Hurricane Rated Sliding Door Tracks

Hurricane rated sliding door tracks and rollers are what really differentiate manufacturers and are often overlooked. From a distance most sliding doors look very similar on a house, but living in the home you are interacting with them every day. Are they a seamless transition or are they are wide series of channels collecting dirt and filling with water every time it rains?

5' x 10' panels weigh over 500 pounds each, how hard are they to roll? After a few years most rollers start to deform under the weight and get harder to roll. Having to put your whole body into opening a door is not a pleasant experience.

I once was told a story by a homeowner of how she was puzzled by her cat leaving wet paw prints on the floor inside the house when it rained. She finally saw how it would play in the water that filled up in the tracks when it rained where the panels staggered to the outside. Most sliding door tracks are designed to fill and weep so you will see them fill up if you don't have an overhang.

More manufacturers are testing flush tracks for hurricane performance but they all have very different features that add a lot of cost due to the engineering and take extensive planning.

I help architects, builders, and owners select, specify, and detail luxury residential hurricane glazing systems withot manufacturer or dealer biases. I also give classes in all aspects of hurricane windows and doors on glass aesthetics and energy performance, manufacturer product overviews, detailed installation planning and best practices, and understanding hurricane product approvals.