Patio doors in apartment buildings are a relative rarity in the UK, but they can be great for making an apartment building feel a little larger. Patio doors are great for many reasons, but one issue with them is that they can require quite a lot of maintenance. Patio door hinges, for example, regularly run into issues with wear and tear. Due to the weight of patio doors, they can suffer from alignment issues.
If you have patio doors, then you need to take proper care of your patio door hinges. Adjusting door hinges takes a little bit of time, but it can be done with a few simple tools. To help you go about fixing any problems with your patio door hinges, we contacted ironmongery experts Locks & Hardware for some insight into the topic. Follow these basic tips, and you should be able to resolve most standard hinge headaches!
The main problem with patio door hinges is that they can become misaligned. This is because the patio door frames are often newly fitted, meaning the property is still shifting. Movement in the building can lead to problems with the patio door aligning properly. Over time, the patio doors can shift in position, leading to situations where the doors do not line up with the frames or the locks.
That makes your patio doors less secure but also more difficult to use. Thankfully, correcting your patio door hinges is not an overly intensive task. Alignment problems are, by and large, caused by patio doors that have shifted, either due to building subsidence, settling into their position or simply through wear and tear. If your patio doors slide rather than open in/out, they might start sticking.
Why? When the patio door hinges shift, the doors themselves can drop down or fall out of line. As such, they do not run smoothly along the track any longer.
Now, it should be noted that patio door hinges are not always easy to fix. The tips below are for basic issues that can be resolved with nothing more than a Hex/Allen key and/or a screwdriver. If you find that these issues do not resolve the problem with your patio doors, we recommend calling a local locksmith. The issue could be unrelated to your patio door hinges, or it could be more serious.
If your patio doors are sticking or feel extremely loose (or tight) when opening, though, try these tips out and see if the problem resolves itself.
Generally, you are going to need the following:
You now need to determine which type of patio door hinge you are dealing with. Most patio door hinges are made from steel, offering high durability. It would be wise to look up the model of your patio door, if possible, so you can determine what hinge type you have. The type of hinge determines how easily you can fix the problem, as well as what adjustments can be made to your patio door hinges.
Most patio doors are made from UPVC; if yours are made from a different material, the tips might differ slightly.
Your problem is likely to be that your doors have been overly tight/loose when opened or closed, or they have dropped/raised slightly. If your patio doors slide, this could mean that they no longer sit on the running track correctly. Try opening and closing your doors and look for signs of awkwardness when they are used.
Generally, you should be looking to go around each hinge on your patio door and tighten the screws. Loose screws are the most common fault in patio door hinges. As such, a quick tightening of each screw should make the door feel more solid.
Go around each of your patio door hinges and look for any screws that you can adjust. Some might be under a plastic cap, so you should remove these temporarily using a screwdriver. This lets you get access to the bolts that you need to turn if you want to adjust the height or lateral movement.
If your doors have dropped, then you should be looking to adjust the height of your patio doors. To do this, look for the screw – most likely at the bottom of each hinge – that you need to turn. Use your Allen/Hex key and turn this with one or two full rotations clockwise. This will tighten the door. If you need to loosen the door (because it has raised, not dropped), go counterclockwise instead.
Now, test the door and use your spirit level to make sure that the door now opens and closes level. This might take a few attempts to get the right balance. Remember to adjust ALL hinges, not just one. If you adjust just one hinge, you can create an imbalance that will cause the same problems later on.
This is the same process as above, but you will likely need to deal with hinge bolts on the side of the hinge itself. This will mean that the doors will open/slide smoothly. Turn clockwise to make the door feel tighter, and counterclockwise to make it feel looser.
Adjusting door hinges using the above basic guide should be enough to fix the majority of issues you face. However, sometimes, patio door hinges can have more particular problems, such as broken parts or more serious structural issues. If you adjust as recommended above and see no difference, call a locksmith.
Seasonal check-ups are important, too. Once the weather turns, your patio doors are likely to swell or contract in size. That can impact the patio door hinges as much as anything else. So, run a check around each hinge when the weather turns; this can help you catch these issues at the start.
