#Pella sliding patio door that doesn't roll well

by Janice M.
(Washington PA)

My husband and I were looking to replace our Pella patio door that we paid $1500 for in 1986. After looking at the price ($4000), we decided to see if we could fix it. I happened on a video on how to replace the rollers on the bottom of the door, and noticed that the person used a screw driver on a screw at the bottom of the door to adjust the height of the roller once it was replaced.

In the meantime, my husband had taken the door down and noticed the rollers were not at the same height. I told him about the screw and he made some adjustments, put the door on and then we found that the door lock was too low. We then removed the door again and used the screws to readjust the height of the door.

It worked like new!

After spending $25 on metal door paint (the outside is clad in white metal) and some stain and spray paint for the handles, it looks like a brand new door! The only thing we now need to replace is the screen door latch housing (I here it is almost impossible), but that isn't bad for a door that is 28 years old.

Oh, one more thing - we need to replace the handle which turns the blinds in the fixed door panel. Anyone know where I can get one?

Thanks.

Hi Janice;

Glad to hear you got the door rolling again. Many old Pella doors have a pair of rollers on both sides of the door. Thats a really good setup for carrying the weight of heavy door.

Like you discovered the door does sag down as the rollers wear and after a while you just need to adjust the door up a little and square it up to the frame. Hopefully it will run great for many more years!

As for the crank handle for the blinds, just post a picture here and I will see if I can find one for you.