Patio Doors Open Inwards - Can they be reversed??

[DIYNewbie1]

I moved into my house a while back and the previous owner had a conservatory built with french doors opening into the conservatory from the garden and into the dining room from the conservatory.

The doors that open into the dining room from the conservatory i would prefer to open into the conservatory to make it easier for access and avoid the dining table. Can this simply be done by reversing the doors or would it mean new doors?

I have no idea why they were installed to open this way in the first instance.

 

[dextrous]

Pretty unlikely that you can just reverse the doors due to the frame itself having it's mouldings and cills placed for the current configuration.

It is possible, however, that you may be able to completely remove frame (remove the doors first) and reverse it into the existing gap before rehanging the doors. This, however, is likely to have an adverse effect on the current decoration surrounding it. A picture of what you've got would help.

 

[DIYNewbie1]

The surrounding decor would be a bit of a problem but not entirely so. One side of the doors ahs got plastic trim so would have no affect on that the other is plastered but the doors are recessed by about 2 inches so it would only need patching and just the recess painting.

I am not at the property at the moment but will have another look and try getting some pictures up. Presumably and hopefully the frame is screwed into the wall and nothing more!

 

[Richard C]

I think it’s entirely possible that you may be able to completely reverse the frames as Dex says; you may even get away with using the same cill as they are separate mouldings. Downside is obviously the need to tidy up the door reveals as they will undoubtedly suffer; not sure how it would affect the cons.

Only other thing I can think of is a potential security issue, depending on which side the glazing bars are currently fitted. If you have internal glazing bars, reversing the frame will put the bars on the outside; not such a problem on the doors between the cons & the dinning room but the external cons. doors bars would be removable from the garden!

 

[DIYNewbie1]

Reversing the doors from the conservatory to the dining room should have no effect on the conservatory? There is plenty of space for them to open into. I'm not looking to reverse the external doors so the security aspect should not be affected although I have no idea what you mean by the bars.

The frame as expected is screwed into the wall it just depends what would happen when removing it. Not sure how the sill is fixed unless the top panel flips off and screws are underneath.

 

[dextrous]

Reversing the doors from the conservatory to the dining room should have no effect on the conservatory? There is plenty of space for them to open into. I'm not looking to reverse the external doors so the security aspect should not be affected although I have no idea what you mean by the bars.

The frame as expected is screwed into the wall it just depends what would happen when removing it. Not sure how the sill is fixed unless the top panel flips off and screws are underneath.

Quite often the cills are held in place by screws through the base of the frame, or occasionally (but not often) vice-versa. You may need to get a thin (long hacksaw) blade to slice around the edge, as they often have had expanding foam squirted into the joint between the frame and the wall for additional support/draughtproofing.

If you do manage to reverse the frame, and want to use foam, wear disposable gloves (surgical are cheap), and use the foam very sparingly - it really does expand an awful lot overnight. I'd recommend you stick some gaffer tape over the visible parts of the frame, since removing foam (let it go off overnight, don't even bother trying while it's soft!) from the plastic can be an absolute mare!

Final thought - when you reverse the frame, you will probably have to move it forward towards the outside to prevent the doors hitting the brickwork when they swing open.

 

[Richard C]

I have no idea what you mean by the bars.

Glazing bars are strips of UPVC trim that hold the glass units in the door frame. These can be prised out with a sharp scraper, screw/driver/knife & the glass completely removed; not a good idea to have those on the outside for obvious reasons but if you don’t intend to reverse the cons doors then no problem.

Final thought - when you reverse the frame, you will probably have to move it forward towards the outside to prevent the doors hitting the brickwork when they swing open.

Good point, didn't think of that; depending on how the doors been been sized/fitted may mean work on the door reveals

 

[DIYNewbie1]

Door reveals........ let me show my ignorance........ what does that mean??

In relation to having to move the doors so they dont hit any brickwork the clearance is sufficient so that would make the task even easier.

I now understand what you mean by the bars and have seen these removed by a blunt edge when the door was toe and heeled. Funny thing is im just trying to think in my head if the bars are on the correct side to start with! Now that makes me wonder!

Guys thanks for all the advice and help on this. I will let you know how i get on with it.

 

[Richard C]

Door reveals........ let me show my ignorance........ what does that mean??

It's the bit of return wall where the hole is for the door or window, the bit the door/widow frame is fixed to.