Wouldn't it be interesting to know just how many homes in this country are sporting at least one of those ubiquitous builder-grade sliding patio doors? Well, perhaps 'interesting' isn't quite the word, but you know what I mean; that number's got to be around 90 percent. Small wonder, of course; they're relatively cheap and easy to install, and for the most part are energy efficient and reliable.
But, as is the problem with most things people describe as energy efficient and reliable, they ain't much to look at. Why should the portal to your backyard resemble the door you use to access the Pepsi at the local 7-11? Fortunately, with the ready availability of prehung door units at such places as Revy, Home Depot and other do-it-yourself meccas, your home needn't be saddled with one of those sliding monuments to sameness. Why not replace it with a much nicer looking set of French doors?
The opening for this door was standard, so we were able to pick it up off the shelf. Be warned: if you would like some variation of what's available at the store, expect to pay for it. We thought it might be nice to have a door without the plastic grille that emulates the divided-light look. This was no problem, we were told, as long as we'd fork over another $200 and wait six weeks. We decided the divided lights were just what we wanted.
Lending their expertise to this job were pro builders Richard McCord and Frank Ashmore. The first step was removing the old slider, which was accomplished by simply lifting out the doors and unscrewing the frame. After the old aluminum frame was removed, the subfloor was cleaned of debris. After a few modifications to the opening to ensure the new door would fit, a bead of caulk was laid along the bottom for a good seal.
You'll find that a great preponderance of your time with this project is spent ensuring the door is level. In fact, we had the old door out and the new one in place in well under 90 minutes. The rest of the time was spent shimming and levelling. As you might expect, an uneven frame makes for a sticky door. Make sure you bring along a lot of shims; cedar shingles are perfect for this job.
Once the door is in place and levelled, all that's left to do is install the trim and the lockset. We omitted the lockset step here in the interest of space, but McCord has a great tip for anyone who's doing this job: With the lockset in the door, rub some chalk or pencil on the end of the deadbolt or latch; the mark it makes when you close it on the frame will tell you exactly where to put the latchplate.
What you'll need
You could get by with less, but this job's a lot easier with a circular saw and a sliding compound mitre saw (for trim work). A hammer, level, screwdriver, hand plane, knife, chisel, sanding block, tape measure, caulking gun and pry bars rounded out the ensemble.
