Replacement patio door and frame

I recently purchased a Pella doorwall and intend to replace my 5-yr. old vinyl slider. I don't anticipate any problems removing the slider and permanent door but I've been told in order to remove the frame I need to locate the fasteners.

This is my problem. There must be something covering the heads of these screws because I can't find them. Perhaps by removing the molding around the inside of the door frame I can see the fastener locations in the gap between the frame and wall opening?

Any ideas??

 

gdesc,

Welcome.

Was the vinyl door a retrofit, or installed as 'new construction'?

If it was retrofitted, then you "probably" have screws through the frame into the trimmer studs of the rough opening -- those would be parallel with your sheetrock and siding.

If it was installed as 'new construction', then it was put into the rough opening before the siding was installed, and the fasteners (nails) would be through a nail fin that is buried under the siding.

Remove the inside trim and look between the slider frame and the trimmer stud. If you see screws going from the slider frame into the trimmer, then that's how the frame is secured in the wall. But if you look in there and see a nail fin that extends past the outside edge of the trimmer, then you'll need to attack it from the outside.

 

Thanks for your prompt reply.

Assuming I want to save the old door frame, what is a nail fin and how do I "attack it from the outside"?

This slider was installed as 'new construction' so it looks like I may have some work "cut" out for me. Would there be any value to saving the old door frame (used market)? If I don't care about saving it, how do I cut out the old frame with the least amount of damage to the opening?