Sliding patio doors w/ sagging header - Need contractor recommendations (Phoenix: house, construction)

[SpaceNeedle]

We were told that the header above our patio sliding door is sagging to the point where it rests atop the upper track of the sliding door. The sliding door now drags under the weight. And, scraping marks can be seen on the under-side of the top track.

Recommendations on contractors who have good track records with this type of repair would be greatly appreciated.

[richard222]

I was told the same thing about our sliding door. The company was Phoenix Sliding Doors. They want a lot of money to fix the door. I passed. I plan on getting another estimate from another company. I hope they were wrong.

[SpaceNeedle]

Very interesting. That was the company that told us about the sagging. And yes, the quote they gave us was quite high. I'd appreciate if you could keep me posted on what you find.

[maverick974]

I've been a contractor for years in Oregon and installing a header for a slider is no big deal. Even a relatively knowledgeable handyman could do that. It's messy for a day or two but it's not a tough job. Any reputable contractor should be able to do that job without much problem.

[slowesthand]

It will be a little messy for sure. Your drywall on the inside will be nailed to it, so there will be some drywall repair. Chances are your house is stucco, so all the stuccco will have to be cut or chipped out to get to the header. So you have a stucco repair job. If the door is in a load bearing wall , it should be shored up while removing the header to prevent more sagging, or even worse. If it wasn't for all that it would be an easy job!

[SpaceNeedle]

Maverick and Slowesthand - Thank you all for taking time to response.

So, should we be looking for a remodeling contractor or a windows/door contractor?

[Zippyman]

it's quite likely it can be done without a stucco repair.

Personally, I'd try to separate the trades - if you call a "remodeler", they're going to either sub-out the drywall repair & double the cost, or you'll get a "jack of all trades" doing a mediocre repair.

If you can find a framer or a window guy for the door/header replacement, I've got an excellent drywall/texture guy who can make the repair nearly impossible to detect.

The replacement door will be the wild-card as far as cost - you can pay $300-$2k for just the door.

[S. Chris Webb]

SW Patio Door repair is who we use. 602-404-7549. I believe Russ is the sole proprietor that does nothing else, so knows his stuff. He's given excellent service and very fair prices for our own, as well as the homes for which we do Property Management. He didn't even charge me extra to watch and ask questions . If the carpentry aspect is out of his league, he probably will be able to point you in the right direction.

[slowesthand]

I'ts possible that you don't have to replace the door, if the top track isn't too bad. There is a chance that after the header is replaced, you might be able to drive a couple screws up through it , into the header, and take the bow out. Replacing the wheels at the bottom of the door is not too hard, and the parts can be found at home depot, or the like.
30 yrs in the construction business, I've seen 1000's of arcadia doors put in, there should have been a small gap between the door and the header, so your header must have REALLY came down, possibly from being too small to begin with.....I'm just sayin' !

[S. Chris Webb]

I messed up. The fellow who let me watch was from Sun Valley Patio Door Service - Dave Berg. Nice guy - 602-482-0605.

I'm told that SW Patio Doors has since merged with Slide-Right Patio doors, but I believe their number is the same. We have used them (SW Patio Doors) a few times as well and their prices were around the same as Sun Valley's last time we used them.