REPLACING THE SLIDING PATIO DOORS

Our original sliding patio doors were installed almost 3 decades ago.  The wood below the doors to our deck swelled up during heavy rainstorms so much that you had to lean all of your body weight to get them to open.  They were installed without proper flashing so that rain gushed into the basement room if the rains blew from the east.  The wood was cracking and rotting.  In addition, the doors were installed inside out without a key lock so that they could not be secured with a broomstick.
So it was that we decided to replace those doors with new, better quality Atrium sliding doors with key locks by Woodgrain Millwork (http://www.atriumpatiodoors.com) available from Home Depot.  My first choice was Andersen but they did not offer large size doors.
I hired Specialty Home Improvement owned by Roger Cummings (201 Fair Glen Rd., Holly Springs, NC 27540) to do the installation.  Here they begin the removal of the old doors.  They found that the old sliding doors were jammed so tightly by the swollen door jamb that they could not be slid out from the frame.
Their only option was to smash the glass in the door.  This allowed the doors to be removed.
The view of the empty door frames before installation of the new doors.
The new doors are heavy being made of wood and 76 inches wide X 96 inches high.  On the right the doors are being reframed to accept the new windows.
Proper flashing was applied to the deck.  It reaches out 10 inches under the deck planks as required by modern building codes.  This will prevent any leaks of gallons of water into our basement room during those heavy tropical rains.
Roger applies the caulk to the flashing.  On the right, we see the new Atrium sliding patio doors installed.  Below right, new polished brass handles with locking key set.
New brass handle and the view from our living room.  Later I will include pictures of the doors with the interior wood surfaces stained and varnished and the exterior trim painted.
The installation of the doors was completed by Specialty Home Improvement in a single day.  Call Roger Cummings at 919-552-9876 or email to specialtyhomeimproment@yahoo.com.