Patio doors
Sliding Glass Door Replacement in Wentzville
We handle sliding glass door replacement for Wentzville homes, taking out the worn door frame and all and setting a new patio door that rolls with one hand, locks tight and keeps rain out at the sill.
When a Slider Has Earned Its Replacement
The back slider is the hardest-working opening in most houses: kids, dogs, grocery runs to the grill. The ones we're called out for usually show a few of these at once:
- The panel drags or jumps the track even after the track has been cleaned.
- The glass has fogged between the panes.
- You can see daylight past the weatherstrip, or feel air with the door shut.
- The floor right inside the door is soft, stained or cupped.
- The lock no longer lines up with its keeper.
A soft floor at the sill is the one to take seriously: water has been getting under the door, and it won't stop with a new door alone.
Pulling the Old Door and Rebuilding the Sill
The panels come out first, then the frame is cut free and lifted out. That leaves the bare opening, and that's when we see the subfloor and the framing under the old sill. Any rotted subfloor or rim board gets cut out and replaced before anything new goes in.
The sill gets a flashing pan that turns any water that does get past the door back outside, and the sides are flashed into the house wrap. Then the new door is set level and plumb, shimmed at the latch and the hinges or rollers, insulated around the frame, and trimmed inside and out.
Choosing the New Door
Vinyl sliders are the common replacement, and a good one matches the windows we install. Fiberglass costs more, holds up to heat and sun with less expansion, and can be painted. Either way, the glass options are the same as on our windows, and a low-E coating matters most on a west-facing deck that takes the afternoon sun.
Other choices worth deciding on at the estimate: the side the door slides from, blinds sealed between the glass panes instead of hanging ones, the handle and lock hardware, and a screen door that rolls on its own track.
Sliding Glass Door Replacement Done in a Day
Most door swaps start in the morning and finish the same afternoon, so the house isn't left with a covered hole overnight. Floor repairs at the sill can add time; if we expect that, you'll hear about it when we measure. We put down floor protection from the door to the truck, and the old door leaves with us.
Patio Door Questions
Can a sliding door be swapped for a hinged patio door?
Usually, in the same opening. A hinged door needs clear floor space for the panel to swing, inside or out, so we check the furniture layout and the deck or patio before quoting one. A slider stays the better fit where space is tight.
Do you replace the frame or just the glass panels?
The whole door, frame included. New panels in an old frame keep the worn track, the tired weatherstripping and whatever is going on under the sill. Replacing it all is what fixes the leaks and the sticking for good.
Does the opening have to change?
No. Doors come in sizes that fit most existing openings, and a custom size can be built when yours is unusual. Making the opening wider means a new header over it, which is a structural change and goes through the city's permit process.
Is a three-panel slider an option?
Where the opening is wide enough, yes: one or two panels slide and the rest stay fixed, which gives a wider walkway to the deck. We'll measure and show you which layouts fit.
Replace the back door
Send us the door size if you know it, or just the room it's in. We'll measure and bring options.