Rollers
The panel rides on rollers, often steel, that run in the track. They are the part that wears first, and a flat or seized roller is why a door grinds or jumps.
Sliding Window and Patio Door Replacement in Austin That Glides and Seals
Austin Quality Windows handles sliding window and door replacement in Austin, TX, and is a trusted Travis County specialist in horizontal sliders and sliding patio doors, specializing in two-sash sliding windows, OX and XO patio door units, and sill pans that drain the track. We offer like-for-like replacement in the same opening and upgrades from a dated single-pane aluminum slider to an insulated frame.
- Free in-home measure
- Elevations you approve
- Installed to manufacturer instructions
- One written price
About our sliding window & door replacement
Our team provides the glass, the rollers and the sill detail as one package, delivering a patio door that rolls smoothly and a window that seals tight for both residential and commercial projects. Our own crew measures every opening, sets the sill pan to the manufacturer's instructions and water-tests the track before trim is reinstalled.
From the weep slots in a slider's sill track to a full patio door tear-out down to the slab, our team handles every detail. Serving Austin, Lost Creek, Barton Creek and The Hills, we swap sliders that stick, rattle or sweat for units that open easily and close tight.
Why Austin Quality Windows
How We Work
No handoffs between a salesperson, a measurer and a subcontracted crew. The crew that measures your openings installs the windows.
Measured on siteEvery opening measured in the wall it sits in, by the crew that will install it
Elevations firstYou approve the drawings, sizes, glass and finish before anything is ordered
Flashed to specSill pans, flashing and sealant to the manufacturer's written instructions
Water testedOpenings checked for leaks before the interior trim goes back on
Sliding Windows and Sliding Patio Doors We Replace
A horizontal sliding window has two or more sashes that overlap slightly and slide sideways in the frame. A sliding patio door works the same way at full height: one panel rolls in a fixed track, parallel to a panel beside it that stays put. Both open without swinging into the room or out over the deck, which is why they fill so many Austin houses.
Sliding glass doors spread with mid-century modern building, ranch-style tract houses and multi-unit housing after the war, and they became standard in many regions. A great many of those original sliders, and the aluminum sliding windows installed beside them, are still in service. That is the job this page covers: replacing standard sliding windows and two-panel or three-panel patio doors with units that roll, lock and seal the way they should.
Wide openings with three or more moving panels that stack, pocket or fold are a different system with different structural work, and they have their own page on this site.
Rollers, Tracks and Locks: Why Old Sliders Drag
Most complaints about an old slider trace back to a handful of moving parts.
The track
A bent, worn or debris-packed track drags even on new rollers. When the track is part of a failing aluminum frame, the frame itself has to go.
Locks
Locking hardware is the other common replacement part. A latch that no longer meets its keeper leaves the door closed but not secure.
Anti-lift blocks
Blocks fixed at the top of the frame stop a closed panel being lifted off its rails from outside. Many older doors are missing them.
Reading OX and XO: Handing a New Patio Door
The trade writes a sliding unit as a string of letters, O for a fixed panel and X for one that slides, always read from outside the house. An XO door is left-handed: its left panel slides to the right. An OX door is right-handed: its right panel slides to the left. Three-panel and four-panel units read the same way, such as OXO or OXXO.
Handing matters more than owners expect. If the sofa now sits where the old door used to open, or the grill moved to the other end of the patio, a replacement is the moment to switch the operating panel to the side you actually walk through. The same thinking applies to sliding windows over a kitchen counter or a bed, where reach decides which sash should move.
We confirm the handing on the elevation drawing you approve before anything is ordered, because a sliding door unit cannot be flipped once it is built.
Tempered Safety Glass in Every Door Panel
US building codes require safety glass, tempered or laminated, in sliding doors, and in large windows and windows that come close to the floor. Tempered glass is about four times stronger than ordinary annealed glass, and when it does break it crumbles into small rounded pieces instead of long shards. It cannot be cut after tempering, so every panel is made to the exact size taken at the measure.
Sliding doors are usually double glazed to meet energy codes and cut noise. Because glass is a poor insulator, the better units pair an insulated frame with double or triple glazing, a low-E coating and argon fill, and metal frames get a thermal break. In Travis County the energy code caps the solar heat gain coefficient of glazed doors at 0.25, the same as windows, which is the number that keeps a west-facing family room usable on a summer afternoon.
Laminated panels are worth considering on a ground-floor door that faces a street, a path or a lake shore, because they hold together even when cracked.
Sill Drainage and the Seal Between Panels
A swinging door seals more tightly than a typical sliding door, because a slider has to leave its panels free to move. That makes the sill and the weatherstrip the parts that decide whether a sliding unit stays dry, and it is why most leaks at an old patio door show up on the floor just inside the track.
On every door we install a sill pan to ASTM E2112, running continuously across the bottom of the opening and tied into the weather barrier, so water that gets past the sill drains back out. Any shims go under the pan, never on top. Sealant never covers the weep holes or drain channels in the sill, a small mistake that makes a brand new door leak in its first storm. The sill is set level across its width, and the slab or deck outside should fall away so the weeps can empty.
Sliding windows get the same care at a smaller scale: clear weep slots in the sill track, a flashed opening, and a water test before the interior trim goes back.
What Moves the Price of a Sliding Window or Door
We quote in writing after a free measure, because the price follows the opening. These are the drivers:
- The glass package: dual or triple pane, the low-E coating and its SHGC, tempered safety glass in every door panel, laminated glass for security or sound, tint and gas fill.
- Frame material: vinyl, fiberglass, aluminum-clad wood or thermally broken aluminum, and the interior wood species and finish on a clad unit.
- Size and configuration: a two-panel or three-panel door, an oversize panel, a change of handing, and how many sliding windows change at once.
- Opening work: a same-size swap, or widening or lowering an opening with a new header.
- The sill: a new sill pan on a slab, a damaged subfloor under an old door, or a threshold that must meet the floor inside.
- Access: a second-storey balcony door, a hillside lot, or a narrow side yard to carry tall panels through.
- Removal and finish work: taking out the old frame, interior and exterior trim, stucco, stone or siding repair, flooring at the threshold, and HOA architectural approval.
It begins with the free in-home measure, where we check the opening for plumb, level and square and look at where the water goes.
Permits and Approvals Around Austin
We check each job against the current local rule when we quote it.
Austin
The city's permit exemption list covers replacing a door of the same size and operation. Window replacement is not on that list, so we confirm the permit question for your address.
Rollingwood
Rollingwood requires a permit for every window replacement but not to replace an existing door. Changing the size of an opening is an exterior change with mailed notice.
Lost Creek
Any change to a window's size, material or look needs Lost Creek ACC approval, decided within fifteen days. Starting without it invites enforcement.
Barton Creek
The POA committee reviews window specs, material and color first, and its rules turn away snap-in grids and builder-grade units.
The process
From First Measure to Finished Openings
Four steps, and nothing is ordered until you have signed off on the drawings and the price.
Free in-home measure
We measure every opening, check the framing and the header, and talk through glass, frame material and how each window should operate.
Elevations and a written price
You get drawings of every unit for your approval and for any HOA or historic review, with one written price.
Ordered to your sizes
Units are ordered to the approved sizes and glass package, and checked against the drawings when they arrive.
Installed and water tested
Old units out, openings flashed, new units set, sealed and water tested, then trim and cleanup.
More of What We Install
Service area
Where We Install
Questions
Sliding Window & Door Replacement: Common Questions
What drives the price of sliding window and door replacement?
The glass, the frame material, the size and number of panels, any change to the opening, the sill and subfloor condition, access and finish work. The written quote after your measure lists each one.
Can my sticking patio door be fixed instead of replaced?
If the frame, track and glass are sound, new rollers and a lock may be all it needs, and we will say so at the measure. When the track is worn, the glass has fogged or the frame is single-pane aluminum, replacement is the better use of the money.
Will a new sliding door fit my existing opening?
Usually, yes. Most replacements go into the same opening with a new sill pan and trim. If you want a wider or taller door, that means a new header and possibly a permit, which we include in the quote.
Can you change which side of the door slides?
Yes. Replacement is the right time to switch an XO door to OX or the reverse. We confirm the handing on the drawing you sign off before the unit is ordered.
How long from order to install?
That depends on the manufacturer, the frame and the glass. We give you the delivery date in writing with the quote, and the old door stays in until the new one is on site.
What glass handles west sun on a sliding door?
Tempered insulated glass with a low-E coating chosen for a low solar heat gain coefficient, at or under the 0.25 code limit for glazed doors in Climate Zone 2, with argon fill. A deep overhang helps too.
How do I make a sliding door more secure?
Start with a door that has anti-lift blocks at the head and a multi-point or keyed lock. Laminated glass makes the panel hard to get through, and a security bar in the track blocks it from sliding.
Is the installation covered by a warranty?
Yes. Our installation carries a written warranty, and you receive the manufacturer's product warranty paperwork at handover.
Do you cover my area?
Yes, across Travis County, including Austin, Lost Creek, Barton Creek, The Hills, Rollingwood and Sunset Valley. Call and we will confirm your address.
Free in-home measure
Talk to us about sliding window & door replacement
Free in-home measure across Austin and the west side. We call you back to set a time.
Calls only, we do not receive text messages.