Bowed Sliding Glass Door

memigreen

I'm not sure if this is the right category to post this so in advance, I would like to apologize.

I found my rear sliding glass door is bowed vertically. The glass is not broken but it is bowed and the door is not sealing properly along the edge. The temperature outside has been sub zero this past week. Could this be the cause? Has anyone else noted this problem before? Is it common in cold weather and if so, does it need to be fixed or will it go back to its original shape once the weather warms? If anyone has any information on this issue, it would certainly be helpful...

Tom Struble

is it wood?metal?vinyl?

memigreen

Its vinyl. Im just wondering if its a factory defect or possibly the sub temps that we had.

neolitic

Mrs. Mechanical,
Is the door bowed in plane,
or is it the stiles?
Bowed in or out?
Drywall cracks?
More likely a cheesy door
or crappy install, than weather.

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Tom M

Is there 2 ft of snow with these sub zero temps possibly weighing down on an under sized beam over the door.

memigreen

The glass slider is bowed in towards the interior. Its the edge opposite of the handle, there is probably about a half inch gap.
Not sure what a stile is. And there is no cracking on the drywall. Is this common with cheap sliders?

b.andrewsmith

If its an actual glass door, than I'd have 99.9% confidence saying the lite of glass itself is not warped. It wouldn't have been able to leave the factory even with a slight warp or defect, ASTM dictates tolerance of only up to 1/16th depending on the thickness of the glass.

If its an acrylic, plastic, or composite material, it is possible to get slight warpage sustained over time.

Most likely your plumb and level conditions of the outermost track may have settled or changed. Or the frame of the door itself, that encloses the glass, is being pinned or out of wack somewhere.

Like Neolitic posted earlier, I'd look for some obvious indicators around the door like cracked drywall or most likely crappy install.

neolitic

Is it sitting on a concrete slab
or step?
Is the sill directly on exterior concrete?

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TimNJ

Could very well be a load bearing on it. Fixed panel bowed 1/4" out and operating panel bowed 1/4" in. The Pella Thermastar has metal channel frame inside the vinyl and if the door got knocked during shipping that metal channel could have bent somewhat.

eisert

I would get a 6ft straight edge and start checking the jamb. If the top of the jamb is out of straight, it could be the result of an undersized header. If the sides of the jamb are out of straight, your walls could be starting to bow, which could be caused by a number of things. If the threshhold of the jamb is bowed upward in the middle, and if the door is set on concrete, there could be an issue with the concrete heaving a bit. If the door is set on subfloor and the threshhold is bowed upward in the middle, a point load from the door header (also known as a squash block or bearing block) may have been missed during construction. These would be the first things that I would check. By the way do you know how long you've had this problem or did you just notice recently?

Tom Struble

does the door work? how are the reveals?

Jake Stevens

If it's a vinyl door and the sliding panel is the one that bowed, but the panel still moves, it has nothing to do with the header. If the header was saging enough to bow the panel it wouldn't move. Most all vinyl patio doors have a U shape inner lock where the panels come together. It sounds like you jumped the inner lock. You should be able to open the door and push on the panel and make sure the inner lock go's together and try to leave it closed for a few days and then it should work OK. It you caused a burr on the inner lock you may have to take the door apart and scrape it off.