As a longtime sliding door contractor in the Bay Area, homeowners often ask A-1 On Track, which sliding doors are best? Selecting the right sliding doors for your home need not be complicated. Our recommendation is to stick with the major manufacturers, which include Jeld-Wen, Anderson, Pella, Milgard, and Marvin. By purchasing a name brand, you have reasonable assurance of quality and prompt warranty repairs, if necessary. Major brand products are also easy to find in stores or online. However, you’ll probably want to consider these other factors when choosing sliding doors that are suitable for your home: Pick the type of sliding door that matches the look of your home. For instance, ultra-modern doors may seem out of place in a craftsman-style home. Good news: There are so many styles of sliding doors available; it’s easy to find doors that complement your home. Vinyl is the one of the the most popular door materials because it’s easy to clean, and durable. Wood … [Read more...]
How to Clean Sliding Screen Doors Sliding screen doors get frustratingly dirty, what with all the hard-to-reach nooks and crannies between the screen and the glass door. However, keeping the doors relatively clean is important. Rollers can become worn from dust, dirt and debris in the track, making a slider difficult to open and close. Here are step-by-step instructions on how to clean sliding screen doors: There’s no way to avoid it - a thorough cleaning requires removal of the screen door. Loosen the screws at either the top or the bottom of the door just enough to be able to raise the door slightly within the frame, then pull the door out of the frame. Clean the metal wheels on top and bottom of the screen door with a wire brush. A toothbrush may not get the job done. Spray each wheel with silicone spray. Roll the wheels with a finger as you spray, to make sure the wheels are well coated. Use only a spray is silicone-based. Other lubricants leave gunk on … [Read more...]
How Do You Size A Pet Door? It’s a reasonable question. As a homeowner, you don’t want to spend time and money on installing a pet door that Rex or Muffin can’t fit through. First, measure the width of your dog or cat at the widest point. Then measure the height of your pet. Animals lower their heads slightly when going through the door, so measure your pet from the top of the shoulders, not the head. Your pet should be able to pass comfortably through a door that reflects the animal’s measurements plus two extra inches each way. Most pet doors have a “lip” at the bottom that animals must step over, so remember to account for that when calculating the dimensions of the door. If your animal has trouble stepping over a lip, doors can be custom-made without a lip. Owners of puppies or kittens should take into account that their animals will grow. You may have to guess how large your dog or cat will eventually be, then size the door accordingly. It’s best to estimate … [Read more...]
Solutions for Moisture between Panes of a Sliding Glass Door Condensation between the panes of a double-pane sliding glass door is a sign that the seal between the panes has failed. Unfortunately, simply repairing the seal isn’t a solution. There are two ways to solve the problem of moisture forming between the panes of a sliding glass door: You can hire a sliding glass door contractor to replace the glass units. This can be expensive, but you may be able to save a lot of money if your sliders are still under warranty. You can attempt a procedure that is gaining popularity, but is only appropriate for certain sliding doors: drilling small holes in the glass to remove moisture. This repair requires the skill of a professional, who will drill small holes in one of the glass panes, usually in a corner. The technician will then inject a liquid into the space between the two panels to clean the glass and evaporate the moisture. The solution is then pumped out of … [Read more...]
Don’t Jam a Door Open In Its Hinges Sliding, bifold and hinged doors can be subject to much abuse in households. Punishment from constant opening and closing takes a toll and sometimes doors simply stop operating properly. Homeowners can take steps to keep doors of all types operating smoothly, but quick solutions aren’t always the right ones. For example, jamming a door open in its hinges can be very damaging. Screwdrivers, shims, coat hangers or any similar object inserted into a door’s hinges keep it propped open temporarily, at best. A permanent fix comes only after you correctly diagnose the problem. Hiring a sliding door specialist is the best bet for homeowners who have little experience in door repair. A contractor has seen it all and can make most types of repairs. It costs relatively little money to have all the doors in your home working perfectly. A door that hangs poorly could have one of several problems. It may simply need trimming at the bottom. This is … [Read more...]
What Does Screen Door on A Submarine Mean? You may have heard the saying, “as useful as a screen door on a submarine”. What does it mean, and how does it relate to sliding door repair? The saying alludes to more than just being “completely worthless,” because an actual screen door on a submarine is potentially disastrous. It could refer to a person who simply has no clue how to perform a task. Lacking the knowledge to do home repairs, including fixing sliding doors, is certainly no crime. However, when an inexperienced handyman attempts to make a repair and only makes matters worse, then it’s fair to say that person is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. At A-1 On Track, we’ve seen the results of home repairs that have gone awry, needlessly taking up too much time, causing even more damage, and frustrating the homeowner. In addition, since saving money was the purpose of the DIY project, paradoxically costing more money than necessary. Consider the … [Read more...]
Frustrated by Pets that Scratch at your Screen Door? Watching your dog or cat slowly destroying your expensive new sliding screen door with their claws is dismaying. There are several ways you can stop your pets from scratching screen doors: One obvious solution to scratching animals who want outside; install a pet door. This will also save you from the effort of opening the door every time your animal needs to go out. Cats may scratch at screen doors because moths and other bugs flitting outside the door attract them. Keep bugs away by turning off the lights that draw them, or by installing those lights in another corner of the property, far away from any screens. Squirting your pet with a simple spray bottle filled with water requires some initial diligence on your part, but works particularly well on cats. Keep the spray bottle handy and at the first sign of scratching, give the animal a squirt. The sound of the spray is also a deterrent. After several encounters … [Read more...]
Check Your Glass Sliding Doors to Keep Out the Rain A wet winter should prompt you to check your glass sliding doors to make sure they keep out the rain. A sliding door that was installed properly and is in good condition should be virtually watertight. If you notice moisture in your home when it rains, there could be several causes, according to A-1 On Track, the sliding door professionals: Blocked weep holes cause water to pool around the base of a sliding door and possibly spill into the home. Wipe the track with a clean cloth and make sure the weep holes at the base of the door are open. You may need to shoot some compressed air into the holes to be certain they are clear. Clogged weep holes are another reason, along with keeping the slider operating smoothly, to regularly clean dirt, hair and debris from the track. Improper sliding door installation may leave gaps around the door frame that allows water indoors. If you are lucky, a little caulk to seal the gaps … [Read more...]
Accordion Doors Need Regular Maintenance, Too Accordion doors are a perfect solution when you need to divide a space into smaller rooms. Common in schools and other public buildings, they take up little space and are easy to operate. Like all sliding doors, accordion doors need regular maintenance in order to continue working smoothly year after year. This is true whether your accordion door is made of a single piece of vinyl that telescopes, or several wood or wood-like panels. A-1 On Track offers these tips on how to keep your accordion doors in top shape Keep the tracks clean. The No. 1 reason sliding doors malfunction is because dirt, dust, or debris has been allowed to accumulate in the tracks. Use a damp rag to clean the interior of the track frequently. Check the motor - automatic accordion doors that implement a motor to open and close them are becoming popular. Unless you are handy, hire a sliding door professional to check the motor on a regular basis, maybe … [Read more...]
Shower Door Cleaning - A New Year’s Resolution Make shower door cleaning the New Year’s resolution you actually keep. It may seem that water spots and soap scum accumulate almost instantly on your shower door after a cleaning. But it’s easier to keep your door sparkling by following one simple step: Employing a squeegee. After every shower, squeegee water off the shower door. While you’re at it, wipe the shower walls, too. It’s a task that takes less than a minute but is worth the trouble because it cuts down on the buildup of scum and makes occasional, full-scale cleaning easier. You may be surprised at how quickly you can train yourself to reach automatically for the squeegee after you’ve showered. The bottom door frame track is a particularly tough area of the shower to keep clean. Along with a squeegee, keep a toothbrush on hand to occasionally scrub the track and clean door hinges. As for keeping your glass shower door spotless, there are several options: … [Read more...]
