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I need, according to my wife, to trade out patio for French doors. This is on a wood floor in a pier house. One local dealer tells me if the swap is from patio, as opposed to new construction or non patio, it takes a different sill. This would require special order. Others tell me he is nuts. Can I use the pre-hung units that are readily available?
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You will have to remove the paito door sill, no matter what unit you end up putting in. There are replacement French doors that go in without replacing the existing patio door jambs. Perhaps this is what your dealer is refering to as special order. The rough openings for some patio doors can be odd and require non-standard replacement doors, this could be an issue as well. If you remove the patio door jambs you should be able to use a standard prehung unit, if your rough opening is large enough.
*Howard,Man, you got me lost in there somewhere. What do you mean by patio door, alum slider? Must be local jargon whats got me cornfused.I would only install a prehung unit in that hole. Have no exp. with the replacement Mike mentioned. There has got to be something available to put in the rough you've got without header change etc. However, you should see the detail on the bottom of the unit and decide if you are going to put a throw rug in front of that door. How your wood floor is now and how you want it in relation to the new sill is pretty important to figure in the beginning. The sills can be a tripper because of their height. You may have to do some cutting back at the floor or in some cases add to the subfloor to make it work. And please don't just slip it in and caulk it. Pay attention now to the flashings at the top and bottom especially. You don't want any water infiltration getting to the wood floor.Don't forget to ask the wife about that rug. It's a bitch to move it in order to open the door. They don't like that. Best of luck
*Thanks for the info guys. Yes, Calvin, the aluminum slider unit. I'll do a lot of measuring before I start. In fact, I will ponder these decisions until she puts a gun to my head. Then I'll start working on this project.