I need to replace the sliding glass door. I've done it on a previous home
where the nailing flange was covered by a trim board, but my current house
is Vinyl Sided with J-Channel right up to the door. Is there a trick to
replacing the door without destroying the Vinyl siding?

Thanks in Advance,
-a12vman

Probably the best thing is to go to HD or Lowes or check on line to see how
vinyl siding is installed and then undo it. If you careful you should be
able to pull out the nails or pull it thru the nail heads and carefully lift
it back so you can work. Probably a hot day is best so it is flexible.


"a12vman" wrote in message
...
I need to replace the sliding glass door. I've done it on a previous home
where the nailing flange was covered by a trim board, but my current house
is Vinyl Sided with J-Channel right up to the door. Is there a trick to
replacing the door without destroying the Vinyl siding?

Thanks in Advance,
-a12vman

"a12vman" wrote in
:

I need to replace the sliding glass door. I've done it on a previous
home where the nailing flange was covered by a trim board, but my
current house is Vinyl Sided with J-Channel right up to the door. Is
there a trick to replacing the door without destroying the Vinyl
siding?

Thanks in Advance,
-a12vman




The siding is pretty darn flexible. Get a siding puller. Few bucks. Borg
has them. Gotta get it under the lip near an end and give it a good
pull/wiggle. You can do it by the J channel by bending the edge of the
channel outward then pull (moreso yank) then siding edge out. Once an
edge is out from the course below you just slide the puller and the rest
of the course comes out easily.

You may find it easier to start at a butt joint where two pieces overlap.

Once the siding is pulled away you will see nails holding the channel.
They should be aluminum siding nails. Look just like roofing nails only
light aluminum. These nails should NOT be tight. The siding and channel
expand and contract quite a bit.

If you need to remove courses of siding, start at the highest one you
will remove. That will expose the nails for the course below and you will
not need to use the puller.

Before taking off the 2nd and further courses, mark the top edge of where
the nails are on the wall, foamboard or whatever is right under the
siding. If the courses are not put back in the same place, when you end
up putting the last course back in place it may be too big or too small
to grab the one final below.

The siding courses should also NOT be nailed tight and all nails should
be in the middle of the slots you will see. If only one nail is at an
edge, the course cannot expand in one direction. Actually, when you have
a course off you should be able to grab the bottom of the one above and
the whole thing slide a bit to the left and right.

- A regular nail puller works much better than a claw hammer to me.
- The ends of the siding should NOT be butted right up against the
channel so then can expand.
- Where two pieced overlap on the ends, note the very very bottom of the
siding. There is a cutout, again, for expansion. Any new overlaps you
create must have this cutout.
- Don't nail tight.
- Use only Aluminum siding nails. Kinda expensive $8-$10/lb here. Big box
since Al is so much lighter. If you use electro-galvanized roofing nails
you'll have brown rust oozing out from under siding courses in a year. If
you use hot dipped galvanized you may see the same thing eventually. It
will stain the siding permanently.
- Before removing channels note how the ends are bent and how they fit
(over/under) the surrounding pieces. Put the wrong way and it will feed
water behind the siding below.

You'll figure it out. I did.

On Aug 16, 8:30 am, "a12vman" wrote:
I need to replace the sliding glass door. I've done it on a previous home
where the nailing flange was covered by a trim board, but my current house
is Vinyl Sided with J-Channel right up to the door. Is there a trick to
replacing the door without destroying the Vinyl siding?

Thanks in Advance,
-a12vman

I recently got a bid for the same job from a window and glass
company. My house has steel siding applied the same way (j channel
over the nailing flange). I asked how they would do it.

"Simple. We just cut off the nailing flange and install the new door
leavign the J-channel and all siding in place".

Didn't have them do it but it sounds very feasible to me and, with a
decent caulk job afterward, should be indistiinguishable from new
construction.

Harry K

Harry K wrote in
oups.com:

On Aug 16, 8:30 am, "a12vman" wrote:
I need to replace the sliding glass door. I've done it on a previous
home where the nailing flange was covered by a trim board, but my
current house is Vinyl Sided with J-Channel right up to the door. Is
there a trick to replacing the door without destroying the Vinyl
siding?

Thanks in Advance,
-a12vman

I recently got a bid for the same job from a window and glass
company. My house has steel siding applied the same way (j channel
over the nailing flange). I asked how they would do it.

"Simple. We just cut off the nailing flange and install the new door
leavign the J-channel and all siding in place".

Didn't have them do it but it sounds very feasible to me and, with a
decent caulk job afterward, should be indistiinguishable from new
construction.

Harry K




Extensive caulking might restrict the thermal expansion/contraction of
vinyl.