ᐅ Lift-and-slide doors are sticking or difficult to operate.

Hello everyone

We built a new house last year. In the living room, two large lift-and-slide doors (PVC windows, 2.10 m wide (6 ft 11 in)) were installed. Because the doors are very difficult to open, technicians have already been here three times. The frustrating thing is that after their visit the doors open perfectly, but after about 12 hours they become stuck again.

I have never heard of anyone having problems with lift-and-slide doors before. Does anyone else experience this? And if so, has the issue ever been resolved?

Best regards

dalig-1

Lift-and-slide doors are slightly lifted using the window handle and then slide horizontally into the desired position.
If the doors stick, it is usually because the sliding motion is obstructed; this can have several causes:
- Obstruction in the track (dirt, dust, carpet fibers: the wheels can jam; warped track: the wheels do not run straight and can become misaligned)
- Wheel issues (not properly oiled/lubricated, mechanical defects)

Nothing more specific can be determined from the forum alone.

If the installers cannot resolve the problem, contact the manufacturer of the window system; they may be able to send a technical service technician—who usually knows their doors better than the installers.

Hello Hartweck,

Thank you for your reply and your recommendation, which I will gladly follow. How likely do you think it is that the entire window frame could warp? The installers hinted at this during their last visit and attributed it to the dark aluminum cladding on the outside.

Best regards

dalig

If the window is properly constructed, it will not warp. The aluminum cladding (of the profiles: uPVC-aluminum windows?) hardly causes thermal deterioration of the profiles, as the uPVC frames provide thermal insulation through hollow chambers. The lightweight metal reinforcing profiles inside the frame profiles can only become misaligned due to mechanical faults in the entire construction; in that case, however, the window would have been incorrectly manufactured and glazed.

Let’s see what the manufacturer has to say about it.

We also had quite a hard time with these lift-and-slide doors. They were difficult to open. After each repair, they worked well for about a day, then the problem returned. It was simply maddening.

I kept checking the running tracks, but they were clean. Then one of the installers realized the issue was with the running track itself. It was replaced, and since then, it has been working properly.