# Sliding Screen Door with no bottom rollers



## torgerson87 (Jun 17, 2021)

Hello All,

My first post here, so thanks in advance for your help. I just purchased my first home and am having issues with my screen door that goes to my patio. The bottom would keep coming off the track. I thought I just needed to tweak the tensioning screws but that did nothing. I proceeded to removing the door to investigate and found that there were no rollers on the bottom of the door. I removed the plastic piece that appeared to be what supposed to be on track and found that it had two leaf springs. I have been researching and cannot find any info on this type of door. My other thought was that perhaps it was installed upside down and the rollers that were on the "top" could have actually been for the bottom. Either way I stumped as to how to fix this thing!









Link to additional photos of door and components


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Did you try it up side down?


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## J. V. (Jun 1, 2007)

My slider takes this type of roller. One screw spring tension. A close up of the two slots on the bottom of the screen door may help.


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## torgerson87 (Jun 17, 2021)

Nealtw said:


> Did you try it up side down?





J. V. said:


> My slider takes this type of roller. One screw spring tension. A close up of the two slots on the bottom of the screen door may help.
> View attachment 655305


Thanks for the help thus far, here is the picture of the base up close.


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## torgerson87 (Jun 17, 2021)

torgerson87 said:


> Thanks for the help thus far, here is the picture of the base up close.
> View attachment 655312


That is just one of the slots. Again, it is strange since it is a spring and not a roller in there. In addition, I had to remove the plastic piece that keeps it in the track to expose these springs


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

torgerson87 said:


> That is just one of the slots. Again, it is strange since it is a spring and not a roller in there. In addition, I had to remove the plastic piece that keeps it in the track to expose these springs


That is the kind of spring they put in window screens, I have never seen that on a door.


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## dd57chevy (Jun 21, 2015)

https://th.bing.com/th/id/R00d884de1d99ed945e47904f06c21a9c?rik=Yw2B175Sg4%2b0Hg&riu=http%3a%2f%2fwww.homedepot.com%2fcatalog%2fproductImages%2f1000%2f96%2f9653c4af-ed4a-4d87-86f8-20d9f5bba27a_1000.jpg&ehk=72JWBdFmE0maC%2fnIBjONQ894%2fR2ZBK6v9rd%2feLfQYw8%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw


Edit : Sorry , posting error


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## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

I am no expert on doors, but I see a photo with rollers at the top.
Would not make sense to have rollers at the top *and* bottom -- its either supported at the top or the bottom.
If the weight is supported at the top, then the bottom would just be guided.
Maybe the door is set too high and the bottom just barely fits into the guide.
See if there is adjustment on the top rollers. 
Are the rollers actually supporting the door weight and *rolling* as the door traverses ? Doors can be finicky to actually get the rollers onto the track that they are supposed to be sitting on.


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## dd57chevy (Jun 21, 2015)

That st steel piece is a tension spring . Not sure why someone would use one instead of a roller .....
See if you can remove it & see what the opening looks like . 
This is probably the most common patio screen roller used in _my _area :
.


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## jim_bee (Feb 23, 2021)

I believe that the tension springs are on the top of the door and the rollers are on the bottom. The springs will compress if you put the top of the door in the track, allowing the rollers to fit in the bottom track. You should be able to find replacement springs and rollers.


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## XSleeper (Sep 23, 2007)

Kind of looks like it is meant to hang on rollers on top, like some closet doors do. The door rollers appear to be on top in the photos, but no photos of the corresponding track on top of the door frame, so its hard to say.


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## oggy bleacher (May 3, 2011)

Im guessing the original door frame broke and they replaced it with a disposable screen door. Look at the frame and get a matching door.


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## AllanJ (Nov 24, 2007)

Does the door hang by gravity from the top rollers and not touch the bottom track, or is the door pushed down forcefully (not a tremendous force) against the bottom track by the top rollers?

Is there something up top to keep the entire door from rising causing the bottom edge from climbing off the track?

Is the door frame out of square, the opening being taller at one side where the door is not tall enough and comes out of the track, than at the other side where the door is too tall and gets stuck?


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## mathmonger (Dec 27, 2012)

Usually the wheels are in the middle. Your wheels are on the side. It reminds me of a closet door that hangs from a track. If there is no track for it to hang from, I wonder if possibly somebody stuck the wrong door in for that opening. I'm a little confused by the pictures though. In one pic, the wheel is practically buried in the weather stripping. I can't imagine how that could touch a track above it. But in another pic, it looks like the wheel is on the opposite side of the door from the weather stripping.


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## mathmonger (Dec 27, 2012)

Are the wheels on springs?


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## ktkelly (Apr 7, 2007)

My screen doors have *double* rollers at both the top and the bottom. While I have seen some with a single roller at each end of the top and bottom, most I've seen have the double rollers at each end, top and bottom, and they work pretty smoothly,


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## jim_bee (Feb 23, 2021)

There are almost as many set ups for these screen doors as there are manufacturers. If you can find the manufacturer's name on the door somewhere, you can probably Google it and find out for sure how it's supposed to be set up. And find repair parts too.


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## GrayHair (Apr 9, 2015)

My vote is for the screen being upside-down, and here's why.

*1.* Look at the springs in Post #4. I see no rub marks on them so why are they there?​*2*. With rollers at the top, when you slide the door it probably wants to tip. Correct?​*3*. Imagine the door with the rollers at the bottom; the springs in Post #4 rub on a ridge in the top extrusion, pressing the door and rollers against the rounded ridge in the bottom extrusion the rollers ride on.​
Short of the original installation being FUBAR, the rollers belong on the bottom.


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## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

GrayHair said:


> My vote is for the screen being upside-down....


Should be pretty easy to tell. When the door is flipped over, the door pull is going to reverse it's position (left/ight).
Door pull should be close to the jam, when the door is closed.


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## GrayHair (Apr 9, 2015)

SPS-1 said:


> Should be pretty easy to tell. When the door is flipped over, the door pull is going to reverse it's position (left/ight).
> Door pull should be close to the jam, when the door is closed.


What you say is true if the door is flipped right-to-left. But a top-to-bottom flip will keep the pull on the same side.


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## Half-fast eddie (Sep 19, 2020)

Zoom in on the bottom track in the picture with the bedroom slippers. There is a narrow groove that the door frame rides in, and a small ridge outboard from that. The wheels roll on the ridge. Im working on a samsung tablet that i hate, cant figure out how to add a picture.


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## GrayHair (Apr 9, 2015)

I've gotten my eyes crossed trying to look at the pictures. Can we get a shot showing the entire opening? Please orient the camera to the shot; i.e. If the object is horizontal, hold the camera horizontal. Which leaf slides; Inside or outside?
Are there rub marks on the silver springs in Post #4?


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## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

Normally, there is a cheap "lock" even on the screen door.
Flipping the door top/bottom will indeed maintain the pull orientation, but the lock operator would swap from inside to outside, or vice versa.


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## GrayHair (Apr 9, 2015)

Take a look at the screen and I think you'll find that the handle is in the center of the screen vertically. Manufacturers do this to make them non-handed. The latch is almost certainly reversed easily.


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## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

But then you are suggesting it was initially installed incorrectly ?
And the weatherstripping is on the wrong side ?


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## GrayHair (Apr 9, 2015)

If the screen material is centered in its frame (I can't tell), there is another indicator it is reversible.

Look at the screen frame discounting the part to which the rollers are attached. The frame should be the same all the way around. Look closely and you should see how the extrusion holding the rollers is attached to the screen frame. It is most likely removable and therefore reversible.

Installed incorrectly? Very possible. Because the screen is delicate, the builder often doesn't install it until just before the house is turned over. The part with the rollers might have been installed in the field and in the meantime, instructions may get misplaced. The installer is under the gun to get finished, he scratches his head, comes up with an idea and as long as he gets his boss off his back, he's happy.

Most rolling screens are inserted just like window screens. Stick the top in the slot, lift up against the leaf springs in the top of the screen and set the bottom in place.


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## GrayHair (Apr 9, 2015)

My head is still spinning after all the spin in that article. All the "ups" but none of the "downs". _i.e.:_ Shatter proof glazing has been around for 50 years or more in the form of plastic, but over time plastic surfaces craze and appear cloudy. Additionally, plastic deflects much more than glass and can pop out of a lite.
Large panes of glass are an anathema to security. Safety glazing reduces the danger from glass shards, doing nothing for security.
Large sliding doors are heavy if they hold much glass (1/4" glass weighs about 3 1/4 pounds per square foot) and can be difficult to operate if the track and rollers aren't properly maintained.
I could prattle on, but won't.


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