Branson Patio Doors That Open With One Hand
You've Developed a Technique. Lift, Shoulder, Shove.
Big Chief Exteriors installs Branson patio doors, sliding glass doors, French style units, and the screens that come with them. First though, we'll check your rollers and track, because a lot of miserable sliding doors are a repair and not a replacement.
Product Lines We Install
The Most Used Door in the House and the Most Ignored
Everybody with an old slider has a method. You lift the handle a little, put a shoulder into it, and drag it along in two shoves. Some folks do it so automatically they've forgotten it isn't how a door is supposed to work. The screen came off its track in 2019 and lives in the garage. There's a draft along the bottom in January that you've solved with a rolled towel. And the glass has a haze between the panes that shows up worst when the afternoon sun hits it.
Here's what makes this door different from the rest. It's the biggest moving thing in your house, the biggest single piece of glass, the main way you get to your deck, and in most homes it's the door that gets used more than the front one all summer. It's also the one nobody maintains, because there's no obvious maintenance to do. So it degrades slowly enough that you adapt instead of calling anybody. Then when folks finally look into Branson patio doors, they assume the whole unit is shot, which is often not what's actually going on.
“Before Vela, approvals felt vague. Now there’s a clear moment when everything is agreed on, and I can move forward with confidence.”
Maria L.
Travel Advisor
These guys were amazing! I own several homes and rarely do I see service of this caliber. The bid was very honest and reasonable. We decided to move forward and within a few days there were at our house working from dawn until dusk. The job site was always clean and the men were always very respectful and kind. It’s companies and men like this that made America great. You should look no further than Big Chief Exteriors.
Tracey Stroh
Branson, Missouri
I'm Tyler. Let Me Look at the Rollers Before You Buy Anything.
I'm Tyler Arnold. A sliding door rides on small wheels called rollers that run in a track along the sill. Rollers wear flat, bearings seize, and the track fills with grit and gets dented, and any of that turns a door that glided into a door you fight with. On a great many sliders, new rollers and a cleaned or capped track brings it right back for a couple hundred dollars. So that's the first thing we check, before anybody talks about a new unit. If your door is only a problem when you move it, the odds are good it's a repair.
When it genuinely is time to replace, two things decide whether you're happy in five years. The first is the sill and threshold detail, since that's where wind-driven rain finds its way in on an exposed deck wall, and it's the part most installs rush. The second is the screen, which nobody asks about while they're picking glass and which is the part your hands are on every day from May to September. Cheap screens on sliders bind, jump the track, and tear. Ask what screen comes with the unit you're buying. That one question will tell you a lot about the door.
Tyler Arnold
Three Promises on the Door You Use Most
The Fix It or Refund It Guarantee
If the door binds, drafts, leaks at the sill, or the screen won't run right because of how we installed it, we're back out to fix it fast. No prorating. No trip charges. Nobody blaming the track. And if we can't make it right, you get your money back. Every single cent. You operate this door several times a day, so a bad install shows up fast and we'd rather fix it than argue about it.
The $250 Price Match Guarantee
Bring us a written bid from another licensed and insured company quoting the same door line, the same glass package and NFRC numbers, the same screen, and the same scope. We'll match it and hand you $250 in cash for finding a competitor we hadn't heard about. Compare the screens on both bids. It's the part that gets swapped for a cheaper one without anybody mentioning it.
The Cleanup Guarantee
Pulling a patio door means a large opening, old glass, sealant, shims, and fasteners, plus traffic in and out across your floors. Our crews are paid on cleanup. Floors and the path get covered first, glass and the old unit go straight on the trailer, and we vacuum inside and sweep the deck and patio before we leave.
“Before Vela, approvals felt vague. Now there’s a clear moment when everything is agreed on, and I can move forward with confidence.”
Maria L.
Travel Advisor
Gorden MacPhail
Cape Fair, Missouri
“Professionalism was evident throughout the entire process from initial estimate to project completion. We were so pleased with the deck restoration we had them back for our gutter replacement. We really appreciated the communication with Tyler explaining the process in detail. Best part was price was reasonable. Definitely a 5- star company!! Will do business again.”
What Neighbors Say About Their Branson Patio Doors
The Patio Door Work We Do
Four related jobs, and the differences that show up on a quote.
Patio Doors
The whole category of doors that connect your house to a deck, porch, or patio. Sliding units, French style hinged pairs, and multi-panel doors that open wide. The right choice usually comes down to how much wall you have and what's on the other side, since hinged doors need clear swing space and sliders don't. We look at your deck layout before we recommend a style.
Sliding Door Installation
Setting a new slider into an existing or new opening. This is where the sill pan, flashing, and level track work matter, because a slider that isn't set dead flat and square will never run smoothly no matter how good the door is. On an exposed wall we pay particular attention to how water gets out of the track rather than into your floor.
Sliding Glass Doors
The units themselves, in vinyl, clad wood, and fiberglass frames with the glass package that suits the exposure. On a west-facing lake wall, the coating on that glass is doing a great deal of work against afternoon heat. We also handle roller replacement, track repair, glass unit replacement on fogged doors, and handle and lock hardware.
Screen Door Installation
The part everybody forgets and everybody touches. We install and replace sliding screen doors, rebuild bent frames, rescreen torn mesh, and fit heavier pet-resistant mesh for households with a dog who has opinions. A screen that runs smoothly is the difference between an open house in May and one that stays shut.
“Before Vela, approvals felt vague. Now there’s a clear moment when everything is agreed on, and I can move forward with confidence.”
Maria L.
Travel Advisor
“Very open and honest. Encouraged me to get other bids as well. They were not only the best-priced but also the most organized and open about our plans and options to take. The workers were clean and quick and did everything they could to protect the property. Tyler even came out himself to magnet the driveway so we wouldn’t drive over nails each night bc I have an EV that charges in the garage. Excellent experience! Big Chief definitely goes above and beyond.”
Gwen Pead
Branson, Missouri
Counties Where We Set Patio Doors
We work out of 117 Calvin Drive in Branson and cover a wide stretch of the Ozarks. Exposure and traffic decide what fails first on these.
Taney County
Learn MoreBranson, Hollister, Forsyth, Rockaway Beach, Kirbyville, and Merriam Woods. Taney County patio doors on rentals and cabins near Table Rock and Lake Taneycomo take enormous traffic, since every guest uses the deck door dozens of times a week. Rollers, handles, and screens wear out years ahead of the glass. We schedule around bookings and keep these turnarounds short.
Stone County
Learn MoreKimberling City, Reeds Spring, Branson West, Galena, Crane, and Blue Eye. Stone County patio doors on ridge and lakefront homes face two things at once, hard afternoon sun and wind-driven rain. That makes the glass coating and the sill detail both worth spending on. Big lake-view sliders are common here and they need to be set perfectly level to run right.
Barry County
Learn MoreCassville, Monett, Purdy, Shell Knob, Exeter, and Wheaton. Our Barry County patio doors work often involves older aluminum sliders on lake places and farmhouses. Those units conduct cold, frost up in winter, and usually have tracks that are past saving, so this is one area where replacement genuinely beats repair more often than not.
Christian County
Learn MoreNixa, Ozark, Sparta, Clever, and Highlandville. Christian County patio doors in those 1990s and 2000s subdivisions are mostly original builder sliders reaching the end. Swapping to a French style hinged pair is popular here when the room layout allows the swing, and it changes how the back of the house feels more than people expect.
Lawrence County
Learn MoreAurora, Mt. Vernon, Marionville, Pierce City, and Verona. Lawrence County patio doors out this direction see storm damage, broken glass, and torn screens after hail. We can secure a broken opening the same day and come back with the glass once it arrives, and we'll photograph everything with dates if you're filing.
Maranda Carter
Branson, Missouri
“This local company did things right! My new roof and gutters are perfect! Tyler went above and beyond with help on the insurance claim, explaining everything and was here from start to finish! I would definitely recommend Big Chief Exteriors to anyone!”
Patio Door Questions People Ask Us
My sliding door is really hard to open. Do I need a new one?
Usually not. Worn rollers and a dirty or dented track cause most of it, and both are repairable. New rollers, a cleaned track or a track cap, and an adjustment often make an old door glide again for a fraction of replacement cost. If the frame is out of square or the glass has failed too, that's a different conversation and we'll show you why.
Sliding, French, or multi-panel? How do I choose?
Sliders take no swing space, which matters when furniture or a grill sits near the door on either side. French style hinged doors give you a wider clear opening and a more traditional look, and they need room to swing. Multi-panel doors open a whole wall and cost the most. Your deck layout usually makes the decision before your taste does.
How much do patio doors cost?
It moves with size, frame material, glass package, and style. A standard vinyl slider is the affordable end. A clad wood French pair or a wide multi-panel unit is several times that. We measure the opening, look at the wall and the sill, and hand you written options with the monthly payment printed beside each total.
My patio door glass is foggy. Can just the glass be replaced?
Often yes. Fog between the panes means the seal failed on that glass unit, and on many doors that panel can be replaced while the frame, track, and hardware stay put. It costs far less than a new door and looks brand new when it's done. On some older units the glass is captive and the whole panel has to go.
Are sliding glass doors secure?
More than their reputation suggests, and there are two cheap upgrades worth doing. Anti-lift screws in the upper track keep the panel from being lifted out, and a bar or pin lock in the track stops it sliding even if the latch is defeated. Modern units come with better locks than the old aluminum ones did. We fit the anti-lift hardware as standard.
Will a big glass door make the room hot?
It can, and the glass coating is what controls it. On south and west walls we'd spec a low solar heat gain package so you get the light without cooking the room in the afternoon. That number is printed on the NFRC label and we'll write it on your quote. Interior shades help, though the glass does the heavy lifting.
Can you just fix or replace my screen?
Yes, and it's one of our favorite small jobs. We rescreen torn mesh, straighten and rebuild bent frames, replace rollers on screen doors, and install pet-resistant mesh. If your screen has been leaning in the garage for three years, that's a very fixable situation and it doesn't cost much.
Can I put a patio door where a window is now?
Usually. It's framing work, since the opening has to be widened and a proper header sized for the span, and the floor and any siding or trim around it need addressed. It's a real project rather than a swap, and it's one of the better ones if you've built a deck that nobody uses because the only way out there is through the garage.