Big gaps under sliding door, are these normal?
#1
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Big gaps under sliding door, are these normal?
Long story short: i bought a house, after a while I noticed the sliding doors were a little stuck so I called some "door guys" to replace the rollers, clear the tracks and basically "do everything that was needed" since the door went 10 years without any maintenance.
After they left I noticed a lot of pieces of old weather strips on the floor (the wool pile kind) so I though they removed the 10 years old strips and installed new ones. But... i was wrong.
They took it out for some reason (maybe because it was hanging in there, who knows) but they didn't install new ones.
The dog couldn't stop sniffing under the doors, first thing that came to my mind? There is air coming in under the door. And if there is air coming in, there is also air going out.
I went to check it out and I was surprised by what I found. Besides the amount of could air leaking under the 2 moving panels (when the door is closed), there are also these two really big gaps on each side of the track (see pictures).
The gaps (holes) leads inside the house and they are big enough fit all kind of pests.
This can't be normal (expected), is it?
How can I deal with this (specially closing this gaps)?
DOOR
LEFT LOWER CORNER GAP
RIGHT LOWER CORNER GAP
TRACK
Thanks in advance.
After they left I noticed a lot of pieces of old weather strips on the floor (the wool pile kind) so I though they removed the 10 years old strips and installed new ones. But... i was wrong.
They took it out for some reason (maybe because it was hanging in there, who knows) but they didn't install new ones.
The dog couldn't stop sniffing under the doors, first thing that came to my mind? There is air coming in under the door. And if there is air coming in, there is also air going out.
I went to check it out and I was surprised by what I found. Besides the amount of could air leaking under the 2 moving panels (when the door is closed), there are also these two really big gaps on each side of the track (see pictures).
The gaps (holes) leads inside the house and they are big enough fit all kind of pests.
This can't be normal (expected), is it?
How can I deal with this (specially closing this gaps)?
DOOR
LEFT LOWER CORNER GAP
RIGHT LOWER CORNER GAP
TRACK
Thanks in advance.
#2
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No, those gaps in the corners are not normal. I would caulk or foam them closed.
Many sliding panels have a fuzzy weather strip to close the gap on the bottom. On some doors there is a height adjustment for the rollers so you can lower the moving door panel but you still have to leave it high enough that it's not dragging metal on metal so the weather strips are still important for an air tight seal.
Many sliding panels have a fuzzy weather strip to close the gap on the bottom. On some doors there is a height adjustment for the rollers so you can lower the moving door panel but you still have to leave it high enough that it's not dragging metal on metal so the weather strips are still important for an air tight seal.
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No, those gaps in the corners are not normal. I would caulk or foam them closed.
Many sliding panels have a fuzzy weather strip to close the gap on the bottom. On some doors there is a height adjustment for the rollers so you can lower the moving door panel but you still have to leave it high enough that it's not dragging metal on metal so the weather strips are still important for an air tight seal.
Many sliding panels have a fuzzy weather strip to close the gap on the bottom. On some doors there is a height adjustment for the rollers so you can lower the moving door panel but you still have to leave it high enough that it's not dragging metal on metal so the weather strips are still important for an air tight seal.
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Not really. I just can't stand these guys and I prefer to stay way from them.
They charged me $500 to "fix/service" the patio door.
After they took it apart and put it back on the screen doors were still completely stuck.
When I asked the answer was: Screen doors are not included. It is not part of the door (how so?).
So they want an additional $200 to replace the rollers on the screen doors and I know those rollers costs less than $2 each at swisco.com.
So I just told them to leave.
Later when I notice the door was leaking air and and had those two big gaps I decided that whatever I do to fix it should not involve those guys. Not worth the stress.
They charged me $500 to "fix/service" the patio door.
After they took it apart and put it back on the screen doors were still completely stuck.
When I asked the answer was: Screen doors are not included. It is not part of the door (how so?).
So they want an additional $200 to replace the rollers on the screen doors and I know those rollers costs less than $2 each at swisco.com.
So I just told them to leave.
Later when I notice the door was leaking air and and had those two big gaps I decided that whatever I do to fix it should not involve those guys. Not worth the stress.