Eichler Sliding Doors: Replacing Patio Doors

It was time to rid of our white vinyl sliding doors that came with the house. These aren't one of these doors you can pick up at The Home Depot or Lowes. As you can see, the previous owner grabbed something off the shelf, a standard vinyl slider that didn't exactly fit, which inspired some post cutting, lots of shimming and trim work. The original transom was taken out and drywalled over.

Comparing Sliding Doors for Eichlers and Modern Homes

1. Arcadia Sliding Doors

Eichler homes were built with Arcadia doors, and although they are still in business, mainly doing commercial applications, they still sell a line of doors that will work. The 5000 Series of doors were available through Eichler Solutions (no longer in business). One of the principals visited and quoted us about $3,200 for the door and transom. These are pretty awesome doors, as our neighbor had them installed all around the house and they look and function great. They are thick and heavy, but the action required some muscle to open, although very smooth.

2. Blomberg Sliding Doors

Western also sent out Bob from Associated Building Supply out to quote us a Blomberg Series 600 door, also around $3,000 with the transom.

3. Milgard Sliding Doors

At the Concord Eichler yard sale fest, we happened to pick up a free Milgard door that fit perfectly into one of our openings. The previous owner explained how it came with the house and was purchased, but never installed. We figured to give it a go and if it worked out, order more of them. After a successful install, we got a quote from Dolan Lumber for $1,100.

The Dolan Sale Rep also mentioned higher end doors from Fleetwood, so I'm sure that would be a good option as well.

This is considered the economical option, as the rollers are so-so, and the overall build is no like the others on the list, but does offer the complete form and function for Eichlers and other modern design schemes.

We ended up outfitting our house with four of these doors to replace the vinyl sliders from The Home Depot that were previously installed, so with the enormous cost of so many doors, we had to hit the value price point. One note to point out is they do have size limitations on the Aluminum line we opted for, which was which an 8’x8’, which we used, so this might limit some folks.

We ended up getting featured in their brochure and got a couple free mugs out of the deal - Woo-Hoo ;)

4. Fleetwood Sliding Doors

Fleetwood offers several lines of luxury residential aluminum sliding doors that feels like the popular choice if you’re going to high-end. We have friends that had them installed, and have also visited the booth at Dwell On Design show in LA, and the doors slide like butter. They also offer a thermally-broken option as most companies do, to provide the insulation requirements for aluminum doors for certain parts of the country.

5. All Weather Sliding Doors

All Weather in based in Vacaville, CA and our friends recently completed a successful visit to the factory to check out the operation. They are also a high-end option that should be considered.

Removing the Old Door

This was fairly straightforward, as we cut the fins, removed screwed, peeled back adhesive, and popped the door out. There was also vinyl and aluminum siding to remove from the eves an posts (in case you're wondering what all that stuff is hanging from the eves).

Installing the New Sliding Door

Prepared the framing, cleaned up the posts
Prepared the sill with redwood and flexible membrane
Assembled the Milgard aluminum frame
Mounted the frame - caulked, leveled and shimmed
Installed the panels and hardware
Frame the transom
Installed the glass
Finished the interior door trim

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The Milgard door we got at a garage sale didn't come with an interior handle, strike plate, or stopper. We called Milgard directly, and because of the 10 year transferrable warranty, they sent us all the parts for free. Great customer service!