# garage door conversion to glass patio doors question



## MikeBe (May 17, 2015)

Hi everyone!

I live in a ranch style 3 bd. house.I have a huge double garage, 1/4 of the whole space.
I am hoping to convert one garage into a guest room sometime next year
and leave the other garage half intact. I talked to a few people, but really
want an independent opinion. I have a good sense of interior design,
codes, safety etc. The question I have is about the entrance.

My idea of it is to take out garage doors and install sliding glass
patio doors. These doors would most likely have to be custom made to
fit the opening, for the reason that if I ever need to sell the place,
I can revert back to garage doors without pain.
Questions:
Is that something that could be done? What are the possible disadvantages that I may encounter with this?
Who should I try to find for the job, a door/window specialist
or perhaps a masonry contractor because garage is poured concrete.

PS. Attached are photos of current garage and photoshopped version of what I have in mind.

thanks in advance for your input!
Mike


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## jimn (Nov 13, 2010)

Once you have converted it to room I doubt it would get converted back. I would frame in the opening and put in a stock door . A slider the size of garage door would very heavy


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## MikeBe (May 17, 2015)

jimn01, Thank you for reply! yes, I thought about this, but it will not look good because of symmetry with other garage door and having a large window/door will bring more natural lights to the room. I also thought of making a glass door (not sliding) where you would have 2 or 3 glass sections, with one acting as a regular "swing door". My question, I guess is more related to the pro I have to hire for the job... A glass door specialist (people who make them and install them) or some other specialist, since it is not ordinary situation?


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## MikeBe (May 17, 2015)

Well, I bought a door that should work nicely replacing my garage door. 
The door is a Marvin, I bought it used. I am including photos of front and back. I understand how the mounting frame around it should be, but I need advice on what should be done at bottom. This is an older Marvin door, and I can not find any installation instructions. Can anybody suggest by looking at photos of what type of hardware and materials I need for the bottom of the door so I can start gathering/look for materials before contractor arrives. I am also attaching photo of the bottom of my garage.
Kindly help or point me in the right direction. Thank you!


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## MikeBe (May 17, 2015)

And I thought that my question was a straight forward one....I guess not...
I watched an episode of "This Old House" on patio door installation. Nice stuff:




 Everything is straight forward, the guy used some sort of silicone or adhesive between door bottom and concrete, BUT he did not say what exactly he used. Anybody here knows what exactly I should use to seal the door bottom plate to concrete?


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## jimn (Nov 13, 2010)

Your need to frame the opening. If you are planning on mounting this door directly onto the concrete you will quickly end up with rotting door frame issues. Doors are usually designed to be sitting on a sill so that don't sit in rain and snow. I believe code (or At least common practice ) where I live is 6 inches above the exterior surface (porch, ground, deck or what have you) Were you planning on adding a floor to your room or are you just planning on using the existing concrete garage floor?


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## MikeBe (May 17, 2015)

jimn01, thank you for reply, I was already loosing hope that somebody would answer. Yes, it is going to be framed from the sides and top. The frame is going to sit right on a concrete, installation will be very similar to one in "This Old House" video I included in the post. We lived in house for a few years, even in storms and snow thaws, we do not get water in the garage. worst case scenario, I would add aluminum awning. The question I have, what is the type of sealant I should use on the bottom. Is it something specialized, or standard weather proof silicone for metals and concrete? 
Thank you.


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## Drimont21 (8 mo ago)

MikeBe said:


> Hi everyone!
> 
> I live in a ranch style 3 bd. house.I have a huge double garage, 1/4 of the whole space.
> I am hoping to convert one garage into a guest room sometime next year
> ...


Hello I’ve been looking around asking somewhat the same question. I’ve been converting a 3 car garage in Southern California so I closed both garage doors I had to frame the garage doors with 6”x2” studs because of the existing garage door was framed with 6”x2”. So with the small garage door I completed the framing and added a window seeing as that side of the garage is going to be a room, but my problem is with the bigger garage door (2 car opening) I installed a new construction sliding door but now I have about 2 extra inches of stud at the bottom of the door and I wanna know what is a good way to either cover it up or fix it. If I were you though I would frame out the garage door with 2x4 if that’s the size the garage door is originally framed from, and make a rough opening of the size of your new door with about a half inch extra space from the top/bottom and left/right. then when Adding the sliding door you add silicone around the door framing and the actual sliding door .obviously level everything make sure everything comes out level and square. use shims if you have to then fill in the gap around the frame and the sliding door with expanding foam so no air comes in through the outside ,and screw in the door from the inside of the frame of the actual sliding door that’s my advice not exactly in that order but I hope you understand what I mean. And if anyone has an answer for me about my problem please give me any advice


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## Thom Paine (Nov 24, 2021)

Drimont21 said:


> Hello I’ve been looking around asking somewhat the same question. I’ve been converting a 3 car garage in Southern California so I closed both garage doors I had to frame the garage doors with 6”x2” studs because of the existing garage door was framed with 6”x2”. So with the small garage door I completed the framing and added a window seeing as that side of the garage is going to be a room, but my problem is with the bigger garage door (2 car opening) I installed a new construction sliding door but now I have about 2 extra inches of stud at the bottom of the door and I wanna know what is a good way to either cover it up or fix it. If I were you though I would frame out the garage door with 2x4 if that’s the size the garage door is originally framed from, and make a rough opening of the size of your new door with about a half inch extra space from the top/bottom and left/right. then when Adding the sliding door you add silicone around the door framing and the actual sliding door .obviously level everything make sure everything comes out level and square. use shims if you have to then fill in the gap around the frame and the sliding door with expanding foam so no air comes in through the outside ,and screw in the door from the inside of the frame of the actual sliding door that’s my advice not exactly in that order but I hope you understand what I mean. And if anyone has an answer for me about my problem please give me any advice


Start a new thread... this one is several years old.


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## Drimont21 (8 mo ago)

Thom Paine said:


> Start a new thread... this one is several years old.


Yea I just noticed that I did start a new one just posted it thanks though 👍🏻


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