How to Drill a Hole Through a Patio Door
Patio doors come in a variety of construction materials, such as vinyl or glass or wire mesh, but they all share a metal aluminum frame. To drill a hole through a patio door, for example, to run an antenna wire through from the outdoors into the home, use a power drill with a metal drill bit. The procedure is straightforward and will not affect the door's operation. You will need household tools and supplies.
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Decide on the section of the patio door's metal frame where you want to drill the hole: on a bottom edge or on the side where you grip the door to open it. Measure the width of the door's metal frame to determine how big the diameter of the drill bit should be.
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Place the metal drill bit into the opening in the end of the power drill. Close the opening with the locking tool on the drill.
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Wipe off the section of the door's frame where you will be drilling with a water-moistened paper towel to remove loose dirt and contaminants.
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Close the patio door. Slide the locking lever or turn the locking latch to keep the door closed. Plug in the power drill and on work gloves and protective eye gear.
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Press the trigger on the power drill. Place the rotating drill bit against the metal frame on the patio door at the point where you want the hole to be. Push the drill bit through the frame. Pull the drill bit halfway out of the hole once the it has been pushed through. Push the drill bit back through the hole. Repeat this two more times before pulling the drill bit out of the hole.
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Release the power drill's trigger. Unplug and remove the drill. Unlock the patio door and open it.
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Clean the loose metal dust from the frame on both sides of the patio door -- use a water-moistened paper towel for this. Clean the floor on both sides of the door underneath where you made the holes.
References
Resources
Warnings
- Keep children and pets away from the patio door while you are drilling the hole.
Writer Bio
Marshal M. Rosenthal is a technology maven with more than 15 years of editorial experience. A graduate of Brooks Institute of Photography with a Bachelor of Arts in photographic arts, his editorial work has appeared both domestically as well as internationally in publications such as "Home Theater," "Electronic House," "eGear," "Computer and Video Games" and "Digitrends."
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