3 tips for keeping your sliding door on track

The heavy use that patio doors get in high-traffic areas can lead to occasional sticks and skips. If your door has problems when you slide it, don't panic and follow these tips.

• Survey the gaps along its top and bottom edges. Then grab your screwdriver and find the roller adjustment screws, located along the edge of the door's bottom rail.
• Remove the button-size covers and turn the screws counterclockwise to lower the door in its track, or clockwise to raise it. Then, check the gaps again to confirm that they're uniform; if they aren't, grab your screwdriver again and adjust as needed.

• Patio doors may be heavy, but clever crooks know how to exploit their weak points. So, as with sliding windows, keep your door and your stuff from being lifted by driving a couple of screws into the top track, allowing their heads to protrude; this way, the door can't be removed from its track unless the screws are removed first.
• Supplement this setup by placing a cut-to-fit dowel in the lower track to prevent the door from being jimmied open.

• Keep your patio door rolling along with occasional attention to its wheels. You'll have to remove the door to get at the rollers, and since patio doors tend to be heavy, have an assistant on hand to help with removing the door and moving it to a place where you can work on it.
• To remove the door, retract its rollers by turning the adjustment screw completely counterclockwise; then lift the door up and out of the bottom track. Some sliding doors have a retaining strip, or head stop, screwed to the top inside edge of the frame. You may have to remove the stop to get the door out. If that's the case, have your helper hold the door to keep it from falling into the room. Then place the door on your work surface.
• Carefully remove the rollers from their pockets along the bottom edge of the door and inspect the assemblies. Damaged rollers can be easily replaced; take the old ones along to get a matching replacement. If the rollers are simply grimy, remove any loose dirt and wipe them clean with a soft cloth and denatured alcohol. Finish with a shot of silicone spray, and replace the rollers in their pockets, making sure the assemblies are in a completely retracted position (you may have to tap them in gently with a hammer).
• Use the same cleaning and lubing routine (denatured alcohol followed by silicone spray) with the head stop (if any) and head track.
• Reattach or replace any weather stripping that's missing, damaged or lost its elasticity. Wipe the bottom track clean.
• Reinstall the door and, if necessary, reattach the head stop. Slide the door just short of its closed position, and turn the adjustment screws clockwise to release the rollers and bring the door into a position parallel with the jamb.