Hammersmith Handyman – Your Home Repair & Maintenance Pros

Sliding and folding door sets are the first thing to be added to a Hammersmith rear extension and the first thing to go wrong. A six-panel folding set weighs several hundred kilograms and every bit of that travels on small rollers running in a track a few millimetres wide, so the tolerances are tighter than anything else in the house. Add the damp air that comes off the river on a still morning, a foundation that has moved a little since the extension was built, and a set of doors that opened effortlessly in year one becomes a two-handed shove by year five.

Diagnosing drop before adjusting anything

The usual complaint is that the doors catch near the closing end. Before a single screw is turned, the gaps down each meeting stile are measured top and bottom to see whether the leaves have dropped, whether the frame has racked, or whether the track has deflected in the middle. A uniform gap that closes towards the bottom is a hinge or roller adjustment; a gap that varies along the length of the head usually means the structure above has moved and no amount of adjustment will fix it permanently.

How the adjustment actually works

Folding sets have adjustment in three planes, generally through eccentric hinge pins or an adjustable carriage hidden behind a cover cap. Each panel is adjusted in sequence from the hung end outwards, in small increments, with the set operated fully between each change. Taking a large correction at one hinge transfers the error to the next joint and produces a set that closes at the top and gapes at the bottom. Sliding sets adjust at the roller carriages, and both rollers on a leaf are moved together to keep it square.

Drainage in the bottom track

The track is a gutter as well as a running surface. Slots at the outer edge take water away, and they block with grit, pollen, moss and the fine silt that blows off the river, after which the track fills and water finds its way over the inner upstand. Clearing those slots with a thin probe and a vacuum, not a hose, is routine maintenance that almost nobody does. Standing water in the track also corrodes stainless roller bearings and leaves a white bloom on an anodised finish that is hard to remove later.

Seals, brushes and the draught nobody can find

Weather performance comes from compression gaskets and brush seals rather than from the doors touching each other. Gaskets take a set after a few years, particularly where a set is left in one position all winter, and a flattened seal lets in a thin cold draught that feels like a fault in the glazing. Replacement strip is available by profile and is fitted in a continuous length with the corners mitred rather than butted, since the joints are where air finds a way through. Comparable work across the wider district is covered by handyman specialists in West London.

Condensation around a large opening

A wide glazed opening in an otherwise solid wall creates a temperature difference along the reveals, and in a kitchen where cooking and drying add moisture the reveals and the head are where it collects. Running the extract while cooking, and leaving a set slightly vented in mild weather, deals with most of it. Where black growth has taken hold on the plaster around a reveal or in the sealant line, the treatment needed is same-day mould removal in Hammersmith. Gaps in a threshold that has lifted also let in more than water, and persistent activity in a floor void is work for West London mice and rat control.

What a service visit covers

A door service is charged by time and usually takes a couple of hours for a single set: clean and clear the track, check and adjust each leaf, lubricate the carriages and hinges with the right product, inspect the seals and test the locking points through their full engagement. Clear the furniture back from the opening and allow the doors to be operated repeatedly. Where a set has just come through building work and is full of dust and plaster, the clearance under builders clean in Hammersmith should come first. The wider service list is set out under shelf and curtain fitting.