Davie is Broward's cowboy town, with horse trails through its neighborhoods

When Florida reclaimed swampland at the start of the 20th century, businessman Robert Parsell Davie bought 44 square miles of it to farm. The settlement, first called Zona, was renamed for him within a few years. Today the town covers about 35.7 square miles where I-595 meets I-75. It calls itself Cowboy Town, Florida, keeps a western theme in its downtown, and the Bergeron Rodeo Grounds there date to the early 1940s.

Davie has eight equestrian trails that cross both suburban and rural neighborhoods, part of a trail system of more than 165 miles that includes paved paths. For doors, that means dust, sand and hay in places a city slider never sees. A back door that opens onto a yard used by horses collects fine grit in the track every day. Grit grinds the wheels flat and scores the rail, and the sliding gets rough long before anything actually breaks. A doormat on the outside, a quick vacuum of the track a few times a week and a damp wipe afterward add years to a set of rollers. Skip silicone sprays and oils on the track itself; they hold the dust in place.

Pine Island Ridge is the highest ground in Broward at 29 feet

Pine Island Ridge reaches about 29 feet, the highest point in the county. Tequesta campsites there date back 5,000 to 7,000 years, Seminoles sheltered there during the Second Seminole War, and Broward County bought the natural area in 1989. The surrounding neighborhood was annexed into Davie in 2006.

Most of the town is much lower, on land that was drained for farming. Summer storms put a lot of water against the bottom of every slider. Two simple checks:

  • Find the weep holes on the outside face of the sill and push a thin wire through each one. Blocked holes are the most common reason water comes in under a slider.
  • Look at the inside corners of the frame after a storm. Water stains there point to failed seals or a cracked sill, which is worth fixing before the floor or subfloor takes damage.

Older aluminum sliders and newer impact doors in Davie fail in different ways

Many of Davie's older buildings carry the ranch and western storefront look the town is known for, a legacy of the former Pioneer City theme park, and its homes span several decades of construction. The faults follow the age of the door:

  • Older aluminum sliders: worn rollers, a bent bottom rail, and a latch that no longer reaches its keeper because the panel has dropped. These are usually fixed with new rollers and an adjustment.
  • Newer impact doors: heavy panels that need heavy-duty rollers, and multi-panel doors whose interlocks need to be aligned so they seal.
  • Doors to pool decks: chlorine and pool chemicals splashed on aluminum and hardware speed up corrosion, so rinse the frame when you hose down the deck.

If the door has a pet door insert or a screen that never tracks right, mention it. Screens on these doors take a beating from dogs and horses alike, and a bent screen frame can rub the main panel.

Replacing a door in Davie means an HVHZ approved product

Davie is in Broward, which together with Miami-Dade forms the High Velocity Hurricane Zone of the Florida Building Code. Out on the ranch lots and in the newer subdivisions alike, a new Davie slider needs an approval that covers the HVHZ, a Miami-Dade NOA or the state equivalent. Before you buy, ask for the approval number, confirm it covers the size of your opening, and check whether your HOA must approve the style. If you live in an HOA community, many require approval for exterior changes.

Check every Davie slider in spring, ahead of the June storm start. If a storm or an accident breaks a panel, start with emergency glass repair to secure the opening, then plan the replacement. Davie borders Plantation to the north and Cooper City to the south, and the full list is on the Broward County page.