Doors and Windows - Anderson sliding door

Less than 1 year ago, had Anderson slider installed as a replacement by Home Depot. Went installer took out the old door, he noticed that its frame was in there very tight. We then noticed, for the first time, that there is a sag above the door. He got the Anderson door in and it works ok - a little tight, but not bad. Mentioned that we ought to have the header looked at.

We've had several contractors theorize about the problem, but the most reasonable explanation was that the header is probably not right on top of the door, and is supported by a series of short studs or "cripples" (correct term?), and perhaps when house was built, either not enough cripples were used, or 1 or 2 of them were slightly too long and they were just jammed in.

Any thought on the subject? Should Home Depot be responsible for coming back out to fix the problem? Is there a problem to fix?

Thanks for any advice.

David

Lack of cripple studs on the sides could be a problem, there should be at least two on each side if it is a 6' opening, but more likely, the header wasn't built of the correct size lumber to start with for the load it is carrying. I really don't think it is a problem with the cripples.....especially being "too long and crammed in"....all that would have done is cause a "hump" in the top of the orignal wall....not a sag in the header....The header should have been at least a double 2x10 with a layer of 1/2" plywood in the center for a 6' or so opening. You probably have a pair of 2x8's ( or less ) with no plywood.

That is a structural problem with your house that HD is not responsible for......though the proper thing to have done at that time( and maybe they did do this ) would have been to advise you of the problem, then fix it before installing a new door or stick the old one back in.

Unfortunately, the fix is a MAJOR pain in the backside, since it involves opening up the wall and replacing the header with the correct size one. The cost to fix it would way exceed the cost of your new door. You say he mentioned "you ought to have it looked at".....ahahahahahaha....How pray tell ????

BUT, ANYHOO, SINCE THE SHIP HAS ALREADY SAILED, and IF the door operates ok, at this point, I would just go with it.

Headers, even incorrectly built ones, rarely fail completely.....what happens is just what happened to you.....you get a "swag" over time as the lumber stretches and sags under the load what it is carrying. If it continues to sag, it will bind your door to the point it won't operate correctly......on the other hand, it may have sagged all it is going to over the past however many years it's been in there, and nothing more will happen. Time will tell
Worst case, you have to pull the door back out and do the header repair......which you would have to have done anyway whether the door went in or not.......I'd wait it out.

I've seen Andersen doors that could not open because the header sagged. A simple fix, although not something Andersen would recommend, is to remove the door and cut about 1/4" off the top. I've done it a number of times when a customer wanted the least expensive way out.