LESLIE: Now we’re going to go to Oregon where Roberta has a leaky door.
What happened? What’s going on?
ROBERTA: What’s happened to it is I had a roof leak; I fixed that. The door leaks. It’s condensation and we don’t know where it’s coming from.
TOM: Ah.
LESLIE: So you’re seeing condensation between the glass or it’s coming inside?
ROBERTA: No, it’s at the top of the door and it runs all the way down the door.
TOM: OK, so basically what’s happening is the door is so cold you have warm, moist air inside; it’s condensing on it and then basically dripping down. Is that what you’re saying?
ROBERTA: Right. But what I’ve done is I’ve put a curtain at each end of the hall and I keep the doors closed to keep it from condensation but it’s still coming down.
TOM: Well, it sounds like it’s not a very good …
ROBERTA: It’s an aluminum door.
TOM: Yeah, I figured as much. It doesn’t sound like it’s a very good door.
ROBERTA: No, it isn’t.
TOM: Those are really the antiquated doors of today. They are so darned cold that you get a lot of condensation on them. You’re far better off, Roberta, if you were to think about replacing that, whenever you can, with a vinyl door, a vinyl-frame door; you know, something like an Andersen door. I’ve put those in many times myself and they almost never lose their seal on the glass. It’s also a warmer, far more energy-efficient door. It can really take a pounding, as far as rain is concerned. There’s not a lot of advice we can give you that’s going to make that aluminum door, which is just not a great door, much better than it is right now.
It sounds like you’re managing the situation but there’s no quick solution here. It’s definitely a good area for upgrade and for replacement with a better-quality door. And you know, the prices have really come down on those today. They make – by the way, I know that Andersen makes two doors: one for new construction and one for remodeling. And the differences between the height of the two, the remodeling door is like an inch shorter, which is really important if you’re an inch too long because you’re getting too close to the header; it becomes a far more complicated installation. But realistically, you could replace that door inside of a half a day if you simply took out the aluminum ones and replaced it with one of the remodeling doors.
LESLIE: So do you have to take out the entire framework that it sits into in the tracks or can you put those doors in the existing track?
TOM: No, it’s not a replacement door like a replacement window. You basically take the whole thing. But you know, pulling those doors out is pretty easy. First of all, the operable door just pretty much lifts and slides out. You lift it up, you pull out the bottom and it’s gone. The second door, you usually have to take a couple of screws out and that’s out and then all you have is the frame left and an installer with a reciprocating saw can cut that out in no time.
Roberta, so I really think replacing that with an Andersen sliding door would be your best option. If you want more information, I’ll give you the phone number for their national customer support line. It’s 888-888-7020. That’s 888-888-7020. Or you can log onto their website at AndersenWindows.com.
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