Between Athens proper, the Downtown Athens area and the newer building out toward the courthouse square, we stay busy in Limestone County, and Ardmore is close enough that we are often nearby.
A lot of what we see in Limestone County comes down to age. Houses built decades ago have solid frames with tired hardware; houses built recently have sound hardware in frames that are still settling.
Not sure whether it is a repair or a replacement?Describe the symptoms and we will give you a straight answer.
Click to Call (205) 619-2895The french door repair problems we see most in Athens
These are the french door repair faults we are called out to most often in Athens. If you recognise one, the underlying cause is usually the second half of the line.
- The astragal weatherstrip is compressed flat in one areaPoint loading where the leaves bind, and the seal has stopped working there.
- Screws visible pulling out of hingesHinge fasteners failing under the weight of a heavy glazed leaf.
- One door swings open on its ownHinge line out of plumb on that leaf.
- A visible gap at the top or bottom of the meeting stileThe pair is out of alignment and no longer parallel.
- The doors rub where they meetOne or both leaves have dropped on their hinges.
- You can see the meeting stiles are no longer parallelOne leaf has racked, which no amount of adjustment at the lock will correct.
Need it looked at soon?Call and we will tell you honestly when we can get there.
Click to Call (205) 619-2895Athens conditions and french door repair
North Alabama sits in the heart of Dixie Alley, and the March and November storm seasons drive rain sideways against doors that face west and south.
Storm wind on a pair of French doors loads the meeting stile and the flush bolts, and if the inactive leaf is not solidly bolted top and bottom, the wind will find that out for you.
Humidity swells both leaves toward each other, and since the meeting stile is where the two doors already have the tightest clearance, that is where a French door pair binds first every summer.
Knowing that is the difference between a repair that holds through a Athens summer and one that does not.
Local factors we account for in Athens: storm wind and sustained humidity — typical of the Tennessee Valley.
One call gets you an answer.We will tell you what is wrong and what it takes to fix.
Click to Call (205) 619-2895Our french door repair services in Athens
- Alignment and reveal correctionSetting both leaves so the reveal is even and the doors meet cleanly top to bottom.
- Flush bolt repairHead and sill flush bolts on the inactive leaf repaired or replaced.
- Frame squaringCorrecting frames that have moved and taken the doors out with them.
- Multipoint lock repairRepairing and replacing multipoint gearboxes, drive rods and keepers.
- Threshold and sill workNew adjustable thresholds and sill seals under a pair of doors.
- Individual lite glass replacementReplacing failed or broken glass in single lites without replacing the whole door.
- Interior French door serviceAlignment, hardware and hinge work on interior pairs.
Need it looked at soon?Call and we will tell you honestly when we can get there.
Click to Call (205) 619-2895Our french door repair process
- Measure the reveal all the way roundThe gap pattern between the leaves and the frame tells us what has moved before we touch any hardware.
- Check each leaf on its ownWith the inactive leaf bolted, we test the active one, then reverse it. Faults that look shared usually are not.
- Correct the hinges before the hardwareMultipoint locks and flush bolts cannot be adjusted into working if the door is sitting in the wrong place. Through the Valley we check for seasonal swelling before removing any material, because a door planed in August is a door with a gap in January.
- Rebuild the seal at the meeting stileAstragal weatherstrip is the hardest working seal on the door and it is usually the one that has been ignored.
- Set the locking hardwareKeepers adjusted so the shootbolts engage top and bottom with the handle lifting smoothly and no forcing.
- Check it seals along its lengthWe look for daylight and feel for draft down the full height of the meeting stile, not just at eye level.
Broken, stuck, or will not lock?Talk to someone who works on these every day.
Click to Call (205) 619-2895What affects the cost of french door repair in Athens
Every french door repair call in Limestone County is a little different, and the cost follows what the door actually needs:
- glass replacement in individual lites
- astragal, weatherstrip and threshold replacement
- whether one leaf or both need re-hanging
- whether the frame itself has moved and needs correcting
- interior versus exterior pairs, since exterior work includes weatherproofing
Call and describe what the door is doing. In most cases we can tell you over the phone which of those applies to you before anyone drives out to Athens.
Most doors we see are repairable.Call and find out before you price a replacement.
Click to Call (205) 619-2895Areas we cover for french door repair in Athens
Coverage in Athens takes in Downtown Athens, the courthouse square, Sanderfer Road and Lindsay Lane, plus everything around the Limestone County Courthouse square, Athens State University and the Alabama Veterans Museum.
We also cover the nearby Limestone County and the Tennessee Valley communities listed further down this page.
Get a real diagnosis, not a sales pitch.We fix doors for a living.
Click to Call (205) 619-2895French door repair in Athens: questions we get asked
Do you work on interior French doors too?
Yes. Interior pairs have simpler hardware but exactly the same alignment problems, and they are usually a quick fix.
My French doors rub in the middle. Is that because the wood swelled?
Usually not. Nine times out of ten it is hinge sag on one leaf, and the giveaway is that the rub is worse at one end of the joint than the other. Real swelling affects the whole edge evenly and comes and goes with the season.
My French doors bind in summer but are fine in winter. Is that normal?
Some seasonal movement is normal in Athens, but if it is bad enough to stop the door closing, there is usually an underlying alignment problem that the seasonal movement is pushing over the edge.
There is a draft right down the middle of my French doors. What fixes it?
The astragal weatherstrip on the meeting stile. It compresses flat over time and stops sealing, and it is a straightforward replacement that makes a large difference in Athens winters.
The inactive door keeps moving when I close the active one. Why?
The flush bolts at the top and bottom of the inactive leaf have failed or are no longer reaching their keepers. Both need to be solidly engaged or the whole pair loses its reference point.
Can one lite of glass be replaced or does the whole door need doing?
Individual lites can normally be replaced on their own. That is one of the advantages of a true divided or simulated divided light door.
Broken, stuck, or will not lock?Talk to someone who works on these every day.
Click to Call (205) 619-2895Other door repair services in Athens
- Sliding Door Repair Athens
Sticking, jumping, or dragging sliding glass doors put back on smooth-rolling track.
- Door Lock Repair Athens
Deadbolts, latches, cylinders and strike alignment repaired on residential and commercial doors.
- Door Frame Repair Athens
Rotted, split, kicked-in and out-of-square frames rebuilt so the door fits again.
- Door Handle Repair Athens
Loose, broken and seized handles, knobs and levers repaired or replaced.
- Door Hinge Repair Athens
Sagging doors, stripped hinge screws, squealing pins and worn knuckles put right.
- Patio Door Repair Athens
Sliding, French and multi-panel patio doors repaired, realigned and resealed.
- Door Glass Repair Athens
Broken, cracked and fogged door glass replaced, including tempered and insulated units.
- Commercial Door Repair Athens
Hollow metal, aluminum and high-traffic doors kept working for businesses and property managers.
- Storefront Door Repair Athens
Aluminum storefront entrances repaired: pivots, closers, locks, glass and alignment.
- Door Closer Repair Athens
Closers adjusted, rebuilt and replaced so doors shut properly instead of slamming or hanging open.
- Automatic Door Repair Athens
Automatic sliding and swing doors, operators, sensors and safety systems serviced.
- Screen Door Repair Athens
Sliding screens, storm doors and screen panels rescreened, rerolled and rehung.
- Interior Door Repair Athens
Sticking, sagging, rattling and damaged interior doors made to work properly again.
- Exterior Door Repair Athens
Front and back entry doors resealed, realigned, reinforced and repaired.
- Window Repair Athens
Sashes, balances, glass, seals and hardware repaired on residential and commercial windows.
French Door Repair near Athens
We cover the surrounding Limestone County and the Tennessee Valley communities as well:
- French Door Repair in Ardmore
- French Door Repair in Madison
- French Door Repair in Meridianville
- French Door Repair in Harvest
- French Door Repair in Hazel Green
- French Door Repair in Moores Mill
- French Door Repair in Triana
- French Door Repair in New Hope
All door repair services in Athens · French Door Repair across Alabama · All Alabama service areas
Need it looked at soon?Call and we will tell you honestly when we can get there.
Click to Call (205) 619-2895