topic Re: Has Anyone Bought a New Front Door Lately in Home

Has Anyone Bought a New Front Door Lately

jubilant — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 12:09:01 GMT

DH and I were shocked at the price quoted to us for a new front door unit (with side light). They quoted us a price of $5500.00. That was with a discount of 10%!! I asked if they had anything more economical and they said, yes, but it would only be $1000.00 less. That was a steel door verses a fiberglass door. Our porch is a small covered front porch and is 7 ft. deep and facing North so it doesn't get a lot of wind in the winter. We already have a good storm door. We are getting more estimates but none of them have come in lately. This seems way too much money for a standard size door unit. The glass in the side light is only half way down. Your thoughts please.

Re: Has Anyone Bought a New Front Door Lately

panda1234 — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 12:44:42 GMT

@jubilant Funny you should ask this as I came across my receipt for our front door from 16 years ago. It is the size of a double door but we have all glass where another door could have been installed. It is steel and has held up nicely. The price back then including installation was $2,849. So the price you got might be inline for what they are charging today. Please keep us posted.

Re: Has Anyone Bought a New Front Door Lately

Travone — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 12:44:56 GMT

I don't know what doors are going for, but have you looked online at home depot and lowes to see if their prices are comparable? That does seem like a lot of money unless it is custom made.

Re: Has Anyone Bought a New Front Door Lately

Miss Pepsi — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 13:19:14 GMT

I was shocked when we wanted to replace our front door we had to get a permit for it. What the Heck? We didn't replace it, we did have one of those companies come and put a window in the door.

Seriously the county wanted a permit to replace the front door. Ummmmm NO

Re: Has Anyone Bought a New Front Door Lately

eddyandme — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 13:23:32 GMT

@Miss Pepsi wrote:
I was shocked when we wanted to replace our front door we had to get a permit for it. What the Heck? We didn't replace it, we did have one of those companies come and put a window in the door.

Seriously the county wanted a permit to replace the front door. Ummmmm NO

IMHO for most things permits are just another form of taxation without voter approval.

Re: Has Anyone Bought a New Front Door Lately

eddyandme — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 13:38:13 GMT

@jubilant

I bought a beautiful fiberglass front door I'd say approximately six years ago and I know I didn't pay anywhere near that!

Went to a store that only sold doors. Picked out one that was in the showroom and asked if they'r sell me that as a sample, rather than special order et al. We agreed and for some reason they decided to order the same door and sold it for the sample price. My front door opens to a sunporch so did not need sidelight. However there are small windows on the upper part of door with etching and red/green flower design - nothing gaudy though. They also installed this door and took away the old one. Sorry I can't remember the cost offhand, but I can promise you if it were anything near what you've been quoted, I would have remembered.

Imho sometimes you can do better going with a small store specializing in the product; plus you support local businesses. Oftentimes the quality if better than that of a big-box store; certainly the service is.

Oh! forgot to mention, this door also came with dead-bolt and upgraded hardware.

Re: Has Anyone Bought a New Front Door Lately

software — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 13:45:36 GMT

I paid less than that for my first car, brand new!

I'm a very thrifty shopper. If it were me, I was scavenge the surplus stores in the area, or even look online for a local door on Facebook Marketplace. Why are you replacing your door? Is it in good enough shape to sell it to recoup some money?

I have a wonderful handyman in my neighbor hood, he would install my door for me.

I have a beautiful carved wood front door, came with the house, I'm going to go hug it now!

@jubilant wrote:
DH and I were shocked at the price quoted to us for a new front door unit (with side light). They quoted us a price of $5500.00. That was with a discount of 10%!! I asked if they had anything more economical and they said, yes, but it would only be $1000.00 less. That was a steel door verses a fiberglass door. Our porch is a small covered front porch and is 7 ft. deep and facing North so it doesn't get a lot of wind in the winter. We already have a good storm door. We are getting more estimates but none of them have come in lately. This seems way too much money for a standard size door unit. The glass in the side light is only half way down. Your thoughts please.

Re: Has Anyone Bought a New Front Door Lately

eddyandme — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 13:46:17 GMT

@jubilant

Kinda OT: My precious Jade, my soumate and yellow lab now in Heaven, came inside the store with me. She actually picked out that door -- really!!! She made the rounds, even dropping into the owner's office - who quite enjoyed her visit - and we all watched as Jade, again, stood by that same door.

Bring you furbaby if you have one!

Re: Has Anyone Bought a New Front Door Lately

gtx — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 14:01:44 GMT

We shopped for a new front door last year. They were so expensive and we didn't find one we liked. So we had our old door refinished and bought new hardware to put on it. We had a temporary front door for a while. We got the door back and it looks nice and fresh. We don't know how it will hold up but it only cost $400 to refinish.

Re: Has Anyone Bought a New Front Door Lately

Mom2Dogs — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 14:21:20 GMT

@gtx ...we are thinking of doing the same thing. I got a quote for repainting existing door and sidelight....mush less expensive than a new door. Our current door is steel with nice hardware and a dead bolt.

Now the screen door is deciding not to latch, sigh. I looked at several U-Tube videos, we are NOT handy at all. My husband did his best but it still does not latch properly.

If it's not one thing, its another.

Re: Has Anyone Bought a New Front Door Lately

ID2 — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 14:48:31 GMT

Wow! That's an outrageous price for just a door! Go to Lowes/Home Depot and see what they have there. They have very comparable ones for a fraction of the price you were quoted.

Re: Has Anyone Bought a New Front Door Lately

ScrapHappy — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 15:24:23 GMT

Are front door (double doors) are in need of some TLC. Mostly on the bottom. The wood is weathered. I thought we would just have to buy new ones until I was driving around town one day and saw a truck and it's advertisement said they refinish doors. I figured front double doors would be expensive. We had french doors with two side windows on each side in our old house in California. We looked into getting them replaced and it was over $10,000 and that was at least 8 - 10 years ago.

Re: Has Anyone Bought a New Front Door Lately

SXMGirl — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 15:33:25 GMT

I had no idea that new doors cost that much. I have a steel front door and all of my doors that lead to the outside of the house are steel. As much as I like the look of many new doors, I prefer a steel door and will just repaint mine when it is time.

Re: Has Anyone Bought a New Front Door Lately

FiddleDeeDee — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 15:47:06 GMT

@jubilant Yep. It was just shy of $8000.

1) BASIC door (primed, not painted) with an peep hole (which they forgot), 6 panel.

2) Had to include top light panel above door (who knew it came as one piece with the frame?).

3) Screen door/glass door added to order.

I was SHOCKED. If I wanted it painted, it was an ADDITIONAL $1200. This is a cheap, metal door that gets super hot in the summer (can't even touch it). To upgrade to a wood door, we were looking at $7000 for JUST THE DOOR.

Sorry, there is no excuse for that type of pricing OTHER than price-gouging/over a barrel mentality. Disgusting.

BTW, took them 15 minutes to do the work. Waited 8 weeks to get the door. First storm, water flowed down the INSIDE of the storm door. Another phone call. The job order to drill a peep hole took 3 months. Used Lowe's because Home Depot would have been 12 weeks for the door. I mean...really?!

Re: Has Anyone Bought a New Front Door Lately

Witchy Woman — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 16:54:11 GMT

@jubilant

My husband is a builder, and honestly, I don't think that price is too far out of line. However, I've not seen your door. Is that for installation too, or just the door?

We have been considered redoing our front entryway, which means a new door. He told me a rough estimate for the work he was thinking of doing and a new door was around $25,000!

Now, that's with him doing all the work. Yes, it's a fairly extensive job, but I can tell you from his past discussions on the cost of doors and their installations, they are more pricey than people realize. For some reason (which I know he has explained to me), the installations can be complicated.

I think you are doing the right thing to get other estimates for compairson. Just make double sure the people putting in the door know what they are doing!

Re: Has Anyone Bought a New Front Door Lately

jubilant — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 17:52:19 GMT

Didn't mean to take so long getting back. DH wanted to go to Bob Evans for lunch.

I really appreciate you sharing your experiences and ideas. The door we are replacing is steel. It has lasted us 30 yrs. We have repainted it but it is rusting out now. The door priced to us is fiberglass. We were told the steel would be $1000 cheaper but would not last as long as fiberglass. Well, to us, a thousand dollars cheaper is a lot. I told the salesman that our steel door had lasted us 30 yrs. and, at my age, I probably don't need one to last that long...unless of course I live to 110. He dropped that "argument" right away!!!

We did call a handyman who has a really good reputation in our little town and are waiting for his estimate. He put in a cathedral wood ceiling for us and did excellent work.

For some reason DH doesn't trust Lowe's or Home Depot. He really hasn't told me why? The door for $5500 was paneled with a small window at top of door with glass. It would come as a unit with a side light half way down. The glass is decorative but nothing really fancy or elaborate. I went into this thinking about $2500. I was hoping for no more that $3000. Sounds like that may be wishful thinking.

About the furbabies: I don't have one now but I could borrow a neighbors black lab or my DD's corgi. We all know that dogs are generally smarter!! LOL!

Re: Has Anyone Bought a New Front Door Lately

jubilant — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 17:49:03 GMT

The door would look something like this with a side light done in the same kind of glass half way down and the same wood look of the door on rest of it. It would come in one solid unit. This is not my house but my house has a country colonial style to it inside and out. We liked this color but he showed us this same thing in the color, mahogany, too and I don't know which I like better. Decisions, decisions!

Re: Has Anyone Bought a New Front Door Lately

Jaspersmom — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 17:58:02 GMT

Your husband should check out the doors at Home Depot. Go online because the selection is bigger. Purchasing it from HD is fine, but I would suggest you get your own person to install it. I bought a steel door at HD and had my contractor put it in. Door was white, but HOA requires doors to be brown. Contractor painted it at his factory (very professional job) and it came out beautiful. Very satisfied. I think for what you need, you can get a door for a lot less. If you can use a standard size door, then use one of the large box stores.

Re: Has Anyone Bought a New Front Door Lately

Witchy Woman — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 18:09:26 GMT

@jubilant

If I were you, I'd go with the less expensive door. Like you said, do you REALLY need 30 years of wear out of it.

Secondly, Lowe's and Home Depot sub jobs out. They do NOT have their own contractors. While I don't want to say anything bad about someone, all I can say is not everyone does the best work. I know several circumstances where DH has been called in to "correct" the trashy work done by Lowe's and HD contractors. So, be careful.

If you have your own handyman, that's the best route. And, if you shop your own door online, I would suggest you let him take a look at it to make SURE the door will work in your space. Again, DH has been called in many times to make something work when homeowners just bought what they liked, rather than what would install properly.

Let us know what you decide.

Re: Has Anyone Bought a New Front Door Lately

VaBelle35 — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 18:24:30 GMT

I jsut got a quote for a new front door. $3000 installed.

It's a 24 guage Provia Legacy line stainless steel door and they are also replacing the pilasters around my door which is some tacky requirement of my HOA.

This is from the company that did my roof, gutters and windows a couple of years ago.

Pilasters are about $200/pair at Home Depot (installation is extra).

Stainless Steel door with 2 windows, pre-hung, 24g looks like it's about $1000 retail (installation is extra).