Entry doors
The front door should close tight and look like the house.
A door that sticks, a sill that has gone soft, or a slab that no longer matches the front is usually ready to be replaced. We start with the opening, not a catalogue page.
The quote names the door, whether the frame stays, and the hardware, before anything is ordered.
Doors • Entry
An entry door sized to the opening that was already there.
The front
What homeowners notice at the entry.
Most calls start with a door that no longer feels solid. The glass, the lock, and the sill are looked at together, because one tired part often means the whole unit has worn out.
Weather at the sill
A draft at the threshold, or rot along the bottom rail, is the sill and the sweep, not a curtain on the inside.
A lock that does not feel sure
A deadbolt that misses, or a handle that has loosened in the slab, is hardware. If the door has racked, the hardware will not save it.
A front that looks dated
Peeling finish, a style that fights the house, or a door that was swapped in without matching the trim shows from the sidewalk.
Sidelights and the frame
If the opening has glass beside the door, we say whether those panels stay. A new slab in a rotten jamb is the wrong job.
The door
What gets specified.
Entry doors in this climate are usually steel or fibreglass, prehung when the frame has to come out. The finish and the glass are chosen to the house, then written on the quote.
Slab or prehung
Depends on the jamb
A sound frame can take a new slab. Rot at the sill or a jamb that is out of square means the frame comes out with the door.
Glass, or none
Light versus a solid front
A lite in the door brings light into the hall. A solid slab is the quieter, plainer front. We do not add glass the opening never had unless you ask.
Lockset and deadbolt
Named before it is ordered
The handle and the deadbolt are part of the scope. You are not left fitting hardware from a different trip.
Questions
Before you book the visit.
- Can you match a door that has glass beside it?
- If the sidelights are sound, they can stay and the door is sized to the remaining opening. If the whole frame is tired, the quote includes the glass panels.
- Steel or fibreglass?
- Both are common on Niagara houses. Steel is the plain, durable choice. Fibreglass takes a finish that can look like wood and does not dent the same way. We specify one on the quote, not a mystery slab.
- Do you paint the door?
- Factory finish is the usual scope. If the door needs paint on site to match the trim, that is written down before the day, not assumed.
- What if it is a patio or a slider, not the front door?
- Those are different openings. A swinging patio door and a sliding door are specified on their own pages. See patio doors
Ready for a look at the front door?
Tell us if it is the entry, and whether the frame or just the slab is the problem. We will come out, measure the opening, and send a quote that names the door.
If spreading the cost out would help, ask about financing when we review the quote. See financing