Replacing Doors?

[ProudMommyof2]

We really need to prioritize some home maintenance. We need windows and doors.

It seems like starting with doors will be cheaper so we will start there.

Any tips on who to go through? We would want them installed. Where as there are tons of companies that do windows- not so much for doors.

Home Depot will install them but does anyone have any other tips?

 

[laughinplace199]

Are you talking about doors within the house or the front door, back door, etc? I'm asking because it cost us a small fortune to replace our front door (storm door) and side door. We live in an older house (built around 1930), and the doors were bigger then. Home Depot carries standard size doors, but they wouldn't work for us. We had to get custom doors. The same thing for our windows when we had them replaced. Our windows are not standard sizes and we even have different size windows within the same room.

Good luck with your repairs/improvements. We noticed an amzing difference after replacing our doors and windows.

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Sorry- yes exterior doors.

My house was built in 1940s- I did not even think of non-standard sizes.

Did you do doors and windows together? Did you use the same company?

 

[RachaelA]

One of our sliding glass doors to our patio was an odd size as well (our house was built in the late 70s though). We had to order a bigger one and then DH and FIL had to cut the opening bigger. It was a PITA.

We got our sliding glass doors from Home Depot (used the 10% coupon that comes in the change of address packet).

We need a new front door and potentially 3 other exterior doors as well. We've only looked at Home Depot and Lowes so far. I'm interested to see what responses you get to this thread.

 

[denise5374]

I used a General contractor friend of mine. DId the back door and sscreen door last summer at it was $1800 for both installed.

I decided not to use Home Depot/Lowes because my house is older (1952) and the doors aren't standard and I wanted to be sure the doors fit perfectly, plus some of the doors from those stores do not come painted and you would have to paint them. The ones my contractor got are already painted some special way so they won't chip.

We are doing the front door and screen door this summer.

Windows are next on the list...they will be about $350 each.

 

[Golf4food]

Make sure you don't need a permit from the city/county where you live - here you do not for windows but you DO for exterior doors - yep, you get to pay the city a fee before you can swap out your own front door. How crazy is that? But not the windows.

And having tried to change a back door on a 1959 block home ourselves and finding the opening to be an odd shape that was not square (angles, not the shape) and fighting with it and a table saw and adz, I would definitely recommend hiring a professional window/door company to install it since it probably will require much tweaking with a house that old.

 

[hambirg]

We had 8 interior doors replaced and we went with a contractor. He was recommended by a real estate agent friend. Our house was built in 1921. . .NOTHING is square. After several attempts by my ex to replace one door (he literally butchered 3 new doors trying to make them fit), we went with the contractor. They did a great job. . .we only payed $100 per door, door and installation. I think it was a good deal. He could get the doors wholesale, and they did a great job installing them. There was only one door that had a bit of a gap under it. I called him up and they came out and fixed it. HTH

 

[Maddie2]

Doors can be very expensive! We have front double/French doors and with new storm doors and screen doors, installed by a local contractor it ran a total of just under $4000. We ordered the doors from Larson doors.

That was a year that we stayed home from Disney. Disney vs. Doors and the doors won.

 

[laughinplace199]

Sorry- yes exterior doors.

My house was built in 1940s- I did not even think of non-standard sizes.

Did you do doors and windows together? Did you use the same company?

We did not do the doors and windows together. We did the doors first. We used a local company that does custom doors. A few years later, we replaced the windows. We had siding put on our house and the siding company also did the windows. Our house is so much warmer in the winter now that we have new doors and windows.

 

[Best Aunt]

I seem to recall having to decide on material - I had a steel door put in back, but a fiberglass door put in front. Fiberglass is more expensive, but they can stain it however you want. I think mine is stained to look like oak facing in and cherry facing out.

You also have to decide on how much window you want on the door. I didn't want any window on the front door, but some people like it.

I have used the same contractor for interior doors, exterior doors, windows, siding and roof. But not all at the same time.

 

[dtr_angel]

One of our sliding glass doors to our patio was an odd size as well (our house was built in the late 70s though). We had to order a bigger one and then DH and FIL had to cut the opening bigger. It was a PITA.

We got our sliding glass doors from Home Depot (used the 10% coupon that comes in the change of address packet).

We need a new front door and potentially 3 other exterior doors as well. We've only looked at Home Depot and Lowes so far. I'm interested to see what responses you get to this thread.

we had the same problem - my husband & I bought our first home a little over a year ago, and its older (1925 I think, but everything is redone except for windows and doors) so my parents bought us a new back door and my dad and a friend did the work themselves - yeah, it took like 3 days, lots of sawing and a mess, and my dad still hasn't completely finished all the frame work, what a PITA! We need another exterior door, and screen doors for all 3 doors, I seriously hope it's not a pain again. I don't look forward to replacing all the windows, I'm sure since our house is older it's not going to be simple. We've gotten everything from Lowe's with no problems, and now that my dad works there, we'll save even more

 

[ProudMommyof2]

OK- doors are standard size- phew!

I also found out there is an up to $1500 tax credit available for energy efficient doors (see home depot website).

Now I just need to decide on Home depot installation or indie contractor. I usually like to give the local economy the boost- but it will depend on how it works with the warranty and tax credit.

Thanks everyone!

 

[RachaelA]

OK- doors are standard size- phew!

I also found out there is an up to $1500 tax credit available for energy efficient doors (see home depot website).

Now I just need to decide on Home depot installation or indie contractor. I usually like to give the local economy the boost- but it will depend on how it works with the warranty and tax credit.

Thanks everyone!

Go with whoever is cheaper and whatever door allows you to get the tax credit!