought the only way to fix it was to replace the door.
Hi Jeff, We have no adjustment screws of any kind on our 5 year old sliding doors, so what can we do? We are living in Thailand.
WOW!!! GREAT info. I also never knew about that hidden screw. Will definitely try this on my sliding door as it is a little hard to open/close. Thanks for sharing!!!
You’re welcome Leida. Let me know if you have any questions when you tackle your sliding door 🙂
We just installed two new sets of sliding glass doors and will now need to maintain them. Good info to know!
So glad I could help Doralee.
We were just talking the other day about how incredibly difficult our “sliding” doors are to open. I read one tutorial that required taking the doors completely off (to clean tracks and check for broken rollers), which is scary, since I am so accident prone and glass is …. well, it is glass. Thanks so much for this post – I will try all of these fixes first, they just might do the trick!! (and I have used steak knives and butter knives as “tools” for years! ha!)
LOL, I feel your fear of breaking glass. I hope you can get your door moving better without having to take it off the track. But if you do I’m sure you’ll be able to fix the roller is no time. You’re right about kitchen knives, they’re kind of like the MacGyver tool in the kitchen.
First, thanks for the information.
Hi, I just want to know where I can buy the sliding door tracks? If you know a specific place.
My sliding doors are very old and heavy and cost a fortune to replace them. I always do the cleaning and really work hard to keep them clean.
Great question Jacky.
Are the tracks in your door removable?
If so, try to determine the brand of the door. Once you determine this do a search on Google for the parts. You could also give ereplacementparts.com a shot.
If all this fails you should take a picture of the door & tracks and take it to Lowe’s, Home Depot or another hardware store to see if they can help you.
I wish I had better advice 🙁
my adjuster bolt was rusted and it broke off when i was twisting it, cant get it out now. the door is very hard to move now.
Hi Josh,
That stinks!! I’m sorry to hear this happened. Is there any way that you can take the door off the track and access the bolt from the bottom? That way you might be able to remove the bolt with a wrench or pliers and replace it.
Jeff
wow this so good thanks so much for sharing
You bet Nana 🙂
I have to disagree with the WD-40, maybe it’s just me, but it seems like it runs everywhere, (usually black ugly liquid) I have started to use votive candles.(just cheap ones)…just rub on the tracks, granted they crack, but easily swept up or blown outside…
Interesting Julie, if the candles work then go for it. I’m all for whatever does the job 😉
WD-40 is a great lubricant that doubles as a “dirt magnet”! It’s my least favorite lubes. Good for loosening up rusty toolS, etc. though. Any silicone, I prefer the dry type, will work as well and not cause issues down the road.
I use a piece of paraffin or a candle to wax the track too, and it slides easily for a while after that.
Great suggestion Dave. That’s a lot cleaner than spraying lubricant on the track!!
The thing is, that “black, ugly liquid” is the dirt, rust, and other debris that is causing the issue in the first place. Yes, it is pretty nasty, but unless you get it rinsed out, you are going to have no other choice but to replace the rollers, track, or even the entire door someday. Trust me, the clean-up in much easier and less expensive.
Door was not sliding well and I tried the screws on bottom of door. Don’t know what happened but door won’t slide at all now.
You may have lowered the door too much Karen. I did this as well while trying to figure out the right height of the wheels.
Try turning the screws the opposite direction, this will raise the door off the track. Also, there could have been debris on the track and now it may be lodged in the wheels. If this is the case you may need to take the door off the track if you can.
But start with turning the screws the other direction.
It also helps to try to lift the sliding door glass a little when adjusting the wheels. The wheels go up much smoother that way. If you find it to difficult to lift door and work with screw by yourself, have someone lift the door a bit while you adjust.
Great tutorial, but since I am not very fix it savvy, I have to ask, should be be tightening the screws? Or loosening them? Or, trial and error….??
Thanks! 🙂
Good question Kelly, if you’re referring to the screws that control the wheels on the bottom of the door you should try trial by error. It won’t hurt anything and will only raise or lower the door.
But let me know if you get stuck and we’ll figure it out together 🙂
Jeff – I just fixed my sticky sliding door by following these tips. Thanks, I really thought the door was a goner.
Barbara
That’s awesome Barbara, thanks for you kind words. Keep up the great DIY work 🙂
Some good info, but still didnt help I’m afraid. Now door will open partially, and then hang up to the point I’m afraid it wants to come off the rail. I can’t tell which way lowers or raises it, and how to match one side up withmthemother. Also, should there be rollers on top, as I don’t see or feel any on my door?
It’s very hard to see the rollers and feel them William. You’ll have to tinker with the adjustments to see what works well. It doesn’t take much to raise or lower the wheels. Maybe a quarter turn with the screwdriver.
I’d recommend doing the exact same thing to each wheel so that your get equal changes on both sides of the door. For example, 1/4 on the right side and 1/4 on the left side. Let me know if you’ve got more questions.
Jeff,
Thank you so much for your instructions! It was a life saver!
I’ve been begging my husband for months to fix the sliding glass door! With your help I was able to fix it myself & it slides like a charm!!
Great job Jenny Lee. Glad to here you took matters into your own hands 😀
Thank you! It worked!
Awesome Marcie, thanks for letting me know 😀
Thank you so much 🙂 Is it safe to try to adjust the screws to make the rollers higher? I have very old glass sliding doors. Kind of worried that I might break the old rollers or the rollers will get stuck. Will appreciate any other tips you might give 🙂
It’s safe Serena, slowly turn the screws and see how the door responds. If you door is super old I bet a spray of WD-40 on the wheels would help, too.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. My sliding glass doors were so hard to open I was getting ready to replace them. This worked perfectly in a very short amount of time. I will go to your website first from now on!
Aww, thanks so much Bonnie.
Glad to hear this tutorial helped you 😀
Can I use the garage door lubricant on the rollers on the top of the door? There seems to be felt weatherstripping up there and I don’t want to interfere with that?
Thanks for this great “how-to”!
Hmmm, I’m not envisioning your setup Nancy. If you think it will help then try it with the least effective dose that you think will work.
Since my husband passed away I find myself having to do things around the house that I’ve never done before. I followed your directions and now my patio door is working great! Thank you!!!
Okay..I knew about the screws and have used them with success. We have an automatic door opener that slides the door back and forth for my dogs. Over the years, dirt, dog hair, grease and WD40 buildup have gotten up into the rollers and mucked them up. BAD. I have the slider door out. I have the roller set out. I’m in the process of cleaning out the rollers of 15 years of GUNK. They were so bad that I began spraying a silicone based lubricant in the adjustment screw holes and it worked for a while. My automatic door opener finally stopped working and I thot it was the door opener. Now I know it was the rollers on the door. My question is do I spray a lubricant, or not, on the newly cleaned rollers because it appears like the lubricant might have been the magnet to all the gunk. Thanks.
All good info that I’m sure will come in handy! However, my ‘big’ question is, is there any way at all to keep the track cleaner longer? We pass by ours several times a day, and it’s always filthy no matter what I do or how often I do it! It even looks horrible right after I clean it. I’m so embarrassed by it — wish there was some other option. Can they be covered? Or perhaps ours needs replaced? (It’s 14 yrs old.) It always looks so bad, I’m thinking of replacing it with a standard door because I can’t find a good solution and am tired of looking at it! Ideas or suggestions are much appreciated! Thanks!
Hi,
Our sliding doors do have those screws at the bottom and top edge, but they are on the side of the door (compared to concealed inside a hole as you have shown in your photos ).
I unscrewed all these 4 screws and then on pulling on the door , the frames came off the glass , now we have a frame-less door which still doesn’t move easily.
I tried to get the door out by pushing it up and trying to tilt it, the bottom part is still stuck .
Any help appreciated..
Thanks and Regards
GW
Youre a beast from the east my friend. Very efficient and concrete information. Time to tackle this damn door down! =D
LOL, glad you liked the post Armando.
Hope your project goes well.
Sometimes doors are a big pain in the you know what!!
I used pam on the track and it works wonders
Hi Jeff:
My aluminum window got stuck. I cannot open for the past two years. Please help.
Thank you.
Thanks so much for your guidance. My sliding glass door now closes more easily and smoothly. However, I think I’m going to pass on the WD40 – afraid it will “gunk” it up. What do you think? Also, how do I clean my wire brush?
By the way, I used to use candle wax. It works for a little while and then really messes up the track.
Thanks for your help.
Hi Jeff,
We have a sagging sunroom, used jacks to try and raise it. It still needs more lifting but were told to do it a little at a time. Problem is, my anderson sliding doors won;t open now.
Also Anderson have the screwes on the bottom of the front, not the side. Is it costly to call a professional? We are trying to get our home ready for resale.
Lillian
if you pour some baking soda in the track and peroxide on top of the baking soda….it will wipe right off. Much easier way to clean them. No vacuum needed!
I have cleaned the track and adjusted the wheel jacks a bit but I use LC WAX for lubricating, and I really think I need a teflon /silicone spray because I was a dummy and spraied it with WD and I gummed the heck out of the slider. Any suggestions?
Thanks for the tips. I going to attempt to service my sliding door, My sliding door does not lock and when closed there is gap On the my bottom lower right slide that is open, I assume there is adjustment to correct so I do not loose heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer.
I am not sure if I have a hidden screw on that part of the door but I have 2 at the bottom on the inside are they the same…..my door seems to tip up when we push it to open it. I am going to check for that other screw
Thanks for letting me know about the hidden screws I didn’t know about that. Still is a little bit hard to move but it’s a lot better thanks
Our patio door is huge, 15 years old and first time it’s been cleaned. Both my wife and I struggled opening and closing the door so after reading your post I removed the top strip of wood trim and we both eased the door to the floor. Removed the rollers and couldn’t believe the gunk built up in the rollers. Soaked the rollers in some degreaser and cleaned them, greased them up with garage door lube (same as WD40 but slightly thicker consistency) and wha-la….she can open and close the door with 1 finger. I am a hero again. 🙂
My sliding glass doors are bouncing off the ends when fully opened and will then settle 10″ short of fully opened. What could be causing this? The rollers were replaced 9 months ago.
Thanks for the tips, I will try them out. Thanks too for such easy to follow directions and photos, I wish all DIY tips were as clearly explained as yours!
Hello Jeff,
I am familiar with the adjustments for raising and lowering the rollers on my slider, however I have a slightly different problem. After cleaning the heck out of my track and rollers I only got a moderate boost in roller ease. I checked the upper track and the door itself is rubbing against the track on the inside. Can uneven leveling of rollers cause this or is their another adjustment that can tweak my wheels left or right so I can back it off from hitting the rail? Tricky one, but maybe you have seen this in your research.
Thanks
Chris
Hi Jeff
Our sliding front door runs ok on the tracks but it appears to stick badly on the leading edge of the door where it closes?
don’t know why this is happening?
Would a liberal amount of vaseline on the leading edge of the door and the side of the frame where it closes onto help?
David, I don’t like vaseline because it accumulates dirt and dust. PB Blaster is better because that shouldn’t happen. Give it a shot.
Also, try to run a vacuum on the track and clean off any debris.
Jeff, I can’t tell you how many websites I’ve checked out for various “HELP” situations. Your site is excellent, I almost bounced in my chair and clapped my hands. Your directions are to the point with just the right amount of photos! My sliding glass door is really heavy, then with the gunk it’s nearly impossible. It’s been cleaned several times, and 3 handles have been broken. The first one was a heavy duty one, possible original. I can’t seem to find a nice heavy duty one, Would you happen to know where I could pick one up?
Thank you again for easy to follow an to the point directions!!
Deedra
hey jeff,
thanks for the tips. i too did not realize there were adjustment screws for the rollers. thanks to you, it’s working like almost new!
To help cleaning the dirt and grime on my track, I used a foaming engine degreaser. Spray the track on both sides and let the foam sit for about 10 minutes. Wipe it away with paper towel or rag. Any stubborn residual can then be removed with with the golf cleaning brush. If the residual is real stubborn, spray a little extra degreaser in the area, then brush the degreaser through the residual dirt and grime. This will ensure the tracks are clean and shiny.
Jeff, I have removed the plugs that cover the holes where the roller adjustments should be however there does not seem to be any roller adjustment screws in the hole. Is this possible? Thanks, John.
You’ll have to push the screwdriver in pretty far John.
Jeff, I just picked up a 6 inch screwdriver at Lowes on my way home from work. It worked! I am so relieved. Thanks for your response! I had been using a standard screw driver and it just wasn’t long enough. Thanks again!
Great job John, glad to hear it worked. Feel free to leave a comment any time 😀
I am trying to work on sliding mirror doors at a closet. I cannot keep one of the top rollers in the track on the front door. I have tried your suggestion of using a lubricant and it continues to come off track. I’m wondering if I need to have the carpeting re stretched to allow more room for the bottom to roll. Any suggestions?
I thought for sure I was going to have to replace my hard to open, screeching sliding glass door. I cleaned the tracks with a wire brush, added a little liquid wrench and now it works perfectly! Thanks so much for posting this helpful hint!
Wow thank you! I’m going to follow you on pinterest! I have been having problems with the door since we moved in. I cleaned and lubed it but I am going to try the adjusting screw! Thank you so much!
Glad to help Maureen, keep me posted 🙂
The glass is very pretty and a very sought after item to have in a home. They have even become popular being used as doors. I think because of that they have to deal with a lot of impacts. One of my doors actually just cracked the other day. Maybe if I would’ve kept up on the maintenance it would still be in good shape.
I have very large, heavy sliding glass doors. How do you remove the doors from the tracks? I need to check the wheels as the door is very difficult (almost impossible) to slide open and close. I have tried adjusting the screws without success and using a silicone spray. The tracks are very clean. Any help will be appreciated.
What if my doors don’t have any adjustment screws?
They should have some type of adjustment on them. Usually it’s hidden but you don’t you don’t.
Super helpful, thanks for posting. That said, I have another problem. Some guy that moved a Jacuzzi for me, removed the screws didn’t put them back. I noticed it after he already left and I am tired of chasing him down. How do I put the screws back??? Of course I tried it, but something doesn’t line up, so they won’t go in…
Thanks,
Frank
I have the sliding glass doors that hang from the top, like barn doors…but, there is still a small metal plate at the bottom in the center of the entire setup. It looks like the bottom of the doors has a small slot in them that fits over what apparently is a metal guiding tab.
There seems to be mineral buildup on those tabs, which are not exposed, which is making the doors stick.
Any suggestions>
I didn’t realize you could use a toothbrush to clean the tracks on a sliding door. I think this tip can help me save money on tools and possible repairs. I will keep this in mind so I can keep my new sliding door working properly.
Your a genius, thanks for saving me from calling the handy man!
I’ve cleaned my tracks a few times, sprayed wd40, adjusted the screws and even replaced all the rollers in the door. It’s still extremely hard to open. Any suggestions?
My wife complains that the door slides to smoothly…and bounces off of stationary side unless latched. Can I adjust the “hidden screw” to slow down the speed of the slide?
Thanks for omfirming the cleaning ritual I did today. Curious ? zone the stationary door, how sealed should the frame be? I have water that comes down the glass and seeps in. What can I seal it with? Thanks for the help.
I have been using a bar of soap on the track works good except it can leave clumps that stick in the track but are east to scrape off with a flat screwdriver and cleaning the track is pretty easy just spray the track with water and a small brush and old rags to dry it up but there is always that roughly 4 inches at the middle of the door that I can’t access without removing the door all the time which sucks. My biggest problem is dog hair as we have a Siberian husky so I use and lots of wind and dirt canned air the blower part of my vacuum but it is a full time job sometimes. I was using WD 40 but I agree with a few other people it does make a mess in the track and seems to catch more dirt. So now if I can get my husband to help with removing my door maybe I can get it done right Thanks everyone for any and all ideas.
I have solid wood sliding doors, I don’t see any screws to adjust. is there anything eles to try. This door is very heavy and very hard to slid. I have cleaned the track out, I spray every two days. Please Help
Thank you
Belinda
Thank you so much! I just kept cleaning the tracks on it the past year and a half and was convinced I needed a new door. Would have never guessed there was adjustable rollers on it, it’s like I got a brand new door. Thanks to you I just saved around $600. I will be recommending this page to everyone I know.
Hi Jeff, thank you so much!
Regards
Ed
Wow! I will try it. I appreciate how you were very straight to the point and clear.
does turning the screws left raise the door or lower the door?
our Anderson doors are easily 15-20 years old so not into pulling off the track but the door is SOOO heavy to open/close
Hi Jeff,
I was extremely happy to find this easy repair, but strangely when I removed the plugs to the screws, there are no screws in there. Empty holes. Now what….
I have 2 ocean facing sliding glass doors that are only 3 years old. The tracks constantly get sand and moisture in them. I scraped the gunk, vacuumed the sand and dirt, and used PB Blaster Silicon Lube. The sliders worked great for 2 weeks, but the one on the first floor started sticking bad. I revacummed and reapplied the lube, but the door sticks worse than ever. The humidity here is in the 90’s everyday. What can I do?
I have searched for a replacement bottom track as mine has squashed and worn, causing the door to drop and stick. Can’t find one, any ideas please?
thank you for this useful information, but I can’t seem to get the adjustment screws to move. Have just sprayed WD40 on and will try again in a few minutes. Any other ideas?
should I look at taking the door off and replacing the sliders? any info on that?
thank you for your help
The door in my rental place was almost unmoveable, and I knew it was partly the dirt embedded in the tracks, but was having a hard time getting it out, esp since it’s covered with burglar bars. After reading this I found a wire brush attachment for my cordless drill, bought that garage door lube, and in 10 minutes the door was good as new! Thanks so much for the tips.
these tip didnt really help that much
Thanks for taking the time to make this tutorial. Very helpful!
This is great information!!! Our balcony door barely opens at this point. Planning on doing this over the weekend. Thank you!!
Thank you! This was an awesome tutorial!!
Thanks Deborah! Glad it helped.
Thanks mate. Much appreciated advice.
Garrett
Perth Australia.
Happy to help Garrett, hope the tips were useful.
Thanx for sharing your information.
This worked great. i had cleaned the track before & sprayed WD40 but still no luck. After reading this, i did a serious cleaning & vacuumed everything & added some white grease to the track. It works great now & no adjustment was necessary.
Thanks Albert, good hear your sliding door is working again. It might need periodic cleaning and lubrication. Our door does well then slowly gets bogged down. But like your experience, after it’s cleaned the door slides a lot better.
Super! Great explanation, simple language with nice pics. Thanks for the help.
Thanks Gini, hope the tips helped with your sliding glass door.
I live in New England and I find it extremely hard to open and close the door when it is very cold ( 10 to 15 degrees ) but when temp is above 30 it works fine. Any idea what the problem could be ? The area under the door appears to be clean but I never removed the door since the Pella door appears to be very heavy, it is 10 years old.
If the adjuster screw is gone could I just put another screw in?
You could give it a try Athena, wouldn’t hurt
I have a solid wood door with no tracks came in 1 piece. When i slide the door it scratches the wood on the bottom of the other door but the top part doesn’t. I tried to knife and cleaned the tracks, need to do something it taking off the paint. Please help!!!
Thank you so much! I lowered the rollers and now it slides great! Also I sprayed WD-40 in the holes and it helped to move the rollers down better. Blessings to you!
Our glass door seems to be off the track. The front of the door is not even with the back and is hard to open and close. Any suggestions for that or should I try the roller adjustment?
The lock on my sliding glass door does line up with the latch. How do I fix it.
Hi Jeff,
My sliding glass door is stuck. Not moving forward or backword. I noticed that its dropped. I checked the screws. It has 2 screws at the bottom and 1 on the top. All of them are already very tight. I noticed that it came down at top part. I m not able to fix the door. Plz advice.
Thanks,
Amitha
thanx for sharing your information.
My door slides ok (already cleaned and oiled the rails) but it “jumps the rail” sometimes and I cannot lift it o get it back on.
Is it jumping because the rollers are too high? Or too low?
Q: do I need to adjust only the lower screws, or the top as well?
Also, I used olive oil spray to lubricate stuff around the house ( i.e. squicky door hinges). I hate WD-40 because of it’s smell.
Hi there is no adjusting screw on the side of my sliding door I think they are underneath but they are hard to get at with a screw driver and advise.
My doors slide well but opening from inside is difficult and impossible from outside where there is no handle. The tracks look clean and I’ve cleaned the edges that seemed a little sticky (i’m A new owner). when the door gets very close to closing it almost seems like there is a magnet that pulls it the last ½ inch
One of my shower doors is harder to open then the other what do I have to do
our door has no rollers is there a possibility they are teflon guides?
WD-40 is not really a lubricant (or at least not a lasting one) and it wasn’t intended to be one. It stands for “Water Displacement formula 40” and is one of the neat things that have come out of the space program. It is great for forcing water out of places you don’t want it causing rust as well as breaking up rust and grime that forms or gets into small cracks (like you find in joints and bearings, along slides, etc.). Once you have used WD-40 joints and things move freer (usually) because you’ve just cleaned them, but you then ALSO need to use an actual lubricant like the silicone ones mentioned here many times or once the WD-40 dries up it will quit being any kind of lubricant and grime and rust will come back and those dry surfaces, though clean, will begin sticking again.
WD-40 to clean, then actual lubricant after!
Great info, my sister and niece is having this issue with their new home. Has anyone ever tried using carb cleaner to clean the gunk out of the track? During the cleaning stage, Or would it be safe?
nice post
Thank you for these easy steps/instructions! My daughter and I are visiting my senior citizen parents, helping with spring yard clean up. Yesterday, we noticed the sliding glass door was getting more & more difficult to open and close. They were bickering about what to do (like old married people do), and I started searching online. They did the brushing/vacuuming/lubricating this morning & everything is working great!
They were talking about shopping for a new door! You saved them money and the hassle of getting it installed! 🙂
Unfortunately I must’ve turn the adjusting screw the wrong way and now the screw is missing. It probably fell off when I was trying to adjust the door.
Any idea on what size screw I need to replace the old one.
what do I do when the sliding glass door is off track and its hard to move. At the bottom of the door you can see that air is able to come out from the inside, its not closing properly
I just installed new wheels for my sliding door and was hoping that it will work smoothly. Unfortunately it’s still hard to pull even though I cleaned the tracks. I played around with the adjustment of the wheels, up and down, to no avail. is it possible that the frame itself is just tight? it seems that the sliding door is rubbing up against the top part of the frame and making it hard to open and close.
I have wooden sliding glass doors. We received a great deal of rain and wind this morning. Is it normal to have rain come in on the tracks?
An excellent, concise explanation, Jeff. I didn’t realize that you could adjust the rollers. Many thanks!
Are the adjustment screws on the front or ends of the sliding door? I don’t see any on my door. They are only a couple of years old.
I have water leaking from the outside of the sliding panel into thge inside, it then cullects under the bottom cill of the internal door and drips onto the floor, could the ber to do with the roller adjustment?
I’m trying to fix the exact type of door for a customer. . its very hard to open and close. the 2 bottom screws are turned in all the way. I figure if I loosen them it will do noting and maybe cause something to come loose. any suggestions. Thank you
Nice blog and thank you for the information.
How can you get the glass door out? We are having problems trying to that. We have a wheel broken. Please if you have any ideas that would be great!
This is the most informative blog related to home improvement and repairs I’ve ever read. Thanks for being so informational.
Jeff your explanation and pics were terrific made it very easy to understand. I got so excited I jumped up to go look for those hidden screws to adjust the rollers. Much to my dismay my doors don’t have them. The doors are a very heavy wooden frame. I guess the screws are on vinyl and aluminum doors.
I did scrape everything down, cleaned the track really well and use the silicone lubricant which helped some bug I think the real problem has to be the sudden rollers?
Thanks
Bill
Ok Jeff feel dumb as I looked on the ends but these doors have 2 caps on the flat horizontal piece at the bottom. I will try to get those off latter and let you know
Hi! My door is now closing thanks to raising lowering the door but there is still a 1/4 inch gap for the door to be flush and the latch to work at locking the door. Any ideas?
Thanks Jeff. It’s all about sliding glass door. Great post. From cleaning the door to lubricating, everything is well mentioned. I am suggesting whenever you bring a pet door, install it with the help of a professional. Also buy it from a branded company like Solopetdoors.net