Just got a quote for a new front door

[dennis thompson]

We would like to replace our current front door. It currently also has sidelights and a transom. We got a quote for a fiberglass door from Pella. The installation would be exactly the same size as the current door,with sidelights and transom.
The installed cost is $6595.( Wood would be twice as much) I have no idea how to determine if this is a reasonable price.
What do you think? ( I'm in Monmouth county NJ)
Note that I have no interest ,nor do I have the capability of ,doing this myself

[Jim Koepke]

The installed cost is $6595.( Wood would be twice as much) I have no idea how to determine if this is a reasonable price.
What do you think? ( I'm in Monmouth county NJ)

This sounds a bit high to my way of thinking. Then my last door replacement was done by the wife and me. We purchased a new door and frame and put it in. Only took us a couple hours.

You could drop in to your local Home Depot, Lowes or other home improvement store and look at the cost of their doors as if you were going to do it yourself. That way it would be easy to break out the labor. They could also contract an installation crew.

Do you want to take out the whole entry way or would you be happy with just the door itself being replaced in the old frame?

jtk

[Bryan Lisowski]

Your probably right in the ballpark. You could take your quote to Home Depot to see if they will beat. We priced out a new door and being a custom size, I think we were around $11,000 and that was with a window cut out. Needless to say we passed, but for that price, I would build my own.

[John K Jordan]

I'm not surprised. We checked into new doors a few years back leading out to a sun room (not the front entrance) and I was astounded at how much high quality doors were going for. We settled on a far simpler double door, doug fir and glass with wide glass panels on either side (Sort of makes a wall of glass between the house and sun room.)

In general I'm not quite enamored with Pella. Might check around with other door companies.

JKJ



We would like to replace our current front door. It currently also has sidelights and a transom. We got a quote for a fiberglass door from Pella. The installation would be exactly the same size as the current door,with sidelights and transom.
The installed cost is $6595.( Wood would be twice as much) I have no idea how to determine if this is a reasonable price.
What do you think? ( I'm in Monmouth county NJ)
Note that I have no interest ,nor do I have the capability of ,doing this myself

[Mel Fulks]

I would first make a decision on the side lites. Stay, go , or replace.

[Bruce Wrenn]

First, it's been ten years, but I installed a custom built door with side lights for a customer. Customer order door, and I installed it Total cost on job was less than $3K. Pella isn't the cheapest source, IMHO. Find a local millwork shop (not the BORGS) and get a quote

[roger wiegand]

I've bought a couple entry doors in the last several years, your cost is consistent with my expectation in a high cost market like NJ or MA. For my son't house I bought a mid-range fiberglass door at the Borg, it cost $2300 and I installed it myself. Paying at least $5k for an installed cost would have been consistent with my experience. With the termite repair I needed to do as part of the job it easily would have gone $10K. Yours is a more elaborate door. Local millwork shops started at about $3K and went up (way up) for a similar door.

[Jeff Body]

I don't know if this is true or not but do you have to pull a permit to replace the front door?
I was also told front doors and windows you have to have a contractor do them and pull permits.

[Doug Dawson]

I've bought a couple entry doors in the last several years, your cost is consistent with my expectation in a high cost market like NJ or MA. For my son't house I bought a mid-range fiberglass door at the Borg, it cost $2300 and I installed it myself. Paying at least $5k for an installed cost would have been consistent with my experience. With the termite repair I needed to do as part of the job it easily would have gone $10K. Yours is a more elaborate door. Local millwork shops started at about $3K and went up (way up) for a similar door.

Wow! Am I ever glad I have that Domino DF 700! Until now I'd just been using it to build garden structures. Now I know that it will have paid for itself already. Boy howdy!

[Jim Falsetti]

Sound a little high but maybe not much for the NY-NJ-CT labor markets. I would also be sure in the contract to state the installer must follow all the door manufacturer installation instructions. A good contractor will have no problem with that stipulation.

[Darcy Warner]

Is that for the door an installation?
If it is, that seems fair. More to it than swapping a door, interior trim, exterior trim work, protecting work area, probably permits (its NJ) new lockest I presume, haul away and disposal. On second thought, that seems cheap all inclusive.

[ChrisA Edwards]

We just replaced our front door last year. It sounds like it was the same setup as yours.

Here's a picture of the door we took out
https://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/i452/cedwards874/TN%20House/FrontDoor_zpsvl36eb1i.jpg

We replaced it with a double door made from Mahogany. Took the guys two hours to rip out the old door and install this new one.

Cost was $7000.
https://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/i452/cedwards874/TN%20House/FrontDooNew_zpse1ox501c.jpg

[Bruce Page]

Price vs value is always a judgment call. I am very satisfied with our Pella windows and doors.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

If you saw my post about the double arched mahogany doors with double arched mahogany screen doors, we charged $8000 a set for 14 sets total, installed- customer supplied the hardware. That said, we should have charged more. Volume discount played a role.

[Joe Hendershott]

I don't know if this is true or not but do you have to pull a permit to replace the front door?
I was also told front doors and windows you have to have a contractor do them and pull permits.
It would depend on location. Around here (Atlanta) you are required if the value is greater than $3000. You can do it yourself but still need the permit and inspection.

[Ole Anderson]

Six years ago my son replaced his front double door with a single with sidelights. He bought it at HD and we had a pro builder friend install it with our help. It took us two hours to remove and replace and he had to trim the top of the opening to make it fit. Install cost $200. Looking at HD website, I see plenty of Feather River fiberglass doors with side lites. Here is one for $3500. That is exactly why I am a DIY'r.

https://blinds.scene7.com/is/image/Blinds/F425P0-3A4-F?fmt=jpeg&fit=constrain,1&hei=1000

[Darcy Warner]

I love these kinds of threads thinking contractors are too expensive. Being in business is expensive. Does one haggle with their dentist, doctor, attorney, ask if they cook the food at the restaurant if it's cheaper?

[Doug Dawson]

I love these kinds of threads thinking contractors are too expensive. Being in business is expensive. Does one haggle with their dentist, doctor, attorney, ask if they cook the food at the restaurant if it's cheaper?

There's nothing wrong with people charging what the market will bear for a product or service that is "elective". (Putting aside the dentist doctor attorney stuff where it can smell like legalized extortion.) There's also nothing wrong with DIY, if you actually know how to do it.

[Ron Citerone]

I love these kinds of threads thinking contractors are too expensive. Being in business is expensive. Does one haggle with their dentist, doctor, attorney, ask if they cook the food at the restaurant if it's cheaper?

I never haggle with a contractor, I either take the bid or I don't. While I understand most bids are what is needed for the contractor to make a fair living, it is often about my budget at the time. Things always take longer than I thought it would when I do a job myself. I believe if I had to estimate jobs I would be out of business for the time estimates alone.

[Ron Kurzius]

There are so many variables in renovation, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Go T&M, might seem scary but makes the most sense for all involved.

[Mark Daily]

Dennis- have you gotten quotes from other contractors? On a job that expensive I always get several- it’s also a good way to judge what’s a fair local price.

[roger wiegand]

If you don't haggle with your lawyer you'll end up paying double what you should. They are like rug salespeople and price the service way high initially so that you can feel good when they agree to charge you $450 an hour rather than $800. (I speak from many decades of negotiating for legal services for a major corporation). Most contractors don't play that game, so I don't haggle with them. I do get a couple of bids and often find a 3x variation for the same scope of work. I wouldn't try to talk the expensive guy into working for cheap though.

FWIW, prices from doctors are also often negotiable. It can't hurt to ask.

I can tell you that absolutely everyone asks artists and musicians to work for free or cheap.

[Patrick Walsh]

I’ll make you one transom and sidelights single door 1.75” sapele or the like. No hardware excepts gaskets for $9K installed.

I’m in mass I’ll drive it down and instal it you have interior and exterior casing on hand.



We would like to replace our current front door. It currently also has sidelights and a transom. We got a quote for a fiberglass door from Pella. The installation would be exactly the same size as the current door,with sidelights and transom.
The installed cost is $6595.( Wood would be twice as much) I have no idea how to determine if this is a reasonable price.
What do you think? ( I'm in Monmouth county NJ)
Note that I have no interest ,nor do I have the capability of ,doing this myself

[dennis thompson]

Dennis- have gotten quotes from other contractors? On a job that expensive I always get several- it’s also a good way to judge what’s a fair local price.
I have asked for quotes from three different contractors, so far only one has replied.
Thanks for all the responses, it looks to me that the price is reasonable for this area.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I love these kinds of threads thinking contractors are too expensive. Being in business is expensive. Does one haggle with their dentist, doctor, attorney, ask if they cook the food at the restaurant if it's cheaper?Having been in the construction business for the last 52 years, some contractors (most likely builders as they don't have a Contractor's licensee) think a lot more of their work than it's worth. Some jobs I priced , I was told I was way over priced, so someone else did them the first time. But when I went back to clean up the mess they made, my price didn't seem so bad. One customer had a center sash in a flat bay rotted at bottom. Simple replacement. Order correct size sash, and replace the old one. Caulk paint, haul off old sash and collect. Yahoos she hired scabbed a piece over rotted area. She admitted, when I handed her the bill, that she had paid more for messed up job than I charged to do it correctly.

[Larry Edgerton]

Dennis, DO NOT BUY A PELLA!

Your climate is similar to mine and I am replacing Pellas I put in new houses 15 years ago. All rotten. Called Pella, and their answer was that I should have caulked the sash to the glass when I installed them because that is where they leak. REALLY!!! Crap and a crap company.

Price is about right I would say, not in your market, BUT DON"T BUY A PELLA!

[Patrick Walsh]

Idk my option is worthless probably bit kinda not.

I have plenty of experience installing the big names in windows and doors and the fact is they are all crap with a short shelf life.
‘That’s coming from a guy that spent $26k for like 19 top of the line marvins for his tiny bungalow like four years ago.

What other choice do we really have unless we can afford custom made from a mill shop. Ben the better top of the line used to be eagle or whomever that’s that other name I think it begins with a K are kinda just crap. Have joe build you some windows and I bet you will get a window that last provided you maintain the exterior of them.

Anyway I could not bring myself to spend $7k on a simple interior exterior passage door when I dam well know I could make the thing myself jamb in all in what is at most 40 hrs worth of work spread over a few weeks taking into account sourcing acclimatizing and milling lumber. For the same $7k o could build myself one kick ass door.

What I could never ever ever do is purchase anything from a big box store and tour talking to a guy that is a hourly cabinet maker. A fire code basement door in a bulkhead sure but other than that not a chance I’d ever buy a big box or Pelli anything.

[Edwin Santos]

I love these kinds of threads thinking contractors are too expensive. Being in business is expensive. Does one haggle with their dentist, doctor, attorney, ask if they cook the food at the restaurant if it's cheaper?


There's nothing wrong with people charging what the market will bear for a product or service that is "elective". (Putting aside the dentist doctor attorney stuff where it can smell like legalized extortion.) There's also nothing wrong with DIY, if you actually know how to do it.

The hidden cost of DIY is called opportunity cost. Assuming the DIY'er has the skills to do the job in the first place, how long will it take and what else would he/she done with their time? I read a thread here on SMC where a guy decided to build his entire kitchen cabinet package to save $$. Due to his day job, the kitchen project consumed every weekend for a year. That's a year of weekends that guy will never get back. There's a price to a DIYer's time, and an aggravation factor too.
This is not to argue against DIY, but thinking of it as an apples to apples comparison to hiring a professional is not accurate either.

By the way, I'm not disagreeing with either comment above, just adding some thoughts.

[lowell holmes]

See this site.

https://www.hidemysearches.com/search?eq=BMuVGYCjNE631Tby6pDq71SR5S1qizVZ5lKbs0eV w3I%3d&ett=1&ptc=://mail

[Darcy Warner]

Having been in the construction business for the last 52 years, some contractors (most likely builders as they don't have a Contractor's licensee) think a lot more of their work than it's worth. Some jobs I priced , I was told I was way over priced, so someone else did them the first time. But when I went back to clean up the mess they made, my price didn't seem so bad. One customer had a center sash in a flat bay rotted at bottom. Simple replacement. Order correct size sash, and replace the old one. Caulk paint, haul off old sash and collect. Yahoos she hired scabbed a piece over rotted area. She admitted, when I handed her the bill, that she had paid more for messed up job than I charged to do it correctly.

Sometimes that's the only way one can learn a lesson, with their pocket book.

[Darcy Warner]

The hidden cost of DIY is called opportunity cost. Assuming the DIY'er has the skills to do the job in the first place, how long will it take and what else would he/she done with their time? I read a thread here on SMC where a guy decided to build his entire kitchen cabinet package to save $$. Due to his day job, the kitchen project consumed every weekend for a year. That's a year of weekends that guy will never get back. There's a price to a DIYer's time, and an aggravation factor too.
This is not to argue against DIY, but thinking of it as an apples to apples comparison to hiring a professional is not accurate either.

By the way, I'm not disagreeing with either comment above, just adding some thoughts.

I always loved the, I would do myself it if I had the time people. I always responded with, yeah me too. Lol.

[Jim Koepke]

See this site.

https://www.hidemysearches.com/search?eq=BMuVGYCjNE631Tby6pDq71SR5S1qizVZ5lKbs0eV w3I%3d&ett=1&ptc=://mail

It seems they have hidden your search Lowell.

jtk

[lowell holmes]

Let's try again.

https://www.socialscour.com/serp?q=Front%20Entry%20Doors%20Ideas&segment=ss20&s2cid=383847307&s2agid=1154487662290864&s2kid=kwd-72155841529818:loc-190&utm_source=bing&msclkid=911e88588d241aa219ebd675fdd014d4

[Mike Cutler]

I can tell you that absolutely everyone asks artists and musicians to work for free or cheap.

Yep, I hear ya brother!
I guess people just assume that the 1000's of hours, and years, spent learning, and practicing, scales and modes just come naturally, so it should be free.

To the OP
If you have neither the time,inclination, or skillset, to make the door, have it done. Whether or not the price is correct is only up to you. Professional, reliable, building contractors are going to cost you. They've built their reputation over years.
All of the folks that I know in the building trades, that work for themselves, put in a butt ton of hours every week. Their phones are constantly going off. Their "time off" is pretty valuable to them.
For a guy working a predictable 40 hour week, the time spent building and installing their own set of doors may be enjoyable and fulfilling. It can also be that they have the skill set, but not the money. Every situation is different.

[Jerome Stanek]

I had to replace a Pella sash for my nephew that was only 12 years old and Pella said it wasn't covered because the aluminum coating had failed.

[Brian Elfert]

The hidden cost of DIY is called opportunity cost. Assuming the DIY'er has the skills to do the job in the first place, how long will it take and what else would he/she done with their time? I read a thread here on SMC where a guy decided to build his entire kitchen cabinet package to save $$. Due to his day job, the kitchen project consumed every weekend for a year. That's a year of weekends that guy will never get back. There's a price to a DIYer's time, and an aggravation factor too.
This is not to argue against DIY, but thinking of it as an apples to apples comparison to hiring a professional is not accurate either.

By the way, I'm not disagreeing with either comment above, just adding some thoughts.

I spent from Sept 2nd to Nov 15th five years ago remodeling a house I had bought. (I was living elsewhere.) I spent almost every weeknight and weekend day at the house working on it. I hired a contractor to do the major work, but I simply didn't have enough money to have the contractor do everything. I work for a salary so doing extra work instead wouldn't get me extra money. It was worth it to me to give up that time in lieu of money I didn't have.

I wish I would have delayed the move in by a week to finish a few things, but I wanted to be in my own house again. I still have unfinished stuff fives years later! (I live alone so no one to nag me to finish things.)

[Edwin Santos]

I spent from Sept 2nd to Nov 15th five years ago remodeling a house I had bought. (I was living elsewhere.) I spent almost every weeknight and weekend day at the house working on it. I hired a contractor to do the major work, but I simply didn't have enough money to have the contractor do everything. I work for a salary so doing extra work instead wouldn't get me extra money. It was worth it to me to give up that time in lieu of money I didn't have.

I wish I would have delayed the move in by a week to finish a few things, but I wanted to be in my own house again. I still have unfinished stuff fives years later! (I live alone so no one to nag me to finish things.)

I hope it didn't come off like I was making a case against DIY. It's been my experience that most are not as capable as you obviously are. It's a highly personal cost/benefit proposition. Many pros and real estate agents will tell you that the majority of homeowner DIY work looks like just that, sub-professional. But for those that can do the work competently and efficiently, by all means do so. Plus there is a non-financial factor for many, myself included, which is the pride of having done something yourself and done it well. It can be a liberating feeling to not be dependent on contractors.

On the other hand, I have found myself slogging through a chore that was outside my expertise, wishing I had hired a pro who does the task every day. Good job on your renovation!

Edwin

[Brian Elfert]

I hope it didn't come off like I was making a case against DIY. It's been my experience that most are not as capable as you obviously are. It's a highly personal cost/benefit proposition. Many pros and real estate agents will tell you that the majority of homeowner DIY work looks like just that, sub-professional. But for those that can do the work competently and efficiently, by all means do so. Plus there is a non-financial factor for many, myself included, which is the pride of having done something yourself and done it well. It can be a liberating feeling to not be dependent on contractors.

On the other hand, I have found myself slogging through a chore that was outside my expertise, wishing I had hired a pro who does the task every day. Good job on your renovation!


The general contractor and his subs did all the hard work like replacing windows, bath remodel, exterior doors, and siding. I hired a finish carpenter to hang the interior doors and install all the trim. I mostly did things that wouldn't be seen like fixing tons of electrical problems. Previous owners had hacked the wiring and even just cut off live wires in walls. I demolished a useless masonry chimney that water was leaking around.

I replaced all the broken and rotted kitchen cabinets with new RTA cabinets, but they look horrible. Most of the doors are out of alignment and the Chinesium hinges just strip when adjusted. I didn't understand which way cabinet doors should swing and one or two of the doors swing the wrong way. The kitchen cabinets definitely look like a DIY project right now. I might of been in too big of a hurry when painting and there are spots where there is no paint coverage. I should have put on a second coat and I really should repaint one of these days.

I am hoping to build my own large garage/shop in the next two years or so. It will be 40x60.

[Doug Dawson]

I hope it didn't come off like I was making a case against DIY. It's been my experience that most are not as capable as you obviously are. It's a highly personal cost/benefit proposition. Many pros and real estate agents will tell you that the majority of homeowner DIY work looks like just that, sub-professional.

Resistance from commenting on this is _almost_ beyond my human strength to endure, given my experience with "highly regarded" contractors recommended to me by similarly highly regarded RE agents in my area. Of the several such instances where I paid good money to have stuff done in the past year, it all had to be redone, by yours truly. Apparently "professional" has a very contextual meaning.

[lowell holmes]

OBTW, I made my front and back doors. They are solid wood 1 3/4" thick.