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How to Adjust a Sliding Glass Door

No matter what kind of sliding glass door you have in your home, it can end up getting stuck and make opening or closing it a chore. Here at P.J. Fitzpatrick, our door installation experts have a couple tricks for learning how to adjust a sliding glass door it so that it slides smoothly:

Cleaning the Track

  1. Slide your door back several inches and using a wire brush, loosen the debris on the track that your door sits on.
  2. Continue to slide your door back and clean the track until you reach the end.
  3. After the track is cleaned, use a vacuum with a thin nozzle attachment to suck up the debris.
  4. Spray the entire sliding glass door track with a silicone-based lubricant to ensure your door glides smoothly. (Be sure to wipe up any excess that gets on the floor – it can make the floor very slippery.)

Adjusting the Height

  1. First, locate the screws on the bottom of your sliding glass doors. (They may be covered by plug covers.)
  2. If your screws are covered by plug covers, use a putty knife to remove them.
  3. Next, to lower the sliding glass door, use a screwdriver to turn the screws clockwise. To raise the door, prop the door up with your putty knife and use a screwdriver to turn the screws counter-clockwise.
  4. Be sure to adjust all screws evenly.
  5. After you’ve adjusted the height of the door, make sure it sits evenly by nearly closing it and looking at the gap between the door and the frame. If the top has a larger gap than the bottom (or vice versa), readjust the appropriate screw.

Tools & Materials

  • Wire brush
  • Vacuum
  • Thin vacuum nozzle
  • Silicone-based lubricant
  • Putty knife
  • Screwdriver

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