Sliding glass door giving me fits

So I'm installing a new soaker tub in the house, which means getting the thing inside.

It's wide and deep, and won't make it through the front door by several inches, even with a hearty tilt. The only place it's coming in is through the vinyl sliding glass door, and then only if I can get the stationary door off.

Which is the problem.

I got the sliding door out, pulled the track, and can't for the life of me figure out how to get the center bar out to remove the stationary door. There aren't any screws, nor screw-caps to pop out to find screws. I pulled out the plastic trim on the outside to discover (as I peered through the glass) there was at least one screw going into the glass pane from the outside.

I'm going with the "don't try it if it might break" theory of pulling stuff apart, but I'm at a loss. Does anyone have any ideas? Am I missing something obvious?

Maybe you can find a copy of the installation instructions for your particular door ... then just work backwards!

Ha! I like your thinking.

Sadly, the door has the same markings as a Mexican-made faucet -- nada. I have no idea what brand it might be.

There is typically a bracket that holds it in against the jamb opposite of the pull handle.

Do you have a bracket screwed in there?

If so, unscrew it and pull the fixed side out.

Isn't the center bar part of the stationary side and not an independent securable piece?

AZ Contractor said:

There is typically a bracket that holds it in against the jamb opposite of the pull handle.

Do you have a bracket screwed in there?

If so, unscrew it and pull the fixed side out.

Isn't the center bar part of the stationary side and not an independent securable piece?

Click to expand...

Man, I stared at it for awhile again. I can't see anything that even remotely looks like a bracket. Or anything I can unscrew.

Can you post a picture of it from the inside?

Well, I solved the problem without finding a solution, which is a success story in my book.

I downloaded every install sheet for sliding glass doors I could find until I found one that resembled mine -- which turned out to be a one-piece job for remodels. The reason there was no way to take out the fixed door was it came from the factor already on there; the poor SOBs who installed it had to lift the whole assembly in.

My solution turned out to be a real forehead-smacker. Fortunately I'm not ashamed to admit when I'm an idiot. Turns out if I turned the tub up on end, I could wrap the lip around the front door and skootch in that way.

On the plus side, taking out the rails and cleaning them has led to a like-new easy-sliding glass door. Upside in everything.