Jump to content
CBR1100XX.org Forum

Can big wood sliding doors be repaired?


TuffguyF4i

Recommended Posts

I have some very large Anderson sliding doors that have rot on the bottom of them. This home does not have gutters and that combined with large roof makes for lots of water hitting the deck and splashing back on them.

Replacement without labor is $1800 each and I have 3 that need work.

The entire bottom board on the stationary side would need to be replaced with the door removed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The stationary side probably means the entire door and frame assembly would have to be removed for a proper repair. With that being the case, think about your scenario. You can remove a door, then have it fixed (leaving a tarp-covered hole in your house for who knows how long), then reinstall most of the same old door you had before. Or you could buy an entire new door (hopefully this time in fiberglass so you never have to repair it again), and removal and reinstall is done immediately.

You also have to think about what other damage will be found once the door is taken out. Wood rot is kinda like rust, once you see it, it's typically a lot deeper than you had planned. I had a rotten place on my eave, and I ended up cutting out 2 feet of the eave and replacing three fascia boards to get to good wood, plus re-nailing all the flashing I had to pull up to get the wood out. All for a spot that was maybe 6 inches round.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the wood isn't completely gone and just rotted you could use epoxy to fix it. There's one I've used called git-rot, spendy, but there may be others. It soaks into the wood making it solid again. If it needs beautifying once you've epoxied what's there you could built it up with putty or other epoxy or something then paint it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've repaired damage like that by capping the rotted wood with aluminum and caulking. It's more of a stop gap, but it works. As Furbird stated, what you see is likely a small part of the problem. Is there a metal sill under the rotted parts? If I were you I'd have two plans- one to arrest the visible rot and a longer term plan for replacing the doors and addressing whatever it is you can't see.

Replacing a sliding door is pretty low on the difficulty scale, so you're probably just looking at the cost of the doors.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just my guess based on what I've seen others do.

1. Fix the source of the problem or it just comes back.

2. Remove the door, remove the rot (after measuring original dimensions. Treat the remaining wood for anything like mold and mildew.

3. Use epoxy/fiberglass to "reshape" missing part of door. If it's too much, you might have no option but to replace the door, but I've seen several water-damaged items effectively "fixed" using epoxy and fiberglass to replace what rotted. You might also be able to get a replacement piece of wood, cut and dove-tail the two parts together to make a new whole door. It shouldn't show once it's painted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Check with your Andersen rep, the doors may have a lifetime warranty. Andersen is a high-level player and they may step up and repair or replace.

http://www.andersenwindows.com/support/warranty

Called Anderson today. They support 10 years on frame and 20 on the glass. They will do nothing for me even if it was a mfg defect. Edited by TuffguyF4i
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...

I'm not surprised at the response you got from Andersen. I've used a lot of their products and really like them. They have been excellent with warranty work, too. They replaced multiple sections of french doors for me once the Andersen rep had a look at them. Their response was timely and quite supportive. I've had little issues, too, and they always seems to be ready with a satisfactory solution.

 

But, like every other vendor I've dealt with, when the warranty period is over, it's over.

 

Good luck with your repairs. There have been some good suggestions here.

 

And don't forget to put in some gutters for that area or you will very likely continue to have problems from water.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use