Sliding Patio Screen Door Replacement
What makes a good door ?

If you are a property manager looking for a good sliding patio screen door replacement, how can you tell when you are getting a good door ? Here's some help that will help you get the decision made without breaking the corporation budget and leave you with a door that will last many, many years.

High Rise Condominium Screen Doors

Firstly the average high rise condominium or multi storey townhouse complex often has doors that go from floor to ceiling. Frequently much taller than residential screen door. In a high rise its not uncommon to find screen doors 88 inches tall and more. In your home they are typically less than 80 inches.

That difference in height means you need a strong frame that will resist bending and buckling.

As well, in a high rise, some floors will require different door heights. You may have a floor with booster pump plumbing that causes the ceiling heights to be slightly different. Not to mention different widths of door in the bedrooms and living room balcony doors.

Townhouse sliding doors

In a townhouse complex, there may often be units with two three different widths of patio door. As well, Many townhouse complexes have french doors instead of the traditional aluminum sliding doors. These french doors often use sliding screens.

Over time, the constant closing of the french door makes it creep outward and start rubbing on the screen door. The screendoor gets harder and harder to open and finally does not work at all.

What to look for in a sliding patio screen door

The picture shows an example of a piece of roll-formed sliding patio screen frame. This is the less costly form of screendoor frame that many builders use on new homes. You want to avoid roll formed screen door frames if you are buying a sliding patio screen door replacement. 

Roll formed screendoors are inexpensive but they are also flimsy. They wont stand up to someone walking into the screen, they will usually bend. It's next to impossible to fix a badly bent roll formed screendoor. 

Roll formed screendoors are most often made of aluminum. The aluminum used in rollforming is usually quite thin and bends easily. By forming the aluminum into the shape shown in the picture it makes it stronger but the aluminum is still so thin it does not hold screws very well and does not hold its grip when the corners are installed which hold the door together.

There are some roll formed screen doors that are made from steel. This gives a great improvement in strength but it does make the door heavier. A steel rollformed door needs ball bearing rollers to support its weight. Usually steel roll formed doors just come with plastic rollers which wont last too long.

In order to get around the problem of having to custom fit each screen door to the patio door height, some rollformed door companies are using an adjustable plastic "shoe" at the bottom of the screen door. There are long slots in the shoe with screws which you tighten after you have adjusted the shoe to the correct height. 

The problem with this system is the "shoe" often catches on part of your patio door when you try to open the screen door. The shoe also has only room for the cheapest of plastic rollers which have no springs to keep them on the track as the door opens.

The extruded patio screen door frame sample shown in the graphic is the style of frame you do want to buy. These use more aluminum and are more costly but they are much stronger than rollformed screen door frames. The strength comes from the thicker aluminum and the design of the screen frame itself.

Extruded aluminum sliding patio screen door replacement frames also stand up to someone walking through the screen door a lot better. Usually the worst that happens is the whole door just pops out and you have to put it back on again.

Extruded screen doors are usually supplied with much better rollers which have springs to keep the rollers on the track as the door opens. The extra strength and stiffness of the door holds brackets and corners much better. The thicker aluminum also allows room for locks to be installed.

Knocked Down Screen Door Kits

My kits are shipped "knocked down" ready for assembly. This means they are pieces and you have to assemble them yourself. Assembly is easy though, just 4 rails to join together and screen cloth that you roll in with the included screen roller.

If you would like a sliding patio screen door replacement quotation just measure your existing door, or door opening and fill in the form below. Dont know what your dimensions should be? Just estimate them, the form will still give you a price and will also give you instructions on how to measure your door more accurately.