When Alice Trammell told the general contractor in charge of building her new home that, she wanted sliding glass doors [http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=2674585] she had no idea that they would cost so much. $2,300 for sliding doors? When you are dealing with a contractor communication is the key. You need to be very up front with them and make certain that they know exactly what you want. Before Alice had the conversation with her contractor about sliding glass doors in her new home she should have done a bit of research, she should have shopped around and found out just what type of doors are available and what the different types cost. There are many different types of doors on the market. There are French doors, steel doors, steel French doors, wood doors, glass office doors with steel frames, doors with wooden frames, well; I think you get the idea. Now if Alice was at all handy with a few basic hand tools she could save herself a lot of money by installing the doors herself and avoiding sticker shock.

Let us look at just what installing a new door would involve.

1.) How big is the opening?
Before you spend money on a set of glass doors or any door for that matter, you need to measure the opening that you intend to fill with the door. Most sets of glass office walls [http://glassdesigner.multiply.com/journal/item/1/The_History_Of_the_Office_Wall] come in standard sizes so finding one to fit your opening should not be a problem. Do not forget to include any framing that might need to be done in your measurements. You may find it necessary to have part of any existing framing removed if so you should utilize a professional contractor.

2.) Is the opening ready to accept the new set of doors?
If you are replacing an existing door, you will need to remove it and prepare the opening to accept the new doors. Many doors sets will come pre-hung, meaning that the door and frame come as one self-contained unit and can be installed at the same time. Once the opening is prepared, properly get someone to help you lift and center the new unit in the opening. In order to get the new unit to fit properly you may need to use a small hammer to knock them into place but be careful not to use too much force.

3.) Seal the edges and you are done.

Next, simply make sure the doors are level using a spirit level and screw the unit tightly into the opening. At this point, make sure that the doors swing open and closed properly.
Once the doors are working properly, you will need to caulk around the edges on the interior as well as the exterior. Caulking will ensure a nice tight seal, preventing air coming in or going out.

Using the techniques described above and with a little patience, just about anyone can install a new set of sliding glass doors, even Alice!