Tilt and slide Doors causes of failure

Many of the problems are caused by incorrect use. When the user does not tilt the handle in the correct position when opening or tilting the door this can cause the mechanism to fail.

Tilt and Slide Door Rollers problems

In some cases the rolling mechanisms known as Bogies at the bottom of the doors can fail. Sometimes the tracks at the base on which the Bogies roll along can become unaligned which will then damage the rolling mechanism at the bottom. In many cases the track and the rollers need to be replaced. This can cause the whole sliding part of the door to become unaligned which then causes problems when trying to lock the doors and can sometimes even jam the door locks when they are closed.

When replacing the Bogies and the track the door is pulled into the open position and placed on stilts to make it static. Then the rollers and the track are removed and replaced with new ones. The door is then re-aligned and tested thoroughly by our engineers to make sure that it is working correctly. This procedure would normally take a whole day.

If you find that you are having problems opening the door or closing the door when turning the handles to open or close then this could be the early symptoms of problems occurring in the future. If caught early enough then the problems can be fixed without replacement parts which would be a lot cheaper to fix. We find that many of the doors that we are called out to repair have been damaged because of the doors not being opened and closed properly. Especially constant use from tenants of the property.

In many cases we find that once the sliding balcony doors start jamming, users start forcing the handle to open and close the door causing the internal spindle or cogs of the handle to break which means that whole handle needs replacing and adding extra to the cost of the repairs.

By far the most common sliding doors found on back garden or front patio doors tend to be your standard Aluminium or UPVC type straight forward sliding doors. The rollers are usually metal or acrylic which sit on a metal track. The most common issues usually are deteriorated or damaged rollers that cause the door to drag or become unevenly balanced which then has the knock on effect of misaligning the locks on the door with lock keeps on the frame. If left unrepaired then eventually the locks over time can become damaged or the bottom tracks can split because of the dragging roller wheels. Our sliding door repair specialists can survey your patio door and give the best advice you need for repair or replacement.

Many of the Bi-fold doors we repair have been initially installed badly by builders on which the warranty is not valid because of third party installation. We always advise when installing Bi-fold doors that the doors are installed by people recommended by the manufacturer or by installers who can show proof of extensive and verifiable experience with fitting Bi-folding doors.

Lift and slide doors are usually installed on balconies and are more commonly found on new builds. Lift and slide doors usually come with large handle that is used as a lever and when turned clockwise from up to down position lifts the sliding door up from the track allowing it to release and then slide open.

Problems can arise from damaged or broken rollers, or from the locking mechanism.

Tilt and Turn doors/windows are not to be confused with Tilt and Slide doors which have a very different operating method. In the UK Tilt and Turn windows are a lot more common place than Tilt and Turn doors. Both doors and windows operate in the same way. Tilt and Turn doors/windows open tilting inwards from the top for ventilation or then open inwards fully from the side (like a door) depending at which angle the handle is turned. Because of the complex system that allows the door/window to open from the top and the side many issues can arise when the door/window becomes faulty.

You may notice that the door/window may not be engaging at the side hinge when closing the door/window from the side to open tilt inwards from the top. This can suggest that the mechanism is damaged and should be looked at by a specialist before the damage gets worse and needing parts to be replaced which would make the cost of repairs a lot more expensive.