Sliding Doors and Hurricane Season

Why the patio door matters more than the windows

A sliding glass door is usually the largest single opening in the building envelope. If it fails during a storm, the consequence is not just water and broken glass. Sudden internal pressurisation is one of the recognised mechanisms by which roofs and walls come apart, and a large failed opening on the windward side is the classic way it starts.

That is why sliding doors carry the code attention they do in Florida, and why the condition of yours is worth a look before the season rather than during a watch.

Before the season: what actually helps

• Check that every door locks properly. The latch pulls the panel tight against its weatherstripping. A door that does not lock does not seal, and a panel that is not held firmly in its frame moves more under wind load. This is the highest-value item on the list.
• Clear the weep holes. The small drainage slots at the base of the exterior track are what let wind-driven rain escape. Blocked, the track fills and water goes into your floor instead. Clear them with a wooden skewer, never a metal tool.
• Inspect the weatherstripping and sweeps. Hardened, cracked, or missing seals are where wind-driven rain enters. They are inexpensive and quick to replace, and worth doing before June rather than after.
• Deal with worn rollers. A panel sagging in its frame does not sit correctly against the seals or the lock keeper. Fixing the wheels fixes the seal and the lock at the same time.
• Check the perimeter sealant where the frame meets the wall. Failed caulk lets water in behind the frame, and that damage is invisible until it is expensive.
• Confirm your protection actually deploys. If you have shutters, panels, or tracks for them, put them up once in May. Finding a missing wing nut in a warning is a bad way to spend an afternoon.

When a storm is coming

Deploy your shutters or panels early rather than late. Bring in anything on the patio that could become a projectile aimed at the glass, which is the actual failure mode for most doors, rather than wind pressure alone. Lock every slider, including the ones you never use, because a locked panel is a stiffer panel. Then leave them alone.

Taping glass does nothing useful. It does not hold a pane together and it produces larger, heavier fragments when it fails.

Afterwards

Storm damage to sliding doors is often not obvious on the day. What we find weeks later is frames that were racked slightly in the opening, water that got behind the frame and started corroding hardware from below, or track sections that were driven full of debris.

Symptoms to watch for in the months after a storm:

• A door that will not lock the way it used to
• New drafts, whistling, or water appearing at the sill in ordinary rain
• A panel that suddenly feels heavier or catches at one point in its travel
• Visible gaps at the frame corners or a closing-edge gap that is no longer parallel

Any of those are worth an inspection. If a frame moved, you want to know now, while it is still a repair.

We prioritise security faults

After a storm we move doors that will not lock and openings that are not secure to the front of the queue. If your home is exposed, say so when you call and we will schedule accordingly.