Apartment Hinged Patio Door Replacement — French Door or Slider
Older buildings often have hinged patio doors that sag, drag and no longer latch.
Reply within one business day. Or call / text 763-204-2099.
Apartment hinged patio door replacement starts with one decision: keep a French-style door or switch the opening to a slider. JMB Builders checks the swing against the balcony depth, rail and furniture space, measures each opening in person, and replaces the door the same day with a sill pan, flashing and an adjusted astragal or lock. Twin Cities metro, priced per door. Photos get a reply within one business day, or book a free in-home estimate.
- Priced per door: hinged or converted to slider
- Swing checked against balcony and room
- Every opening measured in person
Hinged patio doors show up in older apartment and condo buildings: a single door or a French pair to a small balcony. After decades they sag on their hinges, the astragal stops lining up, and the bolts miss their holes. Tenants slam them to get them to latch.
A hinged door needs swing room. An out-swing door on a shallow balcony can hit the rail or a grill; an in-swing door takes floor space inside where a couch or table wants to be. In many units a sliding door fits the space better, since it needs no swing at all. The opening is usually the same width, and the bid shows both options side by side.
Whichever goes in, the old door and frame come out, the sill is checked for rot, a sill pan goes down, and the new door is set, flashed, trimmed and adjusted so it latches. The threshold height is set to keep balcony water out; in accessible units the building official may want a lower one. Before we bid a building of five or more units, we check the city's contractor licensing and permit rules for that building.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough: a reply within one business day, or ask for a free in-home estimate. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
What you supply
- Which units have hinged patio doors, and the balcony depths
- Your choice: keep hinged doors or convert to sliders
- Approval of the door spec, including swing direction
- Tenant notice, sent by the owner or manager
What JMB supplies
- A check of swing clearance against each balcony and room
- In-person measure of each opening before ordering
- Hinged or sliding doors ordered through ABC Supply
- Old door and frame removed and hauled away
- Sill pan, flashing, foam and sealant
- Astragal, bolts and lock adjusted so the door latches
- Interior casing and exterior trim
- Photos of each finished door
How it is priced: per door
Quoted in writing from your photos, with a reply within one business day. What moves the number:
- Hinged pair vs. single hinged door vs. a slider
- In-swing vs. out-swing
- Opening size, and whether it is resized for the new door
- Rot at the sill, priced as a set line
- Threshold height and balcony surface at the sill
- Siding, brick or stucco around the door
Send a photo of the door open, the balcony from the doorway, and the threshold.
How long it takes
Typically one hinged or converted door per unit per working day. Lead time depends on the brand and is written on the quote.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized reply within one business day. Prefer a look in person? A free in-home estimate is always an option.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Keep a French pair
A new hinged pair in the same swing, for buildings where the look matters. The astragal and bolts are adjusted so both doors latch tight.
Convert to a slider
A sliding door in the same opening needs no swing room on a tight balcony or in a small living room. The frame color can still match the building.
Single hinged door
For narrow openings, a single hinged patio door with a fixed sidelite in some lines. Simple to latch and seal.
Apartment Hinged Patio Door Replacement — French Door or Slider: questions, answered
Should an apartment balcony get a French door or a slider?
On a shallow balcony or a small living room, a slider usually works better because it needs no swing room. French doors suit buildings where the look matters and there is space to swing. We check each unit and price both.
Can a hinged patio door be replaced with a sliding door in the same opening?
Usually, yes. Most openings fit a slider of the same width with little or no framing change. The bid shows any resizing before the order.
Which way should a patio door swing on a small balcony?
In, most of the time, so it clears the rail and snow on the balcony. An out-swing door needs a balcony deep enough to open fully. If neither fits the room, a slider is the answer.
Why do old French patio doors in apartments stop latching?
The hinges sag, the frame moves, and the astragal and bolts no longer line up with their strikes. Some can be adjusted; doors that are warped or rotted at the bottom usually need replacing.
Can a new hinged patio door have a lower threshold?
Some lines offer lower sills, but a low sill lets balcony water in more easily. In accessible units the building official may require a lower threshold, and the door is then flashed and pitched to suit.
Do hinged patio doors cost more than sliding doors?
A French pair usually costs more than a slider of the same width, because it has two operating doors, an astragal and more hardware. The bid prices each opening both ways so the owner can decide per building.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners and the builders we work with. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
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Read morePage reviewed October 9, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All apartment buildings pages
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