# How to move HEAVY glass doors?



## Roloff (Jan 30, 2009)

I made a terrible mistake: I purchased a great set of glass patio doors and, because I was not yet in the house where I intended to install them, I had them delivered one block away, to a neighbor's side yard.

They are glass patio doors, high quality, double pane, low-e glass, etc., and while they were delivered on a wooden buck by two normal looking guys, now that I want to move them one block away, I can't find anyone to do it for less than the cost of the doors! They are HEAVY, that's the universal complaint.

I estimate the two panels are maybe 250-300 lbs. They are about 5'x7', so they're awkward. I have a trailer that would fit the buck. It's the LIFTING that seems to be the problem. The two guys I used to hire for heavy lifting have moved. The day labor at the nearest Home Depot don't look up to the job either. 

Can anyone offer an approach that might help this situation? I can't move them myself, for sure. I was not there when the doors were delivered but the neighbor says the two guys just lifted each door off the buck and set it against the side of the truck, which had tall mesh sides, then they put the buck in the yard and lifted each door onto it by hand. No dolly or anything, they just lifted them. 

I was at the yard when they loaded the doors onto the truck - they just lifted it up by hand. A third guy put the wooden buck up onto the truck bed while the other two lifted. 

I called a patio door installer. He says it's not worth his time to do a job like this. He makes money installing doors, not moving them one block.


----------



## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

5' x 7' _each_?! Or 2 doors each 30" x 7' ? 
Move one at a time. lay 2x4's across the truck box and lay the door(s) flat...forget the pallet. 
If they're the 2'6", _not 5' _doors, they're not as heavy as you might think. I moved a bunch of 30" x 6' 8" patio door sealed units by myself, and I'm over 65... 
3 high school guys plus yourself; they're out for the Summer now.
Good Luck!


----------



## OPG3 (Jan 9, 2011)

Roloff, Use a method that enables use of the *wheel*. have enough help to prevent the item(s) from toppling-over. Some hand-trucks have large floor wheels AND small upper wheels. Often these hand-trucks can be used in tandem - each with four wheels on the ground surface. Just don't expect the glass to be able to flex in any way.

I'm inclined to agree with Dan - those probably are not going to be as heavy as they may seem, but even gigantic loads can be rolled. Some stores sell "dollies" that are simply a carpet-covered wooden frame with four wheels. A pair of dollies should roll for even quite heavy loads!

Good Luck and is it just me, or does your name *Roll-Off* kinda make this a give-away?

Otis Guillebeau from Auburn, Georgia


----------



## Roloff (Jan 30, 2009)

They are 5' across each, not 5' total for two doors. Each door is about five feet x nearly 7' tall. They will be approximately 10' wide patio doors when installed. It's that size that has made them unstable when I tried to hire two guys to lift them back onto the buck for transport to their new home. Any wobble turns into disaster.

They are not in their final frame yet but are bound by metal edge banding. I can hardly imagine what installing them will be like! By then, I will have someone install them. I expect they will have enough labor on hand to lift them. It's right NOW that is the problem - they need to be out of that neighbor's yard.


----------



## Roloff (Jan 30, 2009)

OPG3 - yes, maybe one way would be to build a carrier on wheels, make it easy to get next to a door and basically lift it just a foot or so, until it lands on the carrier?


----------



## IC31 (Nov 16, 2012)

I feel the pain!! 
My home is nestled in suburbia, populated by a bunch of soft pencil pushers except the guy next door, a former jock and now a gym teacher. He will help but only as available - which seldom meets my schedule for doing projects. So, with that said, I have learned a great deal about inclined planes (ramps), levers, pulleys (chain falls and the like), and wheeled conveyances (dolleys of whatever size I need). That patio door - I'm currently taking a break from finishing installing to write this , a 72x80 Marvin (300# HEAVY!!) was delivered by one guy and hoping for my help. Gotta say again, heavy, but the two of us did put it on the porch. Spring ahead - install time. A big lever, a nice skid and it's in place. I considered pulling the doors but that entailed taking off many pieces and a lot of trouble. The old one was disassembled, not quite as heavy en total, but have to say that loading it on my pick up for a final trip - gave me a good work out. Then there was the car body I installed on the frame with 2 chainfalls - again with no help. Oh and my age - beyond 70!!


----------



## Woodshaper67 (Jan 13, 2012)

I don't know where you live but I think I would find another installer.If nothing else he should have at least told you it would be and add cost.Have you called the place you bought them from and asked them if they would be able to help you?Maybe you can find a couple of young guys in the neiborhood to help even if you have to give them a few dollars for their help.


----------



## rwbaker (Feb 25, 2010)

Rent a lumber cart (like at Lowes/HD) or better yet, hire someone else. I have a former neighbor that tried this same issue and ended up losing a gall bladder and part of his stomach and colon when he slipped and the thermal glass snapped. It was supposed to be tempered too, but it sure did not break into small rounded pieces.

Be safe, not dead - good luck - Baker


----------



## mgmine (Jan 16, 2012)

Put an ad on Craigslist for some help.


----------



## mikelley (Aug 2, 2012)

How are you going to move them after they're installed?


----------



## berry (Oct 17, 2005)

One source of labor could be a neighborhood high school, the football team? I think I'd rent 4 moving dollys, and link them together with 2 x 4's, making dolly on steroids. Get the kids to put them onto the self made cart and push it home. Be sure to have lots of refreshments. Just my two cents.


----------



## alaskagypsy (Jan 31, 2009)

*Two optoins*

1. Do you know anyone who works at a Home Depot Or Lowe's type store?? Or casual acquaintance with anyone there? Hire two or more - after their shift to come over and move them and pay them well - the regular workers don't get paid much at these stores, so are always looking for extra money.
2. Hire an installer with the clause that they have to move the doors to the location - their insurance will cover any problems that could arise.

Don't lay the glass flat - any bumps could jar and shatter the glass.


----------



## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

*Glass Shatter*



alaskagypsy said:


> 1. Do you know anyone who works at a Home Depot Or Lowe's type store?? Or casual acquaintance with anyone there? Hire two or more - after their shift to come over and move them and pay them well - the regular workers don't get paid much at these stores, so are always looking for extra money.
> 2. Hire an installer with the clause that they have to move the doors to the location - their insurance will cover any problems that could arise.
> 
> Don't lay the glass flat - any bumps could jar and shatter the glass.


Ron; by law the glass has to be shatter proof...ie either tempered or laminated safety glass. If it's a patio door it's most likely to be tempered safety glass...you could _stand on it _and not break it!
For comfort in carrying it, yes, I'd want to carry it on edge with the 7' dimension parallel to the ground. 

Having (accidentally) walked into a glass patio door I can testify to their resilience and strength. The stars came out early...:'(


----------



## Yeoman (May 20, 2013)

Hi, As best I recall glass should be moved in a vertical position, but for a couple of blocks you could make a couple of A frames big enough to support the windows and joined together so the A's sit one behind the other, fit a ledge onto the frame between the bottom of the two A's to support the edge of the glass, have casters on each corner. The glass will tilt slightly towards the centre, enough to stop it falling out, then go to the nearest gym and recruit a couple of fit lads to lift the windows up onto the frame and off again at the destination, then simply wheel them to their new home.
If you hired the installer you mentioned, fire him.


----------



## MAFoElffen (Jun 8, 2012)

Yeoman said:


> Hi, As best I recall glass should be moved in a vertical position...


Just did the same = French doors to replace a sllding glass door.

I always keep an 1-1/4" sheet in my truck bed... and I have a stake bed. I lay the sheet against one side, then I strap over the top in front and back. then around the botton so the bottom doesn't kick out. Last week, I got my teenage neighbor girl to help me unload. 

Doors that size usually have a plastic handle stapled on each side of the frame (stapled at the millworks) to carry. Part of the install is to take that off. So it's at least a two man job. If those handles are not there, I use a strap under each end to help lift and carry.

They usually have cardboard and 2 pieces of thin wood dunage stapled across the frame for shipping. I usually use 2 pieces of 1x4 or 2x4 to put across the frame... Something heavy enough to support the door across the center. That way I can use an hand truck in the center (hand truck under door/ dunage against handtruck) or lay it down on a cart with 2 2x4s between the cart and doors.

Usually the transport is not the sticky part... It's lifting it, putting it in the frameout and supporting it while leveling, until you get it secured... That is definitely needing a helper.


----------



## mikelley (Aug 2, 2012)

Heavy glass panes are moved and installed in commercial settings every day. Granite countertops are also.....by reputable and qualified installers.


----------



## papasombre (Sep 22, 2011)

Roloff said:


> OPG3 - yes, maybe one way would be to build a carrier on wheels, make it easy to get next to a door and basically lift it just a foot or so, until it lands on the carrier?


Hi, Roloff.

Recently I lifted a heavy granite plate using two car jacks and a helper (my wife) to support it meanwhile I put carrier under it. I installed some soft material to avoid the tear up during the movilization from the garage to the laundry.


----------



## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

*How did you do it????*



Roloff said:


> I made a terrible mistake: I purchased a great set of glass patio doors and, because I was not yet in the house where I intended to install them, I had them delivered one block away, to a neighbor's side yard.
> 
> They are glass patio doors, high quality, double pane, low-e glass, etc., and while they were delivered on a wooden buck by two normal looking guys, now that I want to move them one block away, I can't find anyone to do it for less than the cost of the doors! They are HEAVY, that's the universal complaint.
> 
> ...



Just going back through some questions, and wondering if you got the job done and how it was done?


----------

