Stop using the door
The glass is broken or foggy
Fog between the panes is a failed seal and a whole new glass unit; a crack in tempered glass is a sheet that can let go all at once. Both are a glass unit swap, not a new door.
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Not sure this is what's wrong? Try the free diagnosis quiz — eight questions about what the door is doing, then the likely causes and what is safe to try.
While you wait — please don't
- Do not slide or slam a door with cracked glass. Tempered glass can crumble into thousands of pieces without warning.
- Do not tape the crack and lean on it, and keep children and pets away from the panel until it is replaced.
- Do not let an impact door be re-glazed with ordinary glass. It will look the same and it will not be an impact door.
What has probably happened
- The seal of an insulated unit has failed, so moist air gets between the panes and fogs them from the inside.
- A knock, a stone from a mower, or a slammed door has cracked the tempered glass.
- Years of heat and sun have worked the seal until it let go.
- The glass was never tempered — older doors sometimes carry glass that would not meet the code today.
- On an impact door, the laminated glass has delaminated or has a crack through the outer layer.
What the technician does
- The glass unit measured and matched: thickness, spacer, tint and whether it is insulated, laminated or impact-rated.
- Tempered safety glass fitted, as a door requires.
- A fogged insulated unit replaced as a whole sealed unit — the fog cannot be cleaned out.
- Impact glass sourced with the matching product approval, so an impact door stays an impact door.
- The panel re-glazed, the rollers checked while it is out, and the panel re-hung and adjusted.
Why it happens where you live
Sun and heat shorten the life of an insulated unit's seal, which is why fogged sliders are so common in the sunbelt. In high-velocity hurricane zones such as coastal Florida, replacement glass has to carry a product approval and may need a permit — the technician will say what applies where you are.
Questions people ask
- Can foggy glass be cleaned?
- No. The fog is inside the sealed unit, between the panes. The unit is replaced as a whole, which is a normal job and does not mean a new door.
- Does the whole door need replacing?
- Usually not. The glass unit comes out of the panel and a new one goes in. If the frame is corroded or the door is an old single-pane type, the technician will tell you whether a new door is the better spend.
- What is impact glass?
- Laminated glass built and tested to resist wind-borne debris, used in hurricane zones. If your door is an impact door, the replacement glass must carry the same approval, and the technician will show you the paperwork.
- Do I need a permit?
- Sometimes, for glass replacement in a high-wind zone, and rarely for like-for-like elsewhere. It depends on your county and city, and the technician will tell you what applies.
Get a technician out
Free estimate. The price is agreed before the work starts.
Something else going on?
- Hard to open or close
- Rollers worn out
- Bent or worn track
- Lock won't catch, handle loose
- Door is off its track
- Screen door torn or off
- Drafts, whistling or water coming in
One Call Sliding Door Repair arranges the visit; the technician does the work and gives you the price.