Sliding glass door stuck closed

sliding-glass-door

I am buying a condo and it has a small deck. There is a sliding glass door from the kitchen to the deck and it is stuck closed. Stuck as in won't move even a fraction of an inch. A couple of us tried and it wouldn't give at all. I think it probably hasn't been opened in years.

There's nothing obviously wrong with it, such as being rusted or painted shut. If this makes any difference it is about 30 years old. One possibility that occurred to us is that the (cheap-looking) lock is stuck in the "locked" position. There is an itty-bitty lever, and it will move, but not very far. Less than 45 degrees.

Is there anything to do to diagnose what's wrong without breaking it or, probably worse, having it end up stuck in the open position?


More info: yes, having the seller take care of it would be ideal, but the seller has already moved out of state and will probably just knock the price down a bit in return for me doing the repair. I'm not sure how big a deal this is or how much money to ask for.

Best Answer

If you can't budge it at all, it most likely is the lock. Difficult to advise you on how to handle the lock without seeing it. If possible post a photo of the lock.