french doors closing issues.

mikelata

Hi folks,

I have a problem with my french doors and I don't know where to start or who to call to fix them...

We built a house extension years ago and we reused the same old french patio doors. The doors were never fully happy in the new wall and we always had to use some force to close the doors properly. With time, the problem has got way worse and now, we really have to pull the handles very hard to close them properly.

I could go to a doors shop but we would prefer fixing the doors instead of buying new ones. What type of professional do you call to fix existing doors?

Thanks

looksee

Presumably they are wooden doors? It does depend a bit on why they are sticking, are they catching top or bottom, do the doors not meet properly, or what?

Anyway oddly enough there are firms around that fix doors. You will have to do some local research though to find them as it would be a local firm you would be dealing with. If you cannot find anyone through Google you could try asking in door related places like key cutters or local hardware stores that sell doors. Its a bit hit and miss.

I found a guy who fixed doors, a sliding patio door was out of warranty and was sticking (the rollers had worn). They came and had a go at it but could not lift it out of its bottom track, so they called in another man who on his own lifted the large door by main force and got it out, then fixed it. Perfect!

Start off by typing in 'french door repairs near me' and see how you get on.

mikelata

Thanks for your help @looksee

They are PVC doors.

Just found this company https://doorrepairsdublin.ie . Let' see what they say!

Cheers

mikelata

I am getting a 640€ quote to replace the hinges and refit the french doors (right and left doors)

Does anybody have an idea of how much would it cost to buy + fit new french doors?

Thanks

Doolittle51

New French doors supplied and fitted will probably cost around €2500. Seems to be long waiting lists for windows and doors at the moment, could be 3 months or more. And some places are best avoideDK

Can the existing hinges not be adjusted to fix the problem?

mikelata

Thanks for the info @Doolittle51 .

I might have to learn about how to adjust the hinges... I was always told it is a very hard job to get right so I have never tried …

Doolittle51

You'll probably find instructions on youtube or some of the dedicated DIY forms. You'll need some very small allen keys. Can't be that hard and if it's already bad, you can't do much more harm anyway! Might save yourself a few hundred quid :)

the_pen_turner

Have you a pic of the door and hinge type

mikelata

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118049887#Comment_118049887

Yes, good idea.

I add a few pics as follows:

PVC french doors + hinges

, the natural gap when you close the doors without forcing

The handle: when i pull it up it does not seem to lock it to the frame at the top

Thanks!

the_pen_turner

the first pic isnt of the hinge. thats a stay to only allow it to open to 90 degrees and not swing back in heavy wind.

have you a pic of th eother side of the door with the hinge

does the door hit the bottom frame as it closes. has the door droped down or moved away from the frame but stays the same height.

have you checked on top of the door for any rubbish . i was on a job doing other work and the customer asked me to have a look. turns out she was doing some work above the door with it open and something was sitting on top stopping the door closing in. easy fix, but took far to long to work out

mikelata

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118055286#Comment_118055286

wow! rubbish at the top of the doors was a big part of the problem! The top of both doors were full of stuff: stones, concrete bits...

In fact, one of the doors is now fully closing!

Great progress. There are still a few issues. Any insight would be really helpful again. thanks for your help!

Some new pics

(painted_ PVC doors from the outside

Left door ( outside view)

the left door is now closing, which is great news, but there is some resistance when pushing the door to the door frame (closing the door). You can see it in the picture that the "door restrictor" is really bent

Right door ( outside view)

The right door fully closes with the top of the frame, but it does no at the bottom. The lock does not seem to align to the "hole" regardless of the amount of force I use. It is "out| a few mms."

Thanks!

the_pen_turner

Great news on the rubbish

That restricted is or was seized up. Definitely replace it. The door is inside so might not really need it. Bring it with you to get another the same. Easy enough job if you can get screws.

Put your hand under the door where the pin comes down and use the handle. When the handle is up it should push it down and when the multi point mechanism is in the unlocked position the pin should be up. Those mechanisms wear and the pin can drop down fully or just a bit and start catching on the plate below. Properly fixing that would need a new mechanism and isn't cheap . Several hundred but not crazy money..

the_pen_turner

Also clean the mechanisms and use lubricating oil on all the hinges, lock mech etc. Not wd40

mikelata

Nice. I will replace the door restrictor

The lock system works well when I test it with the door open. The pin goes up and down as you would expect

I think the issue is with the door, which appears to be angled. The top part of the door is OK, but the bottom part is a bit spaced from the frame so the pin cannot enter the hole.

You can see in the pic below where the pin is hitting. So, it seems to me that the door needs to be realigned a bit. How do you do that? Fiddeling with the hinges?

Thanks again

the_pen_turner

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118057681#Comment_118057681

its hard to explain how to adjust the hinges so here is a video. How To Adjust UPVC Doors - YouTube. loads of videos showing how to do it for different issues,

mark the doors position if you can so you can see where it was and be able to put it back if needed. use masking tape in the frame before the pencil so its easier to clean off. work in known no of rotatiosn. turning randomly will resul in other issues and everything all over the place.

mikelata

Perfect! Cheers

charlesanto

Maybe try ... https://www.facebook.com/Fixmywindowsie-608180919628328/