Swapping Patio Doors With Neighbour.

D

deadwood

Registered User
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122
Sounds silly, I know.

Having lived in our house for a couple of years now, we are increasingly frustrated by our patio door. It slides open in a manner which means the open section is at the wall, rather than to the middle of the kitchen. This means going between table and chairs to get in and out. (I know, I really have a lot to worry about)

As the scorching summer is nearly here, there'll be a lot more traffic to the back garden and clothes line etc. Our neighbour, who lives in the "mirror-image" semi finds she has the same problem. We're sure they should have been installed the other way around but the builders wouldn't play ball (I think the window people are the problem). My DIY expert dad-in-law reckons it's an easy job to remove and swap them.

Anyone ever tried this or know if it will work? They're PVC, about 6' wide and the dimensions match. Someone else suggested just whipping it out and replacing it "inside out" but I think this mightn't work.

Should we bother?
 
Is it possible to swap the door and the panel around
or turn the whole unit upside down.

I don't know much about uPVC window construction bar the fact that it is easy to assemble so I'd imagine either option would work but I'm not an expert.
 
S.L.F said:
Is it possible to swap the door and the panel around
or turn the whole unit upside down.

I don't know much about uPVC window construction bar the fact that it is easy to assemble so I'd imagine either option would work but I'm not an expert.
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I don't think upside down is a runner because there's a built in step where the sliding rail would be when the door is open, if you get me. It looks like it might be possible to take the thing apart though.

Swapping the door and panel might be a better option if the bits can be dissembled (is that a word?). There's rubber stoppers and locks etc to be moved around too though. This would mean leaving holes (which i suppose I could plug) and making new ones.
 
DrMoriarty said:
Put it this way — if it all goes wrong, you have gained an instant 'finisher' to all future DIY arguments with your wife, ever.
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Good point Doctor(if a little mercenary!). He's an expert though and very helpful. I'll be the one to make a hash of it!
 
I would swap the complete unit, but check first that the are both the exact same size. I work on sites everyday and very rarely two are the same (maybe only a few mil here and there). Double check the sizes.

I agree, where I am handing french/patio doors I always keep the fixed side near the wall to keep the area larger and the first opening nearest the kitchen area for ease of use.

If it was mine I would definatley change. Might be worth asking someone in the business to do it for you both if you are not used to that kind of work.
 
Thanks, NHG.
The dimensions of both houses match and i've checked to be sure. A few mm should be easy enough to correct...shouldn't it?

I'd tackle the job myself, under supervision. The original fitters have shown their product and workmanship to be shoddy. (According to them, I signed off on all snag-list corrections they carried out before - news to me, but the developers are on the case)
Any idea how much a builder/glazier might charge for a job like this?

Sorry for duplicating posts MODs, my previous post showed a sending error. I'll check in future.
 
I would'nt have a clue how much someone would charge for a job like that, I would imaging at least two men at least a day as you will have plastering etc to do in both houses.

Do you have spare tiles if the floor is tiled out to the door as most likely one or more may get broken.
 
Ah, there's experience for you. Still have plenty of spare tiles and the tiler is meant to be coming back to us anyway, so might try and do it before he returns.
Good tip NHG!
 
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