Home Improvement

Our sliding glass door had gotten quite difficult to open. I was getting concerned that I was going to break the handle off pushing or pulling it with all my (admittedly limited) might. The kids couldn't move it to save their lives - which was a handy containment method - but it was getting a bit out of hand.

According to some light research, we needed new rollers on the door. I started thinking about how to lift the door - a nice big double-paned glass monster - out of the track so I could replace them. But I have heard that glass is breakable, and I was a little concerned about how exactly I was going to lift and reposition this thing by myself, when it took all my strength just to move it back and forth in its preordained path.

So, I resorted to a time-honored tactic. I stalled.

Katy eventually got tired of waiting for me. (I suspect she was also concerned that I would end up cut to ribbons by a crashing sheet of glass, but she was kind enough not to question my abilities out loud. At least not in my presence.) She called a repair company, and they came out to fix it last Friday morning. I watched them work for about five minutes while I finished up my cereal. In that time they had completely disassembled the door frame and were already working on replacing the original plastic rollers with steel ones.

(As an aside, what was the builder thinking, using plastic rollers on a big heavy door like that? Oh yeah, they were thinking "plastic ones are cheaper." I hope they got arrested for drunk driving after drinking the beer they bought with the money they saved buying crap parts.)

I looked at Katy and said "I can already tell that you made the right decision to hire these guys."

Friday night when I came home, the door was fixed. I almost put it through the side of the house and into the neighbor's yard when I went to muscle it open - you can move it with your little finger now. Cool.

(Lest you think me completely helpless around the house, I did replace the springs on my garage door this week - all by myself. Well, ok, I had a little help from Katy here and there. But I get the credit.)

Lots of parenthetical remarks this time. Hmm.