Sliding screen door jumping off track: how to fix it

How a sliding screen rides

A sliding screen is held at both ends by rollers. Seconline's install guide gives the bottom rollers the job of squaring the door up with the closing channel and the top rollers the job of taking out up and down movement. The wheels sit in carriages, which Rolltrak, a supplier of replacement screen door rollers, describes as the hardware that holds the door rollers. Rolltrak says there should be two roller screws at the top and two at the bottom, on the inside of the door.

Symptoms and likely causes

Match what the door is doing to the list below, then start with the cheapest fix that fits. These are possible causes to check, not a diagnosis, and they follow from how the rollers are adjusted (see below).

• Rough or gritty to slide: check the bottom track for grit.
• Bounces or lifts as it moves: the top rollers may not be taking out the up and down movement.
• Won't close square against the frame: bottom rollers out of adjustment.
• Stiff or heavy after adjusting: the rollers may be over adjusted, which Seconline warns can damage them.
• Still comes off after cleaning and adjusting: check for bent or broken wheels, which Rolltrak says need replacing, or a damaged track.

Clean the track first

Clean the track before you adjust anything, because it's the cheapest fix there is. Rolltrak's roller replacement guide cleans the carriage and the door track with a cloth and WD-40 before any parts get swapped.

On the northern beaches, screens sit in salt-laden air year round. SCREENGUARD, one of the mesh systems we make doors and screens with, lists clearing the bottom track and any drainage slots in its own cleaning advice. SCREENGUARD's schedule for washing its mesh is every 2 weeks within 5 km of the coast, marine areas or heavy industry, and it lists clearing the bottom track as worth doing while the hose is out. Its 10 year warranty requires regular maintenance with SCREENGUARD PowaWash.

Once the track is clean, sight along it. A dent, a flattened lip or a lifted section can't be cleaned straight. That's track work, and it needs a repair.

Adjusting the roller height

Adjusting the rollers is the fix for a door that bounces or won't close square, and you only need a Phillips head screwdriver. Seconline's install guide puts the adjusting screws on the back inside of the door.

Which way to turn depends on the hardware. On Rolltrak carriages, for example, clockwise pulls the wheel back toward the door and counterclockwise lowers it onto the track. Check the instructions for your own rollers before you start, and turn a little at a time.

1. Start with the bottom pair. Seconline says to adjust them only enough to line the door up square with the closing channel.
2. Then wind the top rollers down, only enough to take the up and down movement out of the door.
3. Slide the door after each small turn. Seconline warns that over adjustment may put too much pressure on the rollers and damage them.
4. Roll the door back and forth several times so the rollers bed in, then check it runs smoothly.

Getting the door back on the track

If the door has dropped off but the wheels turn freely and aren't bent, two people can lift it back on. Don't try it alone, and don't do it from a ladder. The steps below follow Rolltrak's and Seconline's guides. If the door won't sit on the track, or keeps coming off after you've re-hung and adjusted it, stop there: that points to worn wheels or a damaged track, and it's a repair job.

1. Wind the rollers up into the door. Rolltrak retracts the rollers first so the door goes back onto the tracks more easily.
2. With a second person, lift the door and fit the top rollers into the top track first.
3. Lift the bottom rollers up onto the bottom track, as Seconline's install guide describes.
4. Slide the door back and forth to check the rollers are sitting on the track.
5. Lower the bottom rollers and set the height using the adjusting steps above.

Worn or broken wheels need replacing, not adjusting

Bent or broken wheels can't be adjusted back into shape. Rolltrak's guide is plain about it: if the rollers are bent or broken, they need replacing. Its point is that a door which no longer slides smoothly may only need new rollers, not a whole new door.

Parts vary between door makes, so there's no single size that fits every door. Rolltrak sells a bottom guide that suits one specific range of doors, for example, and its advice is to measure your carriage and roller to find a match. Getting the old carriage out means lifting the door off the track, and the first item on Rolltrak's list of what you need is a friend to help lift the door. If the wheels look like the problem and you'd rather not lift the door, that's a repair job.

If the bottom rollers can't bring the door square with the closing channel however you set them, that's a repair job. Don't try to bend the frame, and never cut or alter security mesh to make it fit.

When to call for a repair or a new door

Call for a repair when cleaning and adjusting don't stop the door jumping, when it won't stay on after re-hanging, or when you can see damage to the wheels or track.

We replace the wheels and track work on sliding doors that bounce, jam or jump the track, and the repairs are done onsite. We also replace other worn hardware on the door, such as closers, hinges and locks. For a repair quote, use the quote form on our contact page or call us, and tell us what the door is doing.

Sometimes the whole door has had its day, with a frame that won't come square or a track damaged along its length. Our doors and screens are made to measure and manufactured in Cairns, so a new one is built to the opening rather than a stock size. If you're replacing a sliding door anyway, read how hinged and sliding security doors compare before you choose.