Front door replacement

[Anonymous]

Has anyone purchased an exterior door with Home Depot or Lowes? I'm wondering what the difference is between buying a door from one of these big box stores vs from a contractor or smaller door/window sales only type company?

[Anonymous]

If you don't get it through a contractor, I recommend getting it from TW Perry. The challenge might be to find a good contractor to install it, and if you don't buy it through him, you'll be responsible for the correct measurements. We installed ours ourselves, but it's not a job you want to take on unless you have carpentry experience.

[Anonymous]

We just replaced our front door through Lowe's. Despite having stickers advertising their installation price, my husband had a hard time getting anybody to respond for our request for them to install it (I'm not sure how hard he tried).

We used a handyman to do it and it looks nice but at the end of the day it ended up being 3x the price quoted as the person was very slow and ended up having to call someone else out to help, so we had to pay that guy too. I would not recommend that route.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone purchased an exterior door with Home Depot or Lowes? I'm wondering what the difference is between buying a door from one of these big box stores vs from a contractor or smaller door/window sales only type company?

Having just bought a door (from Thompson creek) I will tell you what the companies we spoke to said - better insulation, craftsmanship, security features, warranty, etc. there is a huge price dif btwn Home Depot and lowes doors versus private companies. We are DIYers but went with a specialty company because we knew we were going to have a hard install (old house, weird walls, rotting exterior framing to replace).

[Anonymous]

I would not have them install. We had both come out and measure and they were both significantly off in their measurements. We ended up DIY and got better measurements. We've gotten HD doors and windows and have had no issues with them. Like PP, we had to do a lot of rot clean up so make sure the installers are willing as it is a lot of extra work.

[Anonymous]

Can I ask approximately how much you paid for the door + install? I have a 1940s wood front door I want to replace but I have a hard time knowing what is a reasonable estimate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just replaced our front door through Lowe's. Despite having stickers advertising their installation price, my husband had a hard time getting anybody to respond for our request for them to install it (I'm not sure how hard he tried).

We used a handyman to do it and it looks nice but at the end of the day it ended up being 3x the price quoted as the person was very slow and ended up having to call someone else out to help, so we had to pay that guy too. I would not recommend that route.

Ugh! I would have demanded they schedule install or refund the door. Did they ever respond?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone purchased an exterior door with Home Depot or Lowes? I'm wondering what the difference is between buying a door from one of these big box stores vs from a contractor or smaller door/window sales only type company?

Having just bought a door (from Thompson creek) I will tell you what the companies we spoke to said - better insulation, craftsmanship, security features, warranty, etc. there is a huge price dif btwn Home Depot and lowes doors versus private companies. We are DIYers but went with a specialty company because we knew we were going to have a hard install (old house, weird walls, rotting exterior framing to replace).

Do you mind sharing approx prices for the door vs install? How long did it take?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can I ask approximately how much you paid for the door + install? I have a 1940s wood front door I want to replace but I have a hard time knowing what is a reasonable estimate.

Labor should be at least a couple hundred dollars depending on if you also need trim and clean up work. Its an all day project and does take two people. I would think $300-600 depending on the door and how it is done. Do a full frame replacement. We just replaced the door and its an issue with insulation. We are going to fully replace it again at some point.

[Anonymous]

American windows just did our front and kitchen doors. We had everything replaced including the frames. They did a great job. They brought a crew of 4 and it took them about 4 1/2 hours to uninstall the old doors and install the new ones. What I didn't know is that the door bell is separate item you need to order. I just assumed the door bell came with the door.

American windows also replaced our windows a few years ago. They don't pressure you, it's a low stress transaction.

https://american-windows.com/doors/provia-entry-doors-2/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just replaced our front door through Lowe's. Despite having stickers advertising their installation price, my husband had a hard time getting anybody to respond for our request for them to install it (I'm not sure how hard he tried).

We used a handyman to do it and it looks nice but at the end of the day it ended up being 3x the price quoted as the person was very slow and ended up having to call someone else out to help, so we had to pay that guy too. I would not recommend that route.

Ugh! I would have demanded they schedule install or refund the door. Did they ever respond?

I'm not really sure what all transpired, my husband was responsible for everything.

To the PP's, we got a couple quotes 300-500 range for install. Like I said, it went significantly longer than expected and it ended up closer to 900 + door. We did a prehung fiberglass door and frame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can I ask approximately how much you paid for the door + install? I have a 1940s wood front door I want to replace but I have a hard time knowing what is a reasonable estimate.

Labor should be at least a couple hundred dollars depending on if you also need trim and clean up work. Its an all day project and does take two people. I would think $300-600 depending on the door and how it is done. Do a full frame replacement. We just replaced the door and its an issue with insulation. We are going to fully replace it again at some point.

Lowe's quoted us $800 for the door install. However I have found independent installers that have said $300 to $600 also.

[Anonymous]

Just DIY with youtube videos. We have done it. Its not that hard if you are handy or willing to learn.

[Anonymous]

Thompson creek poster. Are you sitting down?

We received 3 quotes from local companies (aka not your neighborhood fix it guy). Ranged 2500 - 5000. This was for a steel or fiberglass door, and new exterior trim (somewhat elaborate, we are matching what was there because otherwise faded siding would show). Doors themselves seemed to range 2000 - 4000. Labor was cheap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just replaced our front door through Lowe's. Despite having stickers advertising their installation price, my husband had a hard time getting anybody to respond for our request for them to install it (I'm not sure how hard he tried).

We used a handyman to do it and it looks nice but at the end of the day it ended up being 3x the price quoted as the person was very slow and ended up having to call someone else out to help, so we had to pay that guy too. I would not recommend that route.

Sounds similar to my experience. We tried through Lowes and had a VERY difficult time getting a contractor to follow up. I had to cancel the whole thing and just bought a door from Home Depot and used a contractor to install for 3X what Lowes charged.