Can you reverse a sliding glass door

The light switch for the outdoor lighting on my patio is on the wrong side of the sliding glass door, and so I asked an electrician how difficult it would be to move the switch to the side where the door actually opens.

He said that since there is not attic vaulting ceiling , he would have to cut into the wall above and around the door to move the switch. Now I am think that it might be easier to reverse the sliding glass door and have it open on the other side, next to the light switch. If that is a very simple matter, I would want to do it - otherwise I will have to live with having an inconvenient switch or consider tearing into the wall. How difficult is it to reverse a sliding glass door?

Will I be better off cutting into the wall to move the light switch? It depends on the manufacturer. Some can be reversed and others not. Do you know the manufacturer? I do not know the manufacturer - I cannot find any identification on the door itself, but now that I look at it, it does look like it could easily be switched, but that would involve uninstalling it and reinstalling it, which may be as much work as moving the light switch.

French door windows or sliding glass door. Sliding Glass patio door or french doors? Advice: sliding glass door or French doors. Barn door over a sliding glass door. In the long run probably more work if it even works as most are not truly reversible except some of the less quality vinyl and then you have to worry about actually being able to re-install if it is a poor quality door that has been installed for a few years.

Mine is not vinyl, but it does seem like it would be more work than fixing the switch, and I've sort of decided that I like the door opening the way it does, although I could easily adjust. Indem Sie weiterhin auf der Website surfen bzw. Mehr erfahren. Ultimate Lighting Sale. Bathroom Vanity Sale. Bestselling Chandeliers and Pendants. Sign In. Join as a Pro. Houzz TV. Houzz Research. Shop Featured Holiday Categories.

Home Decor. Holiday Decor. Christmas Trees. Holiday Lighting. Gift Cards. Reversing a sliding glass door. Lars 6 years ago. Email Save Comment 4. Sort by: Oldest. The issue is the labor of removing, replacing and resealing the door With andersen the task of swapping sides is possible with a little work. What has to happen is all the holes for the handle, lock and latch has to be drilled into the opposite side.

The most intricate will be the channel that houses the latch. I cut that by using a large drill bit and making several holes then taking a dremel tool to finish.

Finally you will need to plug the original holes with some kind of silicone or calking. I used white so it blends in. Then all you have to do is move the stationary door over and cut a new hole for the latch. I did not have to do this step because all I was trying to do is replace a broken opp door with one I found online, that happened to be the wrong side.

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Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. How can you reverse a sliding glass door? Ask Question. Asked 9 years, 3 months ago. Active 3 years, 4 months ago. Viewed 53k times.

Improve this question. Alex Feinman Alex Feinman 3, 5 5 gold badges 26 26 silver badges 41 41 bronze badges. Turn the door upside down! The frames usually had a definite top and bottom, but the doors didn't.

Then install the lock hardware on the side you wanted to. I recently installed a couple of new sliding glass doors and the doors were manufactured with an up and down side - the rollers were mounted on the bottom and the top edge was smooth. I think turning upside down depends on the manufacturer.

I suggest pulling the door off and taking a look to see if that's an option for you. Yeah, it's definitely not upside-downable unless I am not seeing something obvious. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. But, in conclusion, you should recognize that you would likely: Need to remove the entire frame from the opening Likely lose energy efficient properties from the glass treatment being reversed Expose your rail track to the exterior and additional wear Need to reverse your handle and lockset and lose the ability to use the "bar in the track security method Need to re-flash and re-seal the door provided that there is a flange and that it's still usable In my humble opinion, each of these together would warrant simply buying a new sliding door to replace this one.

Improve this answer. Matthew Matthew 8, 17 17 gold badges 47 47 silver badges 80 80 bronze badges. Jeff Contonio Jeff Contonio 41 2 2 bronze badges.

Based upon Jeff's answer i may be trying this myself, but will be calling Anderson people first for an estimate.