Door & window repair, statewide
Sliding Door Roller Repair
Four small wheels carrying a very heavy piece of glass
Rollers are the part of a sliding door designed to wear out. When they flatten, seize or corrode, the panel stops rolling and starts dragging. Replacing them is a couple of hours of work and the single most effective thing you can do for a sticking door.
What a failed roller actually feels like
Roller failure is gradual, which is why people put up with it for so long. The door gets a little heavier each month until one day you realise you are using your body weight to move it, and that the noise it makes has become normal.
Underneath, one of three things has happened. The bearing has broken up and the wheel no longer spins. The wheel has worn flat on one side and now skids instead of rolling. Or, near the coast, salt has corroded the assembly until it seized solid.
In every case the fix is the same: get the panel out, replace the roller assemblies, set the height, and make sure the surface they run on is fit to run on.
Forcing a door with dead rollers is what turns a roller job into a roller and track job.
What a roller job involves
Done properly, it is more than swapping a part.
Sealed steel-bearing rollers
Replacements chosen for the weight of your panel, with sealed bearings that keep dust and salt out of the mechanism.
Tandem rollers where needed
Heavier and taller panels need two wheels per assembly to spread the load. Fitting single rollers to a heavy door is why some repairs do not last.
Track inspection and cleaning
New rollers on a damaged or grit-packed track wear out fast. We check and clear it as part of the job.
Height adjustment
Rollers adjust for height. Setting the panel level is what makes the door close evenly and the lock line up again.
Lock realignment
A dropped panel throws the latch out. Once the height is right, the lock usually engages properly without any new hardware.
Weatherseal check
While the panel is out is the cheapest moment to renew the seals, so we look at them then.
Why rollers fail early here
Three things shorten roller life in California more than the manufacturer allowed for.
Salt corrosion near the coast
Within a few miles of the ocean, salt air gets into unsealed bearings and corrodes them solid. Coastal doors often fail abruptly rather than gradually, and cheap unsealed rollers can last a fraction of their rated life.
Dust and grit inland
In the valleys and the desert, fine dust settles in the track, mixes with lubricant and becomes an abrasive paste that grinds wheels flat. It is the most common cause of roller failure away from the coast.
Sheer usage
Patio doors here are used year round rather than for a few months. More cycles means more wear, and rollers that might last a decade elsewhere come up short.
Why have us do it
A roller kit is cheap. Getting the outcome you wanted is the harder part.
We fit parts suited to the location
Sealed and corrosion-resistant rollers near the coast, load-rated assemblies on heavy panels.
The panel comes out safely
Removing a large glass panel without chipping the frame, cracking the glass or hurting yourself is the genuinely difficult part of this job.
We deal with the track too
New rollers on a gouged track are a short-lived repair. We sort both at the same visit.
One visit, a couple of hours
Most roller jobs are finished before we leave.
Three steps, no runaround
Describe the symptom
Heavy, noisy, tilting, jumping the track — each points somewhere slightly different.
We check rollers and track together
Because one nearly always affects the other. Firm price before we begin.
We fit, level and test
New rollers in, panel levelled, lock checked, track cleaned.
We are a mobile service covering the whole state. Pick your city below, or call and we will come to you.
Sliding Door Roller Repair Across California
Roller questions
How long should sliding door rollers last?
It varies hugely with location and use. Sealed steel-bearing rollers on a clean track last considerably longer than the unsealed nylon parts most doors ship with, particularly near the coast.
Can I just buy a roller kit and do it myself?
You can, and some people manage it. The two things that catch people out are removing a heavy glass panel safely, and discovering that the old track is too damaged for new rollers to survive on.
Why did my new rollers fail so quickly?
Almost always because the track was not addressed. A worn track with burrs and grooves chews through fresh wheels in months.
Do you carry rollers for older doors?
We carry a wide range and can source or adapt for older and discontinued systems, which are common in California's mid-century and 1970s housing.
What lubricant should I use?
A dry silicone spray. Never an oil-based lubricant, which attracts and holds the dust that wears rollers out.
Other repairs we handle
Doors and windows are all we do, so whatever has failed, it is probably on this list.