Three materials, different faults
Most sliding doors in Gauteng homes are aluminium, but plenty of older houses still have wooden or steel sliding doors, and they do not fail in the same way. Knowing what the frame is made of tells us most of what to expect before we arrive, which is why we ask for a photo of the whole door.
Aluminium sliding doors
Aluminium does not rot or rust, so the faults are nearly always in the moving and sealing parts. The usual complaints are a door that drags because its rollers are worn, and a door that will not lock because the panel or the keep has moved. Seals and brushes wear flat, and handles and locks wear out with daily use. We have two pages for these: sliding door rollers and tracks covers doors that stick or grind, and aluminium sliding door repairs covers locks, handles, seals, glass and alignment.
Wooden sliding doors
Timber moves with the weather. In the rainy season a wooden panel can swell until it binds in the frame, then shrink in winter and rattle. Where the finish has worn through, water gets into the bottom rail and the timber softens or rots. Glass in wooden doors is often held with putty or beads that dry out and loosen. Repairs include easing and resealing the panel, replacing damaged sections of timber, reglazing, and renewing the running gear underneath. Our wooden door repairs page goes further into timber doors of every kind.
Steel sliding doors
Steel is strong but rusts wherever the paint has failed, and it rusts worst at the bottom of the frame and in the track, where water and dirt collect. A rusted track stops the door running, and rusted runners seize. Steel doors also tend to be heavy, which puts extra load on the wheels. The repair is usually cleaning back and treating the rust, replacing the runners and reglazing any cracked panes. Where rust has eaten through the frame, replacing the door is the more sensible spend.
Faults common to all three
Whatever the frame, some problems are the same:
- grit in the track that makes the door hard to push
- a lock or latch that no longer meets its keep
- cracked glass that needs replacing before it gives way
- worn seals that let in draughts and dust
How we assess a door
We look at how the door moves, how it closes and how it locks, and at the condition of the frame, before recommending anything. If the fault is a part, we quote for the part. If the frame is past saving, we tell you so and quote for a new aluminium door as the alternative.
Repair or replace?
Repair when the frame is sound, whatever it is made of. Replace when a steel frame has rusted through, when a wooden frame has rot through the rails, or when an aluminium frame is bent. A new aluminium door is the usual replacement for any of the three, and it will not swell or rust. The door types are set out on our aluminium sliding doors page.