If you live in Sydney and have a hard-to-use or stuck timber glass sliding door that has rotted and needs repairs, we can help.
We repair western red cedar sliding doors, Australian hardwood sliding doors, internal sliding doors, multi-stacker timber sliding doors, and all other wooden and glass sliding doors.
We repair the timber sliding doors that Sydney residents, strata, and real estate agencies cannot find anyone to fix.
We can service your timber sliding door so it works better than the new one. How do we do that? We hope to answer that here.
What are the best timber sliding door brands in Sydney?
From the 1960s through the late 1990s, single and double timber sliding doors were the only available arrangements you could buy.
Today, there are more choices in how timber sliding doors can be arranged. Multi-slider stacker timber sliding doors are becoming common.
All the major sliding door brands will now supply sliding doors that are more complex yet more attractive in their use and appearance.
This has affected the way we do our repairs. Timber sliding doors that are more complex will wear the casters out faster, so we only use twin bogie rollers in their repairs.
Wideline, Dowell, Doors Plus, and Southern Star are well-known timber glass sliding door brands. Many joinery companies in Sydney will supply timber glass sliding doors.
Stegbar and Trend supply the most common sliding door brands we see in our repairs. They have been supplying external timber glass sliding doors since the 1970s, and we can service every single one.
All these timber sliding door brands manufacture their doors primarily from western red cedar, but some will offer other timbers, including Australian hardwoods.
What are all the parts of a timber sliding door?
The standard single timber and glass sliding door will constitute all these parts.
- One timber framed glass sliding door.
- One timber-framed fixed panel of glass
- The timber frames will have four sides.
- The top and bottom timber rail.
- The left and right timber stile.
- The sliding door and fixed panel will sit in a timber door jamb.
- The door jamb will have four sides.
- The left and right side jambs.
- The head jamb and the sill.
- The sill will have three main parts
- The brass or aluminium sliding door track, timber threshold, and sub sill.
How we do our timber sliding door repairs
We offer two different timber glass sliding door repair services.
Our T100 timber sliding door repair service is as follows:
- We remove the timber sliding door from the door jamb.
- Remove the worn-out rollers.
- Install new rollers of the same or similar type (if they still manufacture them)
- Reinstall the timber sliding door into the door jamb.
- And finally, adjust the sliding door and lock.
This should be a straightforward process that even a layperson can accomplish. Unfortunately, this process is not viable for most existing timber sliding doors.
The simple explanation is that this process does not account for other variables such as rot in the timber frame, bowing timber frames, discontinued parts, and deviations in the door jam.
In reality, most external timber glass sliding doors will be affected by at least one or all of the abovementioned variables.
This is why we conceived of our second timber sliding door repair service.
Our T200 timber sliding door repair service is as follows:
- We remove the timber sliding door from the door jamb.
- Remove the worn-out rollers.
- Trim a little of the bottom of the door.
We will usually do this if we need to shorten the door and remove rot in the timber. - Rout out new recesses to the underside of the sliding door rail.
This will allow us to remove rotted and bruised timber and fit new casters like our twin bogie rollers. - Apply a 4in1 paint to the underside of the sliding door rail.
This will seal and protect the fresh timber against rot and bruising. - Install new twin bogie rollers.
Twin bogie rollers will significantly improve the performance and life of the sliding door. - Remove the worn-out aluminium or brass track from the timber threshold.
- Install new sliding door track.
We are replacing the sliding door track for two reasons.
Firstly, the old sliding door track wears out.
Secondly, if the fixed and sliding timber frames contact when the door is used, installing a new door track would allow us to separate and realign the sliding door so it does not contact the fixed frame when operated. - Reinstall the timber sliding door.
- And finally, adjust the sliding door lock.
We consider this a complete timber glass sliding door repair service.
If your sliding door needs this second service, we promise all its issues will be solved.
The sliding door will perform better than the new one, and this repair should last you another 20-30 years or more.
We offer a 10-year warranty when we service timber sliding doors this way.
Australian Red Cedar sliding door repairs
From the 1960s to the 1980s, many timber sliding doors were made from Australian red cedar.
Australian red cedar is a deciduous tree growing in warm temperate and sub-tropical climates and is classified as a hardwood.
This species is native to the coastal rainforests of eastern Australia, from Southern New South Wales to Northern Queensland.
Shortly after settlement, the colony of New South Wales exported large quantities of this highly sought-after timber. In fact, by 1798, it was the colony’s third-largest export. Australian red cedar products were a symbol of our national identity. These products can be seen in many old Government buildings today.
Australian red cedar has been extensively cleared, making it difficult or impossible to source from Australian timber hardwood suppliers.
Woodworkers cherish this timber, and our Lock Roll and Tracks team greatly enjoy repairing and restoring old sliding doors made from this famous Australian hardwood.
Western Red Cedar sliding door repairs
By the late 1970s, Australian red cedar timber was becoming impossible to source for manufacturing timber sliding doors.
Today, western red cedar is Australia’s primary timber used to make timber-framed sliding doors.
Western red cedar is classified as softwood and is lightweight, so working with and repairing sliding doors framed in this timber is more straightforward than working with and repairing hardwood sliding doors.
We will fit 100kg of twin bogie rollers when we repair western red cedar sliding doors. The standard-sized sliding door framed in this timber will weigh about 30kg.
Western red cedar, also known as British Columbia red cedar, is relatively fast-growing, and this timber can be sourced sustainably.
This timber is sourced mainly from the northern United States.
Hardwood sliding door repairs
The hardwood sliding doors we repair are less than six years old since they were supplied and fitted.
Many of our clients have told us that the timber sliding doors have been hard to use since they were installed. Why is this?
Australian hardwoods are much heavier and harder timbers, unlike softwoods like western red cedar. If the door has been installed with toughened safety glass, standard-size timber sliding doors can weigh upwards of 60kg per door.
Most timber sliding doors will be supplied with single roller carriages, which are not designed to carry such weights.
This is why our high-quality castors, like our twin bogie rollers, are necessary to repair timber sliding doors.
When we repair hardwood sliding doors, we use 120 kg castors for greater carrying capacities, better performance, and longer life between services.
We have three twin bogie castors: 100 kg twin bogie rollers, 120kg twin bogie rollers and 300kg twin bogie rollers.
Tasmanian oak is the preferred timber used today to manufacture hardwood sliding doors.
Tasmanian oak has only been used to manufacture large quantities of wooden sliding doors in the last two decades.
We will use 120kg twin bogie rollers to repair Tasmanian oak sliding doors.
Tasmanian oak is a beautiful timber, and the sliding doors we see framed in this timber are visually stunning to look at.
Occasionally, we will see maple-frame timber sliding doors in our repairs across Sydney.
Maple or Queensland maple was commonly used as an architrave in Sydney homes from the 1980s to today.
Queensland maple is an Australian hardwood sometimes seen in timber framed sliding doors.
Meranti or Meranti maple is not technically a maple but an Indonesian hardwood. Its botanical name is Shorea argenifolia.
We see many timber sliding doors framed in Meranti. We will use 120kg twin bogie rollers to service these timber-framed sliding doors.
Softwood sliding door repairs
In most circumstances, when we repair the softwood sliding door, we will install a 100kg twin bogie roller. This will increase the carrying capacity, performance, and life between services.
We have recently seen timber sliding doors manufactured from radiata pine, a species native to the central coast of California.
Before we grew large quantities of radiata pine, we primarily used Australian hardwoods and imported Douglas fir (Oregon) from the United States.
When radiata pine timber frames sliding doors are supplied in Sydney, they will be painted white.
Radiata pine is not rot-resistant, so we will paint and seal any timber we cut when we repair sliding doors made from this wood.
How are our timber sliding doors manufactured?
Today, timber sliding doors are manufactured chiefly from western red cedar. The manufacturing process is as follows:
- The four frames of timber sliding doors will be assembled with tongue-and-groove joints.
- Dressed western red cedar will be cut to length, and tongue and groove joints will be cut into these lengths with a table router.
- The grooves will be cut into the left and right stiles.
- The tongues will be cut into the top and bottom rails.
- These four joints will be glued, strapped, and left to dry.
- Recesses will be cut into the bottom rail to fit the rollers.
- Then, a gloss finish will be applied.
- Finally, the glass is installed directly into the timber frame.
When timber sliding doors were first supplied and fitted in Sydney, they were commonly made from Australian red cedar, and mortice and tenon joints were used instead of tongue-and-groove joints.
Mortice and tenon joints are better joints and are preferred for their holding strength and appearance; however, they require more time and better-skilled carpenters to manufacture.
By hand, the carpenters finished these mortices and tenon joints in these timber sliding doors.
Are you concerned that the timber sliding doors won’t align with the frame?
Deviations in door jams are primarily caused by movement in the building. Homes can sink, and lentils can sag, changing the door jam from roughly square to a rhomboid.
The sliding and fixed timber-framed glass panels will remain square but shift in the deviated door jam.
This usually creates a gap at the top or bottom between the timber sliding door and the locking side jam.
Our twin bogie rollers, which we use in timber sliding door repairs, are adjustable. When we service your sliding door, we can adjust these rollers to allow the door to close square in the door jam.
When the door jam is significantly deviated, we will need to complete the service of the timber sliding door.
To close this extreme gap, the sliding door will be shortened. In rare cases, if adjusting the rollers is not enough, we will use a smaller-diameter roller on the shorter end and a larger-diameter roller on the higher end.
This will extend the adjustment range of the timber sliding door, so when we do our repairs, we can always finish the repair so the door is perfect.
Need a new pull handle and patio bolt installed on your timber sliding door?
We will install new pull handles and patio bolts on the timber sliding doors.
We offer a simple yet well-made pull handle for timber glass sliding doors. These handles are black in colour, and modern in appearance.
If you need two or more pull handles for your sliding doors, we can have them keyed alike.
We also offer modern patio bolts in 3 different colours: black, white and primrose.
If you have any concerns with locking and securing your timber glass sliding door, we can address those problems and make your door burglar-proof.
Is your timber sill rotten?
The timber sill is the bottom section of the door jam that the fixed and sliding doors sit on.
The sill comprises three parts: the aluminium or brass sliding door track, the timber threshold and the sub-sill.
Rot can develop in the threshold, complicating your timber sliding door repair.
We can address this issue by cutting the rotten threshold and replacing it with a new Australian hardwood timber threshold.
We may also need to address your sub-sill to support the new timber threshold.
We would have to do a complete service to the timber sliding door.
Contact us today for more information.
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