Hail Dented Patio Door Cladding — Panel, Frame or Whole Door
The glass made it through the storm, but the aluminum on the door frame and the bottom rail of the panels looks like a golf ball.
Reply within one business day. Or call / text 763-204-2099.
Hail dented patio door cladding shows up as dents in the aluminum skin on the frame, sill trim and panels of a clad-wood sliding or French patio door, even when the glass survived. JMB Builders photographs each dent with a scale reference, checks whether the cladding split or the panel still seals, and replaces the panel or whole door your approved scope covers, matched to the other doors. Twin Cities metro, priced per door.
- Priced per door
- Sliding and hinged French clad patio doors
- Panel only or whole unit, color matched
Most wood patio doors sold here are clad: wood inside, a thin aluminum or other skin outside. Hail dents that skin the way it dents a car hood. The dents are easiest to see on the bottom rail of the panels, the head and the side jambs that face the storm, and they show best in low light. Vinyl and fiberglass doors do not dent the same way; they crack, chip or split, which is a different scope.
The questions on the claim are whether the dents are only cosmetic and how much of the door has to be replaced. A dent that splits the cladding, opens a seam, breaks the paint so water reaches the wood, or bends a panel so it no longer seals is damage to how the door works. Many clad patio doors are made so an operating or fixed panel can be replaced in the frame from the same maker and series, and some makers offer frame cladding parts. When the frame is badly dented, the parts are not made, or the panels will not match the rest, the whole door is replaced. Whether cosmetic dents are covered is in your policy; check your policy and ask your agent.
Matching matters on a door. A new panel in a door that has faded for fifteen years can look like a different color. We note the maker, the series and the cladding color from the label or the glass etching, and say on the scope whether the new parts can match. You file the claim and deal with your insurer; we give you the photos and line items and meet the adjuster when you want us there.
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
- Photos of the door from outside in low or side light, before anything is touched
- The date of the storm, the claim number and the adjuster's scope
- The door's brand and label, often on the frame edge or etched in a glass corner
- Whether other clad doors and windows on the same side were dented
- Your paint color if interior trim is replaced — painting is quoted as a separate line, or paint it yourself
What JMB supplies
- Dent photos with a scale reference on each face of the frame and each panel
- A note on split cladding, open seams, bare wood and panels that no longer seal
- The maker, series and color identified, and whether matching parts are still made
- Meeting your adjuster to walk the door, when you want us there
- Replacement panel or whole door, as the approved scope lists it
- For a whole door: sill pan, flashing tape, low-expansion foam, sealant and interior casing reset
- Haul-away of the old panel or door and finished photos in your job folder
How it is priced: per door
Quoted in writing from your photos, with a reply within one business day. What moves the number:
- One panel versus both panels versus the whole door
- Whether the maker still makes a matching panel in the same series and color
- Sliding versus hinged French door, and door width
- Frame cladding dents that cannot be fixed with a panel swap
- Rot found under split cladding once the door is opened up
- Siding, brick or stucco cut back and patched for a whole-door swap
Send a photo of the whole door from outside, close-ups of the worst dents with a coin or tape for scale, and the label or glass etching.
How long it takes
Panels and doors are made to order, so the wait is the order. Once here: a panel swap takes a few hours, a whole door about a day.
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
Panel replacement
The dents are on the operating or fixed panel and the frame is sound. A new panel from the same maker and series goes into the old frame, with the rollers or hinges, lock and weatherstrip adjusted.
Whole door
The frame cladding is dented on the head and jambs, the parts are not made, or a new panel will not match. The door comes out, the opening is checked and flashed, and a new door goes in.
Matching the other doors
When a second patio door or clad windows on the same wall were hit, the scope lists them together so the color and series stay consistent across the wall.
Hail Dented Patio Door Cladding — Panel, Frame or Whole Door: questions, answered
Can hail dents in aluminum patio door cladding be repaired?
Dents in thin aluminum cladding are not pushed back out the way a car panel is; the dented part is replaced. On many clad doors that means a new panel in the old frame, and on some the maker offers frame cladding parts. When the frame is badly dented or the parts are not made, the whole door is replaced.
Are hail dents on a patio door just cosmetic?
Some are and some are not. A dent that splits the cladding, opens a seam, exposes bare wood or bends a panel so it no longer seals affects how the door works. Shallow dents with no other damage may be treated as cosmetic. Whether cosmetic damage is covered is in your policy; ask your agent.
Can you replace just one panel of a hail damaged sliding door?
Often, if the maker still makes the panel in the same series, size and color. The new panel goes into the existing frame and the rollers and lock are adjusted. We check the label and the glass etching first to see whether the part can be ordered and will match.
Will a new patio door panel match the faded one next to it?
Not always. Cladding colors fade and makers change finishes over the years, so a new panel next to an old one can read as a different shade. We say on the scope whether the new part can match. If it cannot, replacing the whole door may be the better answer to put in front of the adjuster.
How do you photograph hail dents on a patio door?
In low or side light, so the dents throw shadows, with a coin or tape measure in the frame for scale. We shoot each face of the frame and each panel, close up and wide, and note which way the door faces. The same photos go in your claim file.
Do vinyl patio doors dent from hail?
Vinyl does not dent the way aluminum cladding does. Hard hail cracks or punctures vinyl frames, especially in cold weather, and chips fiberglass. Those are a different line on the scope: a cracked vinyl frame usually means a new door.
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 insurance repairs pages
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