Rollers Can Be Fitted for Old Door
Question My home is more than 40 years old and has a wood-framed sliding glass door that leads to the patio. The wheels have worn to the point where the door is difficult to move. Can parts for a door this old still be found?
R.E.
La Habra
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Answer Most good glass shops should be able to find rollers for your door, says Debbie Mundt of College Glass & Mirror in Fullerton.
Those specific to your door may not be available, but there are some generic rollers that can be fitted onto most doors. If the bottom rail has been chewed up by the sticking rollers, a stainless-steel cap cover can be put over the rail to give it a better surface to roll on, unless it’s been worn down so much that it’s unusable.
There’s a drawback here, though. If the door is so old that it still has standard glass, by law you’ll need to have it replaced with safety glass when the new rollers are installed, and by then it might be cheaper to just have the door replaced with a new one, which can run $200 and up.
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Q The master bedroom in our house is covered by a flat roof, while other rooms are covered by the normal vaulted roof. In the master closet, we’re experiencing a problem with mold, which doesn’t seem to be the case in other closets in the house. Is there a way to get rid of it?
C.R.
Huntington Beach
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AHave that part of your roof checked out, says Gary Lillge of Crown Hardware in Newport Beach.
If there’s just a few drops coming from the flat roof above, it’s not going to be absorbed by any insulation or dissipate easily, so it’s prudent to have the roof inspected.
Being near the ocean doesn’t help mold and mildew problems either. There’s a product available at most hardware outlets known as Damp Out, which is designed to draw moisture from closets and small rooms, and there are other dehumidifiers you can try that can help with the problem.
To get the mold off of the walls, wash them down with a solution of bleach and water then cover them with a paint that contains a mildew-cide.
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Q We’re going to be painting the trim of our house and I’d like to paint the beige vinyl gutters as well, which the previous owners had left unpainted. Does vinyl have to be prepared in any special way, or is there a special vinyl paint that needs to be used?
D. I.
Placentia
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A It’s pretty much like painting anything else, says Rich Zelle of Fullerton Paint & Flooring.
You need to clean off the gutters, then apply a good acrylic primer before painting on the semigloss enamel. Vinyl can move, contract and expand. Before painting, make sure the gutter is securely fastened to the fascia board and the downspout. It’s important to use an acrylic paint in this instance because it has some give and will be resistant to cracking.
If you have a question about your home or garden, Helping Hand will help you find the answer. Send questions to John Morell, Home Design, The Times Orange County, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626.