We know Dora well: the older housing around the Sharon Boulevard corridor, the newer construction toward Main Street, and everything out past the I-22 corridor.
Between the established parts of Dora and the newer subdivisions, we see two different kinds of failure: worn-out frames on one side of town and worn-out hardware on the other.
Need it looked at soon?Call and we will tell you honestly when we can get there.
Click to Call (205) 619-2895When to call about french door repair
These are the french door repair faults we are called out to most often in Dora. If you recognise one, the underlying cause is usually the second half of the line.
- The flush bolts on the inactive leaf need forcingMisaligned keepers, or corrosion in the bolt housings.
- The gearbox makes a grinding noise when the handle is liftedWear inside the multipoint gearbox, which usually fails completely soon after this starts.
- The multipoint lock will not throwThe door is not sitting in the frame correctly, so the lock points do not line up with their keepers.
- Daylight visible along the astragalWeatherstrip compressed flat or missing entirely.
- The astragal weatherstrip is compressed flat in one areaPoint loading where the leaves bind, and the seal has stopped working there.
- Cold air pouring in down the middleFailed astragal weatherstrip on the joint between the leaves.
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) 619-2895Why french door repair fails in the Birmingham metro
Birmingham-area red clay expands when it is wet and contracts hard when it dries out. That movement travels straight up into slabs and foundations, and door frames are usually the first place a homeowner notices it.
Foundation movement under a French door opening drops one leaf relative to the other, and because the pair has to meet along a full-height joint, even slight movement shows as rubbing and a lock that will not throw.
Grit in the flush bolt sockets and the multipoint keepers stops those components seating fully, which means the doors are only partially locked even when the handle feels normal.
None of it is a reason to replace a door. It is a reason to use the right parts and set the door up correctly in the first place.
Local factors we account for in Dora: soil movement and grit and dust — typical of the Birmingham metro.
One call gets you an answer.We will tell you what is wrong and what it takes to fix.
Click to Call (205) 619-2895What a french door repair call covers
- 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.
- Handle and lockset replacementMatched handle sets and cylinders for French door pairs.
- Frame squaringCorrecting frames that have moved and taken the doors out with them.
- Astragal and weatherstrip replacementNew seals on the meeting stile so the middle joint actually closes.
- Sliding French door serviceRollers, tracks and hardware on sliding French systems.
- Hinge repair and re-hangingCorrecting sag with proper fasteners into framing and re-hanging leaves plumb.
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 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. We flush the running surfaces properly on metro jobs rather than just wiping them, since fine clay packs into places a cloth will not reach.
- Get both leaves back in planeIf the door faces are stepped, no amount of lock adjustment will make the pair meet correctly.
- Rebuild the seal at the meeting stileAstragal and weatherstrip get replaced together, because that centre joint is where the draft and the water come through.
- Set the locking hardwareMultipoint points and flush bolts engaged cleanly with no lifting or pulling required.
- Cycle both leaves fullyOpen, close and lock each leaf several times, including the flush bolts, before we call it finished.
Most doors we see are repairable.Call and find out before you price a replacement.
Click to Call (205) 619-2895What affects the cost of french door repair in Dora
We would rather tell you what drives the price than quote a number that turns out to be wrong once we see the door. On a french door repair job in Dora, the main variables are these:
- glass replacement in individual lites
- whether the frame itself has moved and needs correcting
- multipoint lock repair versus full gearbox replacement
- whether one leaf or both need re-hanging
- 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 Dora.
Need it looked at soon?Call and we will tell you honestly when we can get there.
Click to Call (205) 619-2895Areas we cover for french door repair in Dora
Coverage in Dora takes in the Sharon Boulevard corridor and Main Street, plus everything around the I-22 corridor and the Mulberry Fork.
We also cover the nearby Walker County and the Birmingham metro communities listed further down this page.
Most doors we see are repairable.Call and find out before you price a replacement.
Click to Call (205) 619-2895French door repair in Dora: questions we get asked
The handle on my French door spins without doing anything. What broke?
The multipoint gearbox or the drive connection inside the door. That is a replacement part matched to the specific system, and it is worth identifying the manufacturer before ordering.
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.
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.
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.
Can sagging French doors be fixed without replacing them?
Yes, and it is the usual outcome. The fix is proper hinge repair with fasteners reaching the structural framing, plus re-hanging the leaf plumb. Replacing a pair of French doors is a large job by comparison.
Most doors we see are repairable.Call and find out before you price a replacement.
Click to Call (205) 619-2895Other door repair services in Dora
- Sliding Door Repair Dora
Sticking, jumping, or dragging sliding glass doors put back on smooth-rolling track.
- Door Lock Repair Dora
Deadbolts, latches, cylinders and strike alignment repaired on residential and commercial doors.
- Door Frame Repair Dora
Rotted, split, kicked-in and out-of-square frames rebuilt so the door fits again.
- Door Handle Repair Dora
Loose, broken and seized handles, knobs and levers repaired or replaced.
- Door Hinge Repair Dora
Sagging doors, stripped hinge screws, squealing pins and worn knuckles put right.
- Patio Door Repair Dora
Sliding, French and multi-panel patio doors repaired, realigned and resealed.
- Door Glass Repair Dora
Broken, cracked and fogged door glass replaced, including tempered and insulated units.
- Commercial Door Repair Dora
Hollow metal, aluminum and high-traffic doors kept working for businesses and property managers.
- Storefront Door Repair Dora
Aluminum storefront entrances repaired: pivots, closers, locks, glass and alignment.
- Door Closer Repair Dora
Closers adjusted, rebuilt and replaced so doors shut properly instead of slamming or hanging open.
- Automatic Door Repair Dora
Automatic sliding and swing doors, operators, sensors and safety systems serviced.
- Screen Door Repair Dora
Sliding screens, storm doors and screen panels rescreened, rerolled and rehung.
- Interior Door Repair Dora
Sticking, sagging, rattling and damaged interior doors made to work properly again.
- Exterior Door Repair Dora
Front and back entry doors resealed, realigned, reinforced and repaired.
- Window Repair Dora
Sashes, balances, glass, seals and hardware repaired on residential and commercial windows.
French Door Repair near Dora
We cover the surrounding Walker County and the Birmingham metro communities as well:
- French Door Repair in Jasper
- French Door Repair in Sumiton
- French Door Repair in Cordova
- French Door Repair in Parrish
- French Door Repair in Carbon Hill
- French Door Repair in Bessemer
- French Door Repair in Homewood
- French Door Repair in Vestavia Hills
All door repair services in Dora · French Door Repair across Alabama · All Alabama service areas
Broken, stuck, or will not lock?Talk to someone who works on these every day.
Click to Call (205) 619-2895