How to adjust the plastic doors on the balcony

Almost everyone is trying to replace old wooden balcony blocks with new plastic ones. Indeed, such designs are more attractive in appearance, do not lose this quality over time, they better protect the room from the penetration of cold or, conversely, hot air from the outside. However, even the most expensive PVC structures have an unpleasant feature: with some periodicity, they need to adjust and adjust the clamp. Let's find out how to adjust plastic balcony doors independently, without resorting to specialists.

When do I need to adjust plastic balcony doors?

Adjustment of plastic doors to the balcony is done if the following violations in the mechanism are noticed:

• efforts must be made to open;
• closing the doors on the balcony, you can feel how she clings to the door frame with a cloth;
• the handle of the lock is loose or, on the contrary, it turns too tight;
• if the lock is open, the door opens spontaneously;
• blowing from under a closed door.

The detection of these symptoms indicates the neglected state of the plastic structure and the need for adjustment. It is possible that simple adjustment will not help, some parts will need to be repaired or replaced, which will entail extra costs. To avoid this situation, we recommend that you regularly and timely adjust the doors on the balcony. There are several simple ways to detect violations.

Methods for identifying the need to adjust plastic structures

Check if the door structure needs to be adjusted using simple steps.

1. Do not completely close the door leaf. If it is not kept in its initial state, but begins to open / close by itself, then the time has come to adjust.
2. Stand on the opposite side of the opening direction. Using a simple pencil, circle the edges of the door. Now open the balcony, take a closer look at your “drawing”, if the lines you draw are parallel to the edges of the door frame, there’s nothing to worry about. Otherwise, it's time to get the tools.
3. Clamp a notebook or newspaper sheet with a balcony door, try to remove it. How much effort did you have to make? Repeat this manipulation should be in different places. With the clip, everything is fine and adjustment is not necessary if equal efforts were made to pull out the sheet.

How to adjust plastic balcony doors?

Before you begin to adjust the balcony doors with your own hands, make sure that you have the following tool available:

• screwdrivers of different sizes, flat and cross-shaped;
• pliers;
• keys with different profiles;
• yardstick;
• self-adhesive plastic pads;
• washable marker or simple pencil.

In some cases, you may need the presence of liquid plastic, hardening in contact with air.

Directions for adjusting plastic doors

This process is being carried out in several directions:

• frontally;
• horizontally;
• vertically.

We offer to consider each of them in more detail.

Horizontal adjustment

Temperature fluctuations can cause deformations, due to which there are difficulties with closing the doors, they begin to abut the mechanism. Closing can only be done with considerable effort. However, these actions are undesirable, because by doing so you provoke further deformation.

For adjustment it will be necessary to tighten the door hinges. This is done using the hexagon H4.

1. Insert the tip of the screwdriver into the adjustable screw located on the side. Access to it is located on the lower side plane of the door hinge.
2. Pull the leaf to the hinge by tightening the screw.

Thus, you will be able to achieve a sash offset of 1 cm to the right or left. If necessary, similar adjustment is made with the upper loop. After that, problems with closing should disappear.

Vertical adjustment

Sagging does not allow you to open the door for ventilation, it begins to touch the threshold when opening and closing. You can correct the situation by adjusting the loop height. Actions are performed with a loop located below:

1. Remove the protective cap from the hinge.
2. Insert a screwdriver into the hole in the upper end, tighten the screw clockwise. If the door, on the contrary, needs to be lowered, the action is counterclockwise. Almost always 2-3 turns is enough.

If you decide to adjust the balcony door yourself, after each turn of the screwdriver, check the result. In the end, the sash should start freely, without interference, close and open without problems.

Not all PVC structures have holes in the form of hexagons; you may need to use an asterisk key.

Front setting

The clamp control mechanism depends on the product modification:

• Eccentrics can be located on the opposite side of the hinges from the hinges of the door; they must be turned using improvised tools.
• A number of models have trunnions on the fittings. It is turned with pliers. The maximum pressure can be achieved by giving it a direction perpendicular to the door block.
• In some cases, it is necessary to shift the reciprocal bar. To perform this action, use the hex screw below the bar.

Some recommendations for setting up plastic balcony doors

The following tips will help you take care of plastic balcony doors:

• The adjustment procedure should be carried out at least twice a year. For the summer period, a weak clamp is set, and for the winter - strong. So you extend the life of the seal.

• By thoroughly cleaning the surface of the hardware, monitoring its condition, you will increase the operational life of the entire PVC structure.
• If the handle does not reach the end when closing, clean, lubricate and adjust the fittings.
• Opening limiters, micro-lifts will help reduce the frequency of adjustment.

You can find out some additional nuances of the process of adjusting plastic doors by watching the video below.

Video instruction