Unlocking the Majesty of Large Sliding Glass Patio Doors: Your Ultimate Guide (2024)

FAQs

How to unlock a locked sliding glass door? ›

You can easily open it with a screwdriver or pry bar. Insert the pry bar between the exterior door and the frame from the bottom corner of the slider. Then pry it up and tilt the door to lower the latch. This way, you can unlock the door.

Lubricating the track that your glass sliding door glides on will give it a smoother glide. WD-40 or a silicone-based lubricant, such as garage door spray, helps to minimise friction between the track and the door, allowing your glass sliding door to open and close smoothly.

The most common cause of a sliding patio door that isn't working well is a dirty or damaged track. Over time dirt and debris can accumulate in the track, causing the door to stick or become difficult to slide. To solve this issue, try cleaning the track thoroughly with a soft brush and some warm soapy water.

Lifting the door out of its frame

Another way burglars break in through your sliding door is by physically lifting the door. Using a crowbar, burglars can actually lift up the door, move it off the tracks and out of the way. How's this possible? Well, this is how the door was put into the frame when it was made.

Once the door slides closed, the electric current resumes through the gear box and the door is now automatically locked.

A silicone, non-stick lubricant is essential for vinyl tracks so the door slides easily and the lubricant doesn't attract dirt that can cause a clog in the track.

Interior Doors – 5 pounds of force. Exterior Doors – 15 pounds of force – Massachusetts AAB 521 CMR only – the ADA and A117. 1 do not include a requirement for exterior doors. Sliding or Folding Doors – 5 pounds of force.

Check the side of the door to ensure nothing is trapped or blocking the door's locks. Is it sunny or a hot day? Heat, caused by a patio heater, hot weather or direct sunlight, could cause your patio door to expand. Cooling down the door with cold water and a cloth would get the door back to normal.

Isopropyl rubbing alcohol

Fill a spray bottle with isopropyl rubbing alcohol and spray it along the edges of your door frame until the ice begins to melt. Check the door occasionally to see if it opens. After a bit of time, the ice should melt and your sliding door will be up and working again.

Adjust the rollers

If the sliding door is still stiff you will adjust to adjust the rollers. Typically a sliding door will have an adjustment screw near the bottom on the door edge. Give this a clockwise turn and see how that works. You may need to turn again.

How to unlock a sliding door? ›

To unlock the door, turn the thumbturn lock in the opposite direction to a horizontal position. WARNING: To prevent locking yourself out, turn the thumbturn lock to the horizontal position (unlocked). When the thumbturn lock is in the vertical (locked) position, the door will automatically lock when closed.

When there's dirt in the door track, it not only makes it hard to open and close the door, it may cause serious damage if the door jumps the track when it hits an obstruction. If the sliding door is still sticky after the tracks have been cleaned, use powdered graphite or silicone lubricant to ease things along.

Wipe the track clean with a damp cloth and let it dry before sliding the door. Inspect your newly-clean sliding track and ensure the track is still straight. If the channel is bent, getting your track back in line can be a simple fix.

When it comes to patio door installation, they will almost always open outwards, especially French style patio doors. Patio doors are meant to allow a flow from the house into the garden.

Stuck Sliding Doors

If you find that the door is still stuck, you can use some WD-40 or a silicon-based spray lubricant to loosen them up. Another reason your doors could be getting stuck is due to binding, this happens when the door drops and rubs/sticks on the floor guide.

Go outside and tap a pry bar with a hammer between the bottom sash and sill. Protect the lower surface from the pry bar with a block of wood. Pull on the pry bar or hit it with a hammer to move the window. Once the window is open, lubricate the tracks with WD-40, paraffin or beeswax.

Depending on the clearance, you may be able to slide a thin piece of metal between the door and the jamb and manually lift the hook-lock out of it's latch and open the door. The next method would be what I call the physical force method. While pushing against the glass lift, drop, and move it back and forth.

Grab the sides of the sliding door, lift it, and tip it to release it from the lower door tracks. Sliding glass doors can be heavy; it would be wise to have someone around to help you lift and carry the door to your designated area. Some glass patio doors are equipped with removable screens.

In the Bypass system, the doors are set on two (or more) different tracks, so one is in front and one is behind. The doors in this system open and close by “bypassing” each other (sliding in front of each other) on their respective tracks. Therefore, the doors will not cover the wall next to the frame when opening.

Usually there is a latch attached to the frame which is accessible from inside of the house, if the door is jammed and not opening just unscrew the latch and open the door, another thing you can do is lift the door a little and move it to and forth this trick is useful when the doors are stuck and not sliding.