How to Install a Glass Sliding Door

While Cooperstown is best known for the baseball hall of fame, this upstate New York town has much more to offer including the nine-mile long Otsego Lake. Barbara Harman's deck looks out over the lake and while the views are stunning, the cold wind that comes off the water seemed to pass right through her old sliding glass door almost like it wasn't even there.

Click here for a list of what you will need in order to complete this project.

Not only was the old door drafty and cold, but it has also suffered some weather damage from years and years of standing up to the harsh New York winters. Ron came to the rescue to help the Harmans install a new energy-efficient door.

1. Remove old door:

• The Harmans old door, like most, had both a sliding panel and a fixed panel. The first step was to take out the fixed side by removing two brackets: one at the top, the other at the bottom.

• With all the screws removed, they slid the door to the center before lifting the bottom of the door up and out of the tracks.

• To remove the sliding panel, they first pried off the retaining strip…
  

• …and then the interior door casing.
  

• They carefully tipped the top of the door out of the frame and carried it away.

2. Doorframe and threshold:

• With the doors out of the way, they turned their attention to the doorframe. They began by pulling out the nails that were driven through the exterior trim.

• Then they removed the threshold and pulled the frame away.

• Beneath the old threshold they found even more dry rot than expected, so their next job was tear out everything that was rotten.

• When they were finally down to solid material, they began rebuilding the threshold. Some of the wood they were using was already pressure treated. They gave each of the pieces that were not treated, a coat of wood preservative.

• They measured and cut the first 2 X 6 and Bill brushed preservative on the ends before Ron tapped it into position with a hammer.

• They secured the first board with a nail gun and then gave it a coat of wood preservative.

• Ron checked for level and discovered that the threshold was about a half an inch off over the whole length of the threshold so they would have to level it.

• They dropped the second 2 X 6 into place directly on top of the first.

• Ron took two shims and ran them in opposite directions to create a thicker shim. He then had Barbara slip the shim assembly under the end of the second board on the low side of the threshold then checked it again for level.