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Converting Patio Door to a hinged door

user-358904 | Posted in Construction Techniques on October 6, 2020 11:55am

I am planning on winterizing my Garage and had the idea of replacing my single car garage door with two repurposed patio doors that I got for free.

I would affix hinges to the edge of the patio doors and have them swing out into the driveway. The doors would be supported by two small 2X6 wall sections that will be insulated.

I am worried that because the patio doors are designed to be supported at the bottom.
I guess it might be possible that the stress of being supported only by the side with the hinges holding all the weight of the 38 inch wide door might cause too much racking force on the frame of the doors causing the glass to split.

Possible solutions that came to mind were :

Installing metal L brackets at the corner

Since the doors are cedar I could glue additional wood around the frame across the existing corner joints to make the frame thicker

I don’t want to mount the patio doors in their normal configuration because:

1) I don’t want to mount the rail at the bottom so I can roll things in and out of the garage.

2) I want to be be able to swing the doors open in the summer to get fresh air

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am not a construction professional

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Replies

  1. mgmahan | Oct 06, 2020 03:01pm | #1

    Wood patio door should be built the same as any wood/glass door.

    1. user-358904 | Oct 06, 2020 10:00pm | #2

      Thanks mgmahan

      Yes true. But I am concerned because the ratio of wood to glass is much different. The door is composed almost entirely of a very heavy sheet of thermopane with a thin wood frame around it

      1. mgmahan | Oct 06, 2020 11:43pm | #3

        I would suggest an angle iron frame welded at the corners and rabbeted into the perimeter of the wood frame.

  2. user-358904 | Oct 07, 2020 06:07am | #4

    Thanks mgmahan
    That sounds super strong!

  3. User avater
    unclemike42 | Oct 07, 2020 07:38am | #5

    You also could hang them from a barn door sliding mount. could hang it so both doors slide to one side, one behind the other.

    something like this
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085LM8XJY/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B085LM8XJY&pd_rd_w=B7kvt&pf_rd_p=7d37a48b-2b1a-4373-8c1a-bdcc5da66be9&pd_rd_wg=gQzsl&pf_rd_r=MKPTS6XFWNFK3V74X09H&pd_rd_r=29084f3a-6ce1-43d1-9569-f41fa47a6f83&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExVUpTTjBYRjM0UjdHJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTIzOTgwMUZLOVpRSjdONTRYTyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMzM3NjYwSzI3WDNaNU1JSk5BJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfZGV0YWlsJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

    this would provide lots of open space, and allow unrestricted access to the floor surface.

    You could embed the glass doors in a larger wood frame if you want more space when they are open.

    1. mgmahan | Oct 07, 2020 11:42am | #6

      Almost impossible to weather strip.

      1. user-358904 | Oct 08, 2020 10:03am | #7

        Yes I agree. These doors are really cool but Toronto winters get very cold. However thanks for the suggestion Uncle Mike. I am leaning to towards doing some kind of braces at the corners. If I had a welder I would do the angle iron thing suggested by mgmahan. I looked at various commercial brackets made of steel but the hole locations look like they might cause me to introduce a split in the frame. I was thinking of sanding down the cedar frame and gluing and screwing some kind of decorative corner brace made of white oak.

  4. User avater
    Plumb13 | Oct 08, 2020 09:41pm | #8

    Convert sliding glass doors into out-swinging hinged doors? Even if you managed to cobble together enough custom bracing, stiles and jambs to make it work, it would cost a fortune and they'd never stay weather tight. Do yourself a favor and buy a good set of in-swing doors.

    1. user-358904 | Oct 08, 2020 10:08pm | #9

      I agree that it is a daunting job. However, I don't have room inside for the doors to swing in
      :(

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