Replacing an exterior door?

[dennis thompson]

I have an exterior wood door at the back of my house that needs to be replaced, it's rotting. The door is 36" x 80". The 3 estimates I have gotten seem awfully high to me: $2,800 or $2,100 or $2,400. The door itself would cost $700 at Home Depot or $1,100 at my local lumber yard (I assume the lumber yard one is better than the HD one, they are both wood). Note that the $2,800 door estimate is for fiberglass.
I have three questions:
1-do the installed prices seem reasonable to you?
2- is this a job A reasonably handy person (me) could do?
3- is fiberglass a best alternative?
thanks

[Rich Engelhardt]

[/2- is this a job A reasonably handy person (me) could do?
Interior doors are a snap to install.
Exterior doors are a royal pain in the neck.
Plus, unless you have a brake and the materials to trim out the brick mould, most DIY exterior doors just look like hell.


Assuming those prices include the door, that's about what the going rate for an exterior door install is around my parts. They are a tiny bit on the high side - around here an exterior door install runs about $800.00 for just the install.
That roughly breaks down to 4 hours work for a two man crew plus the setup/travel charges.

I'm somewhat leery of the extra $$ involved in your install. It could be a regional thing, or, it could be some trouble spot all the installers spotted.

[David C. Roseman]

Dennis, these prices seem high to me, as well. Can you post some pics of what you've got? Especially showing how it's trimmed out now, plus the threshold. Are the jamb and threshold also rotted out? Do you know if there is damage to the framing? Has anyone said that the rough-out framing is not standard?

David

[George Bokros]

Five years ago I had two doors replaced. Both were steel doors with rot proof jambs. One was a standard 30" door the other was a French door ~8 - 10 feet wide with only one opening panel. cost was less than $1,900. These were Therma Tru doors that were installed.

[dennis thompson]

297885
Dennis, these prices seem high to me, as well. Can you post some pics of what you've got? Especially showing how it's trimmed out now, plus the threshold. Are the jamb and threshold also rotted out? Do you know if there is damage to the framing? Has anyone said that the rough-out framing is not standard?

David
David
The house is 9 years old, jam & threshold are fine. On the left side of the door the trim is rotted at the bottom (hard to see the rot in the picture but it's there, in fact I've repaired it myself with some kind of wood repair...Bondo? Minwax? I don't remember exactly what I used, whatever it was, it didn't work). I plan to have all the trim around the door replaced with Azek. I have already had much of the rotted trim boards all around the house replaced with Azek. No one has mentioned that the framing is anything but standard and most likely in good shape.

[Keith Westfall]

Guess I lucked out. $300 steel door with frame at HD on sale for 15% off and just less than a day for a self install. I would have trouble with it being north of $2500 dollars for the same thing I got.

[Bill ThompsonNM]

Guess I lucked out. $300 steel door with frame at HD on sale for 15% off and just less than a day for a self install. I would have trouble with it being north of $2500 dollars for the same thing I got.

Ditto. I've replaced 10 exterior doors now, I'm not a pro and they all work better than what was there. I usually figure 1/2 to 1 day. Hard to see those prices.
Last one I installed was from Habitat, a really super used door. They had a double mahogany set at the same time, that was tempting but I settled for a hand carved looking southwest door. Works great!

[Sam Murdoch]

Those folks who gave you pricing probably read the recent 2 threads here on the Creek about installing pre hung doors and all the aggravations that came with those jobs :rolleyes:.

My own recent experience (which I posted about) was with a Therma Tru door. The pre hung door from a lumber yard not a box store (and I was happy to have the support of my local lumber yard) cost nearly $800.00. It was a fiberglass door with full divided lites. Anyway - I expected per my usual - that this install including removal of existing, install of the new, insulation and reusing interior trim would take 6 to 8 hours TOPS. It was a 13 hour job - no coffee breaks, no smoke breaks, no cell phone calls (though I did go home and finished up on a 2nd day). Fortunately in this case I was working T&M for a very trusting client. Whereas it should have cost about $ 1,200.00 for the install and door it cost nearly $ 1,600.00. Even with a 20% markup for New Jersey pricing (just guessing) I can't see this job breaking $2,000.00. I write this assuming that the framing is solid and that the siding will not need to be compromised. From the photo this looks like a straight forward replacement. (PS - I got the lumber yard to give the client a $ 100.00 gift certificate for my aggravation at having to rehang the pre hung door and their needing to pay me to do it - another story.)

[David C. Roseman]

297885
David
The house is 9 years old, jam & threshold are fine. On the left side of the door the trim is rotted at the bottom (hard to see the rot in the picture but it's there, in fact I've repaired it myself with some kind of wood repair...Bondo? Minwax? I don't remember exactly what I used, whatever it was, it didn't work). I plan to have all the trim around the door replaced with Azek. I have already had much of the rotted trim boards all around the house replaced with Azek. No one has mentioned that the framing is anything but standard and most likely in good shape.

From the pic, this looks like it would be a fairly straightforward project. Don't see why you couldn't do it yourself in a day, weather permitting, especially with someone to give you a hand. I wouldn't hesitate to go with a HD or Lowes prehung door. Last time I checked, they have a variety at different prices points, and can special-order a lot more.

David

[Brian Elfert]

A fiberglass door would probably be cheaper than wood and last longer with zero care required. They can be stained to look remarkably like wood. A lumber yard should be able to find you a door that has a maintenance free frame. The service door on my garage on my house built in 2001 is steel and has the frame and molding entirely out of aluminum. My house also had an Andersen Frenchwood door as the front door. Totally maintenance free, but a pain to keep the hinges adjusted so it didn't drag. It was only a single door and didn't have the fixed side like a normal Frenchwood door.

I sold that house and am having another house renovated with new siding and exterior doors. I'm a little disappointed that the contractor used a Menards house brand exterior door with wood frame. I am assuming it will get wrapped with metal, but I don't think it will last as long as a real maintenance free frame. Another thing on the list to ask the contractor about.

[Garrett Ellis]

I paid a guy $300 earlier this year to hang a bare wood slab door that looks exactly like your picture, same size too. Didn't seem like too hard of a job and I thought about doing it myself, but having never done it before I didn't want to risk it (front door of house). The frame was square and required no adjustments. He just took the old door off, transferred hinge locations to new door, routed the hinge mortises and drilled for new hardware. Took him around 3 hours and it seemed like everything went smoothly.

It was worth it to me since it was the front door for aesthetic and security reasons - didn't want to get stuck without a front door overnight because of a mistake.

BTW - the door itself only cost me $100. it was a clearance find at lowes, solid fir door. Probably not the best quality but we had it painted it immediately after having it hung hoping to avoid any warpage. Had to buy hinges, handleset, and doorsweep also. All in all probably around $1000 total.

[Mark Bolton]

I have an exterior wood door at the back of my house that needs to be replaced, it's rotting. The door is 36" x 80". The 3 estimates I have gotten seem awfully high to me: $2,800 or $2,100 or $2,400. The door itself would cost $700 at Home Depot or $1,100 at my local lumber yard (I assume the lumber yard one is better than the HD one, they are both wood). Note that the $2,800 door estimate is for fiberglass.
I have three questions:
1-do the installed prices seem reasonable to you?
2- is this a job A reasonably handy person (me) could do?
3- is fiberglass a best alternative?
thanks

Its seem the replies are bouncing around between a slab replacement (leaving the existing jambs) and a full replacement of jambs and slab. Your post mentions "fiberglass". If this option is for a slab only replacement (something I have personally never heard of because the fiberglass slab is never going to be the exact size of your opening and is not trim-able) then I would say sure. If this is for a complete replacement of the jambs, interior, and exterior, trim then I would say its a tad high but perhaps not by much.

Only you know what the estimates include but the "$300" homecenter numbers for an entry door swap are for a slam-bam-thank-you-ma'am job. They will reuse interior trim, it may or may not meet the old trim locations, may or may not need painting, may or may not this, may or may not that. On a $300 door install you're definitely not talking about wide flat exterior trim, there is no allowance there for dealing with a siding detail that may not match up perfectly to the new door (gap between new trim and siding or needing to trim the siding back).

If I were to wager a rough guess looking at your existing door and thinking of a complete door install jambs, threshold, and door, I would have a pretty good feeling that it could bleed well into a second day. Around here at least, you're talking 400+ per day for one man. That puts you at a bare minimum of 800 for labor. If a helper comes along make it a grand or more. Then add in materials (caulk, fasteners, and so on), and more than likely a trip to the lumberyard, and 1500 for the install wouldnt be unreasonable.

You're not talking about slapping in a $250 steel door with brickmold here.

This is all of course if you're talking about a complete pre-hung door (which I assume you are when you say 700-1100 for the door).

[Lee Schierer]

Replacing an exterior door can be done by a do it yourself person. However, you really need to know hat needs to be done when replacing on. It is more complex than simply pulling out the old door and sticking the new one in the hole. You need to pull the outside molding to expose the house wrap. The you need to apply the aluminum faced butyl tape all the way around and into the opening to prevent water infiltration. If you find any rot, you will have additional work to do on the framing, flooring and sill. You have to apply sealant along the threshold before you set the door in and sometimes even under the brick mold. Pre-hung doors are heavy and you will need a helper to hold the door in while you shim and center the door from the inside.

My pre-hung exterior door came with aluminum clad brick mold that was integral to the door.

[Mark Bolton]

Just for clarification in case you never looked at the OP's photo.. there is no "brick mold" in this job. It's not a home center door to begin with.

It's obvious by the photo.

Oy vey.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I have an exterior wood door at the back of my house that needs to be replaced, it's rotting. The door is 36" x 80". The 3 estimates I have gotten seem awfully high to me: $2,800 or $2,100 or $2,400. The door itself would cost $700 at Home Depot or $1,100 at my local lumber yard (I assume the lumber yard one is better than the HD one, they are both wood). Note that the $2,800 door estimate is for fiberglass.
I have three questions:
1-do the installed prices seem reasonable to you?
2- is this a job A reasonably handy person (me) could do?
3- is fiberglass a best alternative?
thanks

1. No.
2. Yes.
3. Yeah - it is fine - the "no rot" feature has one weakness - wood frame used to build the door - specifically, the bottom rail. I would be sure to coat that one piece of wood very, very well with epoxy - that is the Achilles Heel of all exterior doors, regardless of material used to skin it.

But - a steel door is just as fine, IMO, unless you insist on a more realistic grain pattern. The local lumber yard price differential may indicate a better quality, or it may simply indicate the power of THD in buying and pricing, and willingness to take a hit on margins for a popular item, in order to get the rest of the purchase.

If both are steel, check the gauge of the steel - that, plus R-factor, are really the only issues for steel entry doors. There are not a lot of door slab manufacturers out there, and there is not a huge difference in the quality of the slab.

For pre-hung, the big factor is the quality of the hinges, and of the weatherstrip. At the pre-hang shop, there are, again, not that many differences. You only need to check a few things to be an intelligent consumer in the purchase decision. OH - if you are installing yourself, take a tape with you and check the squareness at the store - no need in starting in a big hole, ya' dig?

The Jersey Factor makes me chuckle - untold number of governmental layers - borough, township, city, - I don't remember the entire deal - all with permit requirements and hands out. I am not being facetious [well, not excessively] - have a modest amount of experience there.

I would do it myself, with an off-the-books hired hand for a day @ 100 bucks. You are going to have it re-trimmed anyway w/ Azek - so you just need to slap on some 1/2" osb strips to keep the weather out until that crew shows up.

Might as well be your boat payment out of this job, rather than the contractor's.

[Mark Bolton]

Im sorry, and I am not in any way trying to push to a contractor solution (just because thats the way I earn my living) but I mean really? Some strips of OSB?

First off, the contracted prices would seem to be a turn key job. This means, one day you look at your rotted door, and two days later you look at the opening replicated with a new door and all the original details restored (perhaps other than paint), a turn key job, the end. This means the contractor procures the door. Delivers it to the site or facilitates delivery, the door is weather tight at caulked, warrantied, and so on. Finished. You deal with nothing.

And in comparison we are talking about a 100 dollar a day flunkie under the table for an extra set of hands (a good contractor would do the job alone but charge for the extra man anyway), and patching the opening together with materials that would then have to be removed by some "other" contractor later to trim the opening properly?

The quality of the door is far more than simply the hinges and the weather strip?!? Is the sill composite or wood? What are the sealing details of the manufacturer? If you ever go to a trade show the details between quality manufacturers are marked.

The flip side of this is you stick your nose in the middle of the situation which gives everyone in the process (including he $100 a day flunkie) an out. I mean do you really want to be the responsible party to leave the door perfectly centered in the siding gap so that the next guy doesnt have to fudge the exterior trim into the siding gap? I would much rather leave that burden to the guy who hangs the door an eight of an inch to the right.

Sorry, but when I look at that door with wide flat trim, a crown detail on top (and its associated head flashing) I would not be thinking about chopping up the install to save myself a dinner out with the Mrs.

Two days labor, with a helper, fasteners, caulk, insulation, shims, interior trim re-install, and travel time.... 1500 is a gift.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I would do it myself, with an off-the-books hired hand for a day @ 100 bucksIn this day and age, IMHO, that's too much risk to assume.
There's too many of those types that turn that $100 paycheck into a million dollar payoff by "getting hurt", then suing the daylights out of you.
Anyone sets foot on any of my properties to "lend a hand" for money has to have all their papers in order and their workman's comp and liability insurance up to date.
It a sad state of affairs - but - that extra $1000.00 charge may be the best bargain in town - compared to a $100,000.00 "bad back" settlement.
Not to mention the one that irks me the most - the $25,000.00 settlement Mrs."Bad Back" gets because of the loss of husbandly duties...


Another thing about things like an exterior door install like this that has to be taken into account is the time frame involved.
Back in 2009/2010 prior to the new lead laws going into effect, the prices were a whole lot cheaper & the number of installers was ten times higher.

After the new law took effect, the cost of installing exterior doors and windows went through the roof.
My wife and I were in a Lowes store the night before the new prices were going into effect and they were retagging all the "get it installed for ____" signs.
I forget the specifics, but, the prices were jaw dropping they were so much higher. I want to say it was on the order of five or six times more.
I know the new lead laws and the licensing requirements just ripped a hole in the installer field and destroyed any sort of reasonable (to the consumer) competitive pricing.

We (my wife and I - as part of our rental renovations) lost nearly all our installers and contractors.
They weren't "bad" they were just too small to send their people out to get certified, so, they just folded up and went under.
The ones that didn't - see my earlier comment about having all their papers in order.


[Its seem the replies are bouncing around between a slab replacement (leaving the existing jambs) and a full replacement of jambs and slabYeah - I can't figure that. The OP did say there rot & looking at the picture, I can see why. I wouldn't trust anything to be useable.

[Jerome Stanek]

I've installed many doors by myself and did it in 1 day or less. I was setup to do this as they should be. Some of them I even painted in that time.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I've replaced more than one on my own, with the help of a neighbor for the heavy lifting. The 100-buck guy is there just for the extra set of hands - this is not rocket science, and any moderately handy person can DIY. It simply is not that difficult. I could just have easily said "get a neighbor and a case of beer", which is the route I took on the ones I did.

The OSB comment was taken out of context. I said that, since he is going to have all trim replaced with Azek by a contractor, it made no sense to sweat that detail - just a temp enclosure until the final trim package is installed.

I highlighted what I consider to be the critical elements for a quality comparison. That list can be driven to the Nth level of detail, of course. Wood sill - pre-primed or not? Composite sill - what type of material? How well does it take paint? Aluminum sill - does it have a thermal break or not? What type of adjuster strip, if any, do they use to close the weather gap? And on. And on. And on. Just for the the sill. Then, let's go to the lock block inside the slab. Made from what? Attached to the frame how? Dimensions? There are plenty of axles to get wrapped around here.

If you guys are not comfortable doing it yourselves, then, by all means, hire it out - the extra pair of hands / case of beer solutions do not apply if you are not comfortable doing it yourself.

[Rich Engelhardt]

If you guys are not comfortable doing it yourselves, then, by all means, hire it out - the extra pair of hands / case of beer solutions do not apply if you are not comfortable doing it yourselfSort of like I tell people about my CPA....
I don't pay him to do my taxes, I pay him to keep me out of an audit.

W/exterior doors, I've done enough of them myself to know that once the old one comes out, it's anybody's guess what in the world is going to be uncovered!
That being the case, I pay the extra $$ - not for an installer to do the job, but, I pay extra so I'm sure at the end of the day - something secure is going to be covering that opening!
Meanwhile, I get to direct the work and swill the beer myself ;). LOL! :D

[Kent A Bathurst]

..........I pay the extra $$ - not for an installer to do the job, but, I pay extra so I'm sure at the end of the day - something secure is going to be covering that opening!

Meanwhile, I get to direct the work and swill the beer myself ;). LOL! :D

And I have zero argument with that approach. IF I had a door to replace tomorrow, that is the route I would take - I have no interest in doing it myself today, but "back in the day" the situation was different.

I am fairly good with copper plumbing - redid all of the supply network in 2 houses - but there are times when I feel more comfortable hiring out for repair jobs.

I am sure your contractors are very appreciative of you standing there, beer in hand, giving them instructions...........:p :p :p Especially on, say, the 4th beer.........;)

[Mark W Pugh]

Are you kidding me. HD and Lowe's have their own contractors to do the work (they contract it out). I was just in checking on a patio door, at Lowe's, and it was going to be less than $100 installation, with a rebate in that cost, and free extra parts and pieces. Ask HD and Lowe's what their install fees are.

[Jason Roehl]

Are you kidding me. HD and Lowe's have their own contractors to do the work (they contract it out). I was just in checking on a patio door, at Lowe's, and it was going to be less than $100 installation, with a rebate in that cost, and free extra parts and pieces. Ask HD and Lowe's what their install fees are.

That just tells you how overpriced their door is, and how much lower its quality is, because there is no way Lowe's could pay an installer $100 to set a door and keep them around--either due to the low pay, or because they would have so many callbacks they'd have to fire the guy. They would have to be paying an installer more than that $100 and rolling it into the price of the door. Just like I see "a whole house of carpet installed for $99!" I don't think there are many carpet layers who would do a single room for that, much less a whole house.

[Mark W Pugh]

That just tells you how overpriced their door is, and how much lower its quality is, because there is no way Lowe's could pay an installer $100 to set a door and keep them around--either due to the low pay, or because they would have so many callbacks they'd have to fire the guy. They would have to be paying an installer more than that $100 and rolling it into the price of the door. Just like I see "a whole house of carpet installed for $99!" I don't think there are many carpet layers who would do a single room for that, much less a whole house.

Well, it was a Jeld-Wen door. Not there standard run of the mill door. Just saying. The prices he was given were way out of line.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I am sure your contractors are very appreciative of you standing there, beer in hand, giving them instructions...........:p :p :p Especially on, say, the 4th beer.........;)
Well - yeah!!!
LOL!
That could also account for the hefty price increase over the original estimate too I guess! LOL! :D



Are you kidding me. HD and Lowe's have their own contractors to do the work (they contract it out). I was just in checking on a patio door, at Lowe's, and it was going to be less than $100 installation, with a rebate in that cost, and free extra parts and pieces. Ask HD and Lowe's what their install fees are.
Hmm - to be honest, I haven't look at the "Get it installed for _xxxx" signs at either place in a couple of years.
The last time I paid any attention was back in 2009 or 2010 when the latest round of lead laws went into effect.
One of the Lowes employees was changing the price signs & the new price was an outrageous increase from the old.
I want to say the old price was ~ $60.00 for a simple install and the new price was over $300.00.
Now I'm really curious as to what the present going rate is...

[dennis thompson]

Thanks for the advice. I hired someone ,total cost will be about $1,400, with me doing the painting.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Make sure you get an ice cold 12 or 18 pack & set up a chair and swill beer while they work and tell them what to do :D.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Make sure you get an ice cold 12 or 18 pack & set up a chair and swill beer while they work and tell them what to do :D.

Exactly. This is called "effective supervision".

:p :p :p

[Kent A Bathurst]

Thanks for the advice. I hired someone ,total cost will be about $1,400, with me doing the painting.


I'd take that deal as opposed to DIY. YMMV, of course..................

[Bill Orbine]

Thanks for the advice. I hired someone ,total cost will be about $1,400, with me doing the painting.

That sound about right if the door is about $700-$900 depending whether you get new exterior trim or not. Maybe wee bit on the low side. One day job ready to paint! Where about in NJ are you, if you don't mind my asking?

[dennis thompson]

That sound about right if the door is about $700-$900 depending whether you get new exterior trim or not. Maybe wee bit on the low side. One day job ready to paint! Where about in NJ are you, if you don't mind my asking?

The door is a Simpson, which I'm told is a good door. Current door has double glass, is 9 years old and 6 of the 9 window panes have developed leaks & look awful. I just went with single pane tempered glass, (the door is in the garage) and saved about $400 and don't have to worry about leaks.