I am preparing to replace the glass only in an old aluminum sliding door. The frame is not thermally broken, however, the glass is insulated. The outside-to-outside dimension of the aluminum slider extrusion is 1\u201d. I am guessing that the glass panes are 7\/16\u201d with 3\/16\u201d airspace, leaving 1\/8\u201d for rubber gasket. Does this sound reasonable? The daylight dimension of the glass is 44 3\/8\u201d x 74 3\/8\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n Thank you for your time.<\/em> Dear Dave,<\/p>\n Thank you for making contact with the Glass Detective regarding your patio door glass<\/a> issue and in particular, how to size or measure (for ordering purposes) the correct glass. To start, let\u2019s give you some basic information about patio doors<\/a> and the glass used therein. Here we go: Over the past 40 or so years there have been numerous companies that have come in and gone out of the patio door<\/a> manufacturing business. These various manufacturers all pretty much made the same basic door and, for the past few decades, they have almost all been glazed with insulating glass units<\/a> using tempered glass<\/a>. Perhaps 95% or more of the doors produced are glazed with tempered glass<\/a>. These doors have been manufactured using wood, aluminum, bronze, stainless steel, vinyl, and fiberglass.\u00a0 Because a multitude of manufacturers and a variety of products have been used to make these doors, there is no consistency in how the glass units get installed.<\/p>\n First off, I always recommend that glass be replaced professionally by a reputable glass shop or window and door dealer in your area. They will be able to take accurate measurements and recommend replacement options. This is not something that should be DIY\u2019ed. That being said, the following is for informational purposes only so that you may have a better understanding of the process.<\/p>\n There are two primary methods for installing a piece of glass into a patio door frame<\/a>.\u00a0 The first is what we will call the \u201cwrap-around\u201d method.\u00a0 In this approach to installing a piece of glass into the door frame, the frame comes completely apart.\u00a0 It is typically screwed together or clipped together in some fashion at the four corners of the door.\u00a0 When the screws or clips are removed, the frame comes apart into four pieces and, obviously at this point, the glass is out of the frame.\u00a0 Sometimes there is a wrap-around gasket that is part of this type of frame, or it might be glazed using a sealant or some kind of gasket strips.\u00a0 The best way to measure the glass for this type door frame is to take the existing frame apart, measure the exact dimensions (and thickness) of the original glass, and then order an appropriated size replacement piece of glass.<\/p>\n Naturally, you would most likely want to put the frame and glass back together and use it temporarily while you are waiting for the replacement glass unit to arrive.\u00a0 This approach could be problematic if the original glass is already broken because tempered glass can explode and fall out of the opening when it is broken.<\/p>\n
\nDave<\/em>
\nQueenstown, MD<\/em><\/p>\nAnswer:<\/h3>\n
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