Asked on May 27, 2017

My sliding screen door keeps coming off the track.

Christie Miller
by Christie Miller
Our screen door comes off the track almost every time we close or open it. It has done this since almost new. What could be the contributing factors and what's the fix?
  4 answers
  • John John on May 27, 2017

    there should be a small wire looking thing that is a stabilizer and tension adjustment on the frame of the screen (top and or bottom)...in fact there may be several....lightly use needle nose pliers to GENTLY bend them out....be careful as there may be a spring behind them.....If you don't have these...you need to get more tension...you can glue thin cardboard (think cereal box) strips to the frame...slide the door back and forth so the cardboard conforms to the channel...you may need more than one thickness of cardboard, but you definitely need more tension...seal the cardboard with polyeurathane or it will dissolve first time it gets wet

  • Nancy Craigmiles Nancy Craigmiles on May 27, 2017

    Just a thought, but maybe the wheels under the door need to be adjusted. My thinking is this would create a tighter fit for the door and it would not have room to jump off the track. The screws should be located above the wheels on the door. They could be covered with a plug. Turn clockwise to lower the wheels and see if this works. Be sure to adjust both wheels and make sure the door is plumb (or level) when you are finished. Hope this works for you.

  • Ljgordon Ljgordon on May 28, 2017

    I always had that problem until I found the solution. Usually, as I walked toward the door I would quickly slide it open until one day it didn't slide and I walked through it. Determined to find an answer, I researched and found a door guaranteed not to hang up during opening or come off the rollers. I found one at Home Depot and it worked as advertised. It wasn't cheap. And, this was 20 years ago. I'm sure they still make them.

  • Christie Miller Christie Miller on May 28, 2017

    Thank you for your great ideas! We are on it!!