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Cordova, Alabama · Walker County

French Door Repair in Cordova, AL

French doors are two heavy doors meeting in the middle with nothing but hardware holding the alignment. When one leaf drops even slightly, the pair stops meeting cleanly and everything downstream stops working: the latch, the...

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French Door Repair diagram
French Door Repair — Cordova, Alabama

Our territory takes in Cordova and the communities around it in Walker County, so calls from Downtown Cordova, Main Street and out by the Mulberry Fork all get the same response.

Between the established parts of Cordova and the newer subdivisions, we see two different kinds of failure: worn-out frames on one side of town and worn-out hardware on the other.

Need it looked at soon?Call and we will tell you honestly when we can get there.

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The french door repair problems we see most in Cordova

These are the french door repair faults we are called out to most often in Cordova. If you recognise one, the underlying cause is usually the second half of the line.

  • One door swings open on its ownHinge line out of plumb on that leaf.
  • The doors bind in summer and are loose in winterSeasonal wood movement compounding an existing alignment problem.
  • The multipoint locks at the top but not the bottomThe active leaf has dropped, so the lower keeper is now below the shootbolt.
  • There is a step you can feel between the two door facesThe leaves are no longer in the same plane, generally a hinge or frame issue rather than a door one.
  • Condensation in one of the litesFailed insulated glass in a single lite, replaceable on its own.
  • The doors rub where they meetOne or both leaves have dropped on their hinges.

Not sure whether it is a repair or a replacement?Describe the symptoms and we will give you a straight answer.

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How conditions in Cordova affect french door repair

Two storm seasons a year, spring and late fall, push water and debris against exterior doors across the metro.

Grit in the flush bolt sockets and the multipoint keepers stops those components seating fully, which means the doors are only partially locked even when the handle feels normal.

Humidity swells both leaves toward each other, and since the meeting stile is where the two doors already have the tightest clearance, that is where a French door pair binds first every summer.

It is why the same repair done properly in Cordova lasts, and the same repair done cheaply does not.

Local factors we account for in Cordova: grit and dust and sustained humidity — typical of the Birmingham metro.

Need it looked at soon?Call and we will tell you honestly when we can get there.

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French door repair work we handle in Cordova

  • Alignment and reveal correctionSetting both leaves so the reveal is even and the doors meet cleanly top to bottom.
  • Astragal and weatherstrip replacementNew seals on the meeting stile so the middle joint actually closes.
  • Frame squaringCorrecting frames that have moved and taken the doors out with them.
  • Hinge repair and re-hangingCorrecting sag with proper fasteners into framing and re-hanging leaves plumb.
  • Security upgradesReinforced strikes, longer fasteners and better flush bolts on exterior pairs.
  • Threshold and sill workNew adjustable thresholds and sill seals under a pair of doors.
  • Interior French door serviceAlignment, hardware and hinge work on interior pairs.

Need it looked at soon?Call and we will tell you honestly when we can get there.

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What happens when we get there

  1. Measure the reveal all the way aroundThe gap pattern between the leaves and around the frame tells us exactly what has moved and in which direction.
  2. Check both leaves independentlyOne door usually causes the problem, and treating both the same way makes it worse.
  3. Correct the hinges firstA dropped leaf makes every lock and seal fault worse. Hinges and fixings get sorted before the multipoint is touched.
  4. Rebuild the seal at the meeting stileAstragal and weatherstrip get replaced together, because that centre joint is where the draft and the water come through.
  5. Set the locking hardwareMultipoint points and flush bolts engaged cleanly with no lifting or pulling required. Metro-area openings often sit on clay that moves seasonally, so we check the frame for square before touching the hardware.
  6. Check it seals along its lengthWe look for daylight and feel for draft down the full height of the meeting stile, not just at eye level.

Not sure whether it is a repair or a replacement?Describe the symptoms and we will give you a straight answer.

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What affects the cost of french door repair in Cordova

We would rather tell you what drives the price than quote a number that turns out to be wrong once we see the door. On a french door repair job in Cordova, the main variables are these:

  • multipoint lock repair versus full gearbox replacement
  • whether the frame itself has moved and needs correcting
  • interior versus exterior pairs, since exterior work includes weatherproofing
  • whether one leaf or both need re-hanging
  • astragal, weatherstrip and threshold replacement

Call and describe what the door is doing. In most cases we can tell you over the phone which of those applies to you before anyone drives out to Cordova.

Not sure whether it is a repair or a replacement?Describe the symptoms and we will give you a straight answer.

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Areas we cover for french door repair in Cordova

If you are in Downtown Cordova and Main Street, or anywhere near the Mulberry Fork and the Cordova bridge, we cover you.

Service area: Cordova, Walker County, Alabama — and the surrounding communities.

We also cover the nearby Walker County and the Birmingham metro communities listed further down this page.

Not sure whether it is a repair or a replacement?Describe the symptoms and we will give you a straight answer.

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French door repair in Cordova: questions we get asked

The handle on my French door spins without doing anything. What broke?

The multipoint gearbox or the drive connection inside the door. That is a replacement part matched to the specific system, and it is worth identifying the manufacturer before ordering.

My French doors bind in summer but are fine in winter. Is that normal?

Some seasonal movement is normal in Cordova, but if it is bad enough to stop the door closing, there is usually an underlying alignment problem that the seasonal movement is pushing over the edge.

My French doors rub in the middle. Is that because the wood swelled?

Usually not. Nine times out of ten it is hinge sag on one leaf, and the giveaway is that the rub is worse at one end of the joint than the other. Real swelling affects the whole edge evenly and comes and goes with the season.

How do I stop water coming in under my French doors?

Usually the threshold seal and the sill pan. A pair of exterior French doors has a hard job at the bottom of the meeting stile, and in Walker County storms that is where water finds its way in.

Can sagging French doors be fixed without replacing them?

Yes, and it is the usual outcome. The fix is proper hinge repair with fasteners reaching the structural framing, plus re-hanging the leaf plumb. Replacing a pair of French doors is a large job by comparison.

How long does French door repair take?

Most alignment and weatherstrip jobs in Cordova take two to four hours. Multipoint gearbox replacement or glass work can add time, especially if parts need ordering for a specific manufacturer.

Broken, stuck, or will not lock?Talk to someone who works on these every day.

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Other door repair services in Cordova


French Door Repair near Cordova

We cover the surrounding Walker County and the Birmingham metro communities as well:

All door repair services in Cordova  ·  French Door Repair across Alabama  ·  All Alabama service areas

Most doors we see are repairable.Call and find out before you price a replacement.

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