Do it yourself: How to replace rollers of your sliding door

If your sliding door is more than 10 years old and now giving you a work out every time you open it, it’s time to repair the rollers. The rollers might have become rusty and start to bind, because sliding door units did not always use stainless steel rollers. Your sliding door should be easy to open. Rollers located on the bottom of your sliding door, give the door ability to slide. Sometimes your rollers might get dirty or worn out, making the door difficult to open.

Cost of hiring a professional to replace the sliding door roller might be really high around $150 not including the cost of the replacement parts. (Rate depends on your location and current market price). Where as you can do this for about $30.

Replace the rollers

Before you start your project, you need to understand that sliding door is heavy and you need assistance of another to help you remove the door out of its frame to work on the rollers. Firstly, determine whether you have to remove the fixed panel or not so that sliding door comes out. This is simple- if you have slider on the inside track and the fixed panel on the outside track; you have to remove both panels, because the slider will only come out from the outside. But if you have a slider on the outside track, then it’s easy to lift your slider out without disturbing the fixed panel. But, for now assume you have slider on the inside track- you need to remove the screen door (if you have one), screen door consist of two bottom rollers; lift the door from one end of the door frame with one hand while using a flat screwdriver to lift the roller off the track. Repeat the same process on the other side of the door, take out the screen door and keep it aside. Inspect for a metal piece on the bottom track that runs from the bottom corner of the fixed panel all the way across to the bottom of the side jamb that has the door lock hardware. That piece might be missing if you are using an old door. If you find the metal piece you can pry it up from the track. Once the metal piece is removed, you should look inside the house where the fixed panel is against the wall jam. Check for screws holding the frame. Remove these screws and keep them on a safe place, so that you don’t lose them. Now it’s easy for you to remove the fixed panel. You should grab the fixed panel side rail and ask your helper to grab the other rail. Remove the panel from the top track first and set it aside with the screen door. Be careful while removing the panel, don’t use too much force it might damage the door track. Now, lift the slider up and out same way as you did with fixed panel. Change the rollers on the bottom of the sliding unit with the help of screw driver. After removing the rollers, take it to any local hardware shop; so that you can buy a matching rollers for your door. Place the new rollers and adjust the rollers to be all the way up into the frame. Once the rollers are adjusted properly, the door will slide back and forth easily.

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