It's amazing what we'll put up with even though there is a better option out there. 30 year old triple and double sliders on the back of the casa.

Up until recently they have worked well, and I noticed a few years back they were getting a bit harder to move but these are 8x4 and 8x5 doors so they are big and heavy.

Finally decided to pony up the benjamins to put new rollers on since the first door on the triple had something going on with one of it's rollers making it hard to move.

Holy schmoley, you can now move the door with one finger, very little effort, and to thing we've put up with the harder to slide doors for quite a while.

Like I said, it's interesting what we'll put up with, get used to and just figure that's the way it must be.

I think it's pretty amazing that the doors are still good after thirty years.

Did you replace the rollers yourself, or did you have a service company do it?

If it was done by a service outfit that you would recommend, please either post the contact information here, or send it to the email address in my profile.

We need rollers, and likely some frame repair / alignment.

I did the same with the rollers on my garage door ... switched out the old metal rollers from 1987 with nice rollers and bearings. Dang big difference, so quiet !

quote:

It's amazing what we'll put up with even though there is a better option out there.

So true! We get used to the unsatisfactory mediocrity and just live with it. Good you got it fixed up!

If you wait too long and damage/wear the track there is a Stainless Steel refit that you snap over the track to renew it... doesn't always work depending on the condition of the track.

I need to do this and have no idea where to research or shop for the parts and the install job.

quote:

Originally posted by cparktd:
If you wait too long and damage/wear the track there is a Stainless Steel refit that you snap over the track to renew it... doesn't always work depending on the condition of the track.

I have this happening on my patio door, replacing the rollers only had a minimal effect. I have contemplated grinding/polishing the the aluminum track the rollers ride on, but it seems, high likelihood of a screw-up, and a lot of setup work for probably not very satisfactory results.

Questions:

• Where might I find this "snap over" option?
  
• What would it even be called to make a web search fruitful?
  

WRT where do I find parts? - you can find a basic rebuild, "fits all doors" kit at home depot. The one I am looking at, out of my spare parts drawer, don't know how old, has a pink label, maker: Prime-Line (26950 San Bernardino Ave., Redlands, CA 92374), part # D-1796, UPC code: 49793 01796. The actual rollers are loose in the package and have to be fitted to the removable stamped sheet metal carrier under the door. The package contain several axle and bolt combos for this purpose. My doors require the removal of the entire side frames to access the rollers, and reinstalling these often screws up the rubber gasket around the glass insert, especially when the technician (me) is careless and ham-handed.

I am actually overdue to replace my back door set of rollers, but I seem to have misplaced both my heavy rubber hammer (for reinstalling the side panels), and my 1' length of all-thread (for making sure that reinstalling the side panels doesn't jar loose the carriers from their positioning slots in the frame).

I see that you’re in Florida. If you’re near the coast I would strongly recommend getting stainless steel rollers. Most of the big Window & Door companies make them and they’ll last much longer.
Replacing them is usually a pretty easy fix, if you can lift the door off the track yourself or have a friend help.

Vtail - http://aslidingdoorrepair.com/4.html about $100 per door, they have done 4 homes for us, always done well, nice, clean, on time. Check your texts....

We are in CFL, they do coastal properties all the time, in fact the job before ours was on the Beach in New Smyrna. Said it was all rusted out.

They had to disassemble the doors on the tracks to do ours, we recently put down travertine tile on the upper deck and you can't lift and get the doors out.

They are so smooth it's like butter...

Our Tracks were in great shape, although the dog hair that came out from under the doors was unreal.

We keep them clean but 30 years and several hounds later, well you can't get it all!

We have three large, heavy SGDs at the rear of our house on the Family Room and they were getting hard to open like the OPs.

I picked a company from down in Bradenton that had great reviews and advertised they serviced all of TampaBay.

They arrived with a small crew in the morning and a couple of hours later they had all the doors in perfect shape and, yes, one can open the odors with one finger.

They did so well I had them do the SGDs on our bathrooms, too, with the same results.

As OP said, it's amazing what we'll put up with. Ours was out of ignorance-no idea the SG doors could be refitted so easily, inexpensively and quickly.

Bob

I've got a 1962 home with billet aluminum windows all around and two monster slider doors. I've looked over the rollers and wish to God I could find parts. They're like nothing I've ever seen. I adjusted them, and lubed them a bit. They're better, but one is nearly immobile, and the other is hard to move.

quote:

Originally posted by cparktd:

Where might I find this "snap over" option?

Not saying it works well... its hit or miss.

Amazon has some but getting that shipped without bending???
Need to find a local source.

link

I wen ahead and ordered the Prime-Line units, supposed to get here Monday, we'll see...

And r0gue, sounds like your bearings are gone. Check out Prime-Line's website, they have a lot of roller and carrier options. Note that the "universal" kits require one to re-use existing carriers, and for the installer to swap out the "wheels" in the carriers themself. This may require drilling out and replacing a rivet (at least mine do), not terribly difficult, but certainly not as easy as a nut and bolt (the rivet provides better clearance in the tight spaces in the frame).