Patio door again my head is going to explode!!

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pjs755
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Patio door again my head is going to explode!!

#1 Post by pjs755 »

Just had a guy here to measure to doors for an installation estimate. He says the doors currently installed aren't patio doors, but entry doors. Says the entry doors are taller. Is he correct?

If he is, how does this affect us? Were the other two guys from other companies careless, or is at least one out of three wrong?

This guy said they'd have to build out the trim to make a patio door work in the opening.

Can someone translate this for a guy whose much better with a kitchen knife than a drywall knife?

Paul

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Randy
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Re: Patio door again my head is going to explode!!

#2 Post by Randy »

Hard to say without seeing it, but standard size sliding patio doors are typically shorter and narrower than swinging doors. The options are to do what the installer said or go with a custom sized patio door.

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HomeSealed
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Re: Patio door again my head is going to explode!!

#3 Post by HomeSealed »

+1. Sliding doors are generally a bit shorter. That does not mean that the can't be swapped in either direction, but it does mean that you may pay extra for either a custom size, or a build-in in this case. I'd expect roughly 2" difference in height or so.

pjs755
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Re: Patio door again my head is going to explode!!

#4 Post by pjs755 »

Okay, the doors are 64.5 wide, and 79.5 high. That's edge to edge on the doors.

So, if I had hired someone, and they had ordered the 64 x 80, what would have happened on the day they came to install it? Would they have made it work without me even noticing an issue, or would there have been a "Houston, we have a problem" discussion?

pjs755
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Re: Patio door again my head is going to explode!!

#5 Post by pjs755 »

So I went on Andersen's website. It says the doors are 79.5, that's the measurement for the whole thing, correct? The actual door is smaller yes? If these statements are correct at least I have some understanding

Paul

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HomeSealed
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Re: Patio door again my head is going to explode!!

#6 Post by HomeSealed »

79.5 is fairly ordinary for a sliding door unit height. I'm not sure where you are measuring from... An entry door would be closer to 81.5" unit height standard. This is not the door slab, but the frame size at it largest point in both cases.

If someone were to show up with something a little off, they'd likely just make it work. If its close enough where there would be no visual change you would never know. If it would require added woodwork or paint lines etc, then there would be discussion in most cases. Keep in mind, many times units are ordered slightly smaller anyway. Remodeling is a different animal. There needs to be a little room to level the sill as needed, accommodate for an out of square opening, etc.... That is what you hire a pro for though, is to make sure that the unit is sized and ordered right to get a great installation. :)

pjs755
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Re: Patio door again my head is going to explode!!

#7 Post by pjs755 »

79.5 is from the bottom of the door to the top of the door, the actual physical door only

masterext
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Re: Patio door again my head is going to explode!!

#8 Post by masterext »

[quote="pjs755"]79.5 is from the bottom of the door to the top of the door, the actual physical door only[/quote

79 1/2” high slab is a standard size.

WindowsDirectCinci
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Re: Patio door again my head is going to explode!!

#9 Post by WindowsDirectCinci »

Would be a lot better if they would all be the same size but then that would be to easy... typically what I see in my area are two heights... an entry door height is typically 81 1/2 -82”. This is typical of front, side , and sometimes rear patio/double door heights.... then you have what I call a retro patio door height.. this is typical of your sliding doors and some double or patio doors. These are generally 79 1/2”...... a 1/4 or 1/2” either way generally doesn’t make a difference. With wider trim you can easily install a unit 79 1/2” into the 82” height, but rarely vice versus... then you have the widths a 6’ Door can have a 4-5” swing from manufacturer to manufacture..... I guess if they made it easy we wouldn’t have a job

WindowsDirectCinci
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Re: Patio door again my head is going to explode!!

#10 Post by WindowsDirectCinci »

pjs755 wrote:79.5 is from the bottom of the door to the top of the door, the actual physical door only
If your door slab that you have now is 79 1/2 then your door unit is most likely 81 1/2... the 79.5 on Anderson website is the total unit height for there sliding door. So the new unit would be slight smaller... your installer should be able to make that work as long as your fine with a slightly smaller door.... most of time customers opt to make it work because the cost for a custom size door is not insignificant

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HomeSealed
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Re: Patio door again my head is going to explode!!

#11 Post by HomeSealed »

pjs755 wrote:79.5 is from the bottom of the door to the top of the door, the actual physical door only
So the frame would then be roughly 81.5 as I described above, coming in around 2" short of a standard sliding door. This is workable, but not a difference that I'd generally expect a client to accept without prior approval. Even if its built up slightly under the unit, You are still making up an 1-1.5" on the top with some added trim. Again, nothing wrong at all with that, I just like to offer the option of custom sizing or building down slightly.

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