One More Step to the Outside – Installing Your Sliding Doors
(part four of a series)

by: Liz Roberts

In the previous article you were shown how to make a doorway for your new sliding glass doors. If the first steps were done correctly , the next few will be a breeze. Just remember, as with any installation project, work with care and caution. It'll make for not only a safe project but also for longer lasting doors.

You’ll have to start with making full length studs for your new door frame. These will fit against the outside of the studs already there at each end of your opening. These can be wiggled into place and attached from inside the new opening. (use 20 inch decking screws and drill with a screwdriver bit for this rough in construction step. Doing this will cause less vibrations and damage to any poorly secured wall coverings). Now cut two pieces of 2’ by 6’ (the same length as your door’s opening). Find a wafer thin wood scrap to use as a spacer between the two pieces and then nail them together in a sandwich fashion (2’by 6’ – scrap – 2’by 6’) Make sure all edges are even and flush. This will make the header the same width as the 2’ by 6’ studs and also makes applying the new wall covering much easier.

Tightly fit this newly made header against the bottom of the exposed studs that were just cut off. Secure it lightly in place so that you can now get the measurements for the jack studs to fit under the header’ ends.(again use 20 inch decking screws and the drill with the screwdriver bit). Cut the jack studs to fit tightly between the floor and the bottom of this new header. Now wedge them into place, securing these new full studs to the stud’s header and floor. Use double jack studs here because your header will be very wide. Cut two more and attach them directly against the first set of jack studs on each side as well as to the floor and the header.

Attach the header to each of the cut studs above. Your door opening is now complete and now you can not only install your door but also do the finish work to the wall. In a way installing a sliding glass door is a lot like installing an entry door but on a larger scale. Assemble the unit if it doesn’t already come preassembled. Now set the unit in place from outside the structure (your home’s exterior). Get the sliding doors into position, making it flush with the interior and exterior wall lines. You have to make sure that your door unit is correctly centered in the opening. This is the time to mark any carpeting that has to be removed so that a level, waterproof seal can be made. For ceramic or hardwood flooring, build up the area under the threshold to bring it to floor level. This is easier than tearing up perfectly good tile or wood just to install a seal.

Remove the doors and also ready the floor, doing any cutting or building up that is needed. Run several heavy beads of silicon caulking along the area to be covered by the doors’ threshold. Now set the door unit back into position. Keep it steady in place by using a few screws through the threshold onto the floor. Use your carpenter’s level and square all along the sides and top to shim the unit into place. Now once your sliding door has been secured, go back and put screws in each of the provided holes. Remember do not over tighten because doing thus will warp the doors’ framework. This will make for a poor door-to-frame seal and interfere with the doors’ lifespan.

The final step is patching the walls and finishing along with applying new trim work. You can also remove the temporary bracing at this time.

Once your doors are in, you may want to install extras like security locks. These are easy to install and come in several different styles. Not only do they keep out burglars but also prevent toddlers and pets from sneaking outside. Another security measure is to drill the sliding glass door so you can run a pin from the door’s edging into the frame to prevent any unwanted entry. Some homeowners also install screening alongside their glass doors. Screens are put in on a spring tension rod. Doing this will not obstruct the opening and they can be taken down and cleaned.

Now that your sliding glass door is installed, you can let in fresh spring air and sunshine. It’s your view to the outside as well as your entry way to nature. Enjoy it for the next three seasons!