Windows & doors
Door Replacement Cost Calculator
Prices a door replacement, across the three scopes that get quoted as though they were one.
Result
A planning estimate, not a quote. Access, the age of the equipment, what is found once it is opened up and local labour rates all move the real figure, sometimes a long way.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Time, crew, the door and the call-out. The scope decides the number and there are three of them. Replacing the slab alone reuses the existing frame and hardware, which is quick but only works if the frame is square and sound and the new slab matches the hinge and lock positions. A prehung unit brings a new frame and is the common answer, needing the old frame out, the new one shimmed plumb and level, and the trim redone. Full frame replacement into a modified rough opening is the most involved and is what a rotten or out of square opening actually needs.
What moves the number
- Which of the three scopes applies, driven by frame condition and squareness.
- Whether hinge and lock positions on a replacement slab match the existing frame.
- Threshold and sill condition, since water damage at the bottom of a door is common and is under the visible trim.
- Interior and exterior trim, which a prehung replacement disturbs and a slab swap does not.
Where this one goes wrong
A slab-only replacement is only cheap when the frame is genuinely sound and square, and a door that has been sticking or dragging is usually telling you it is not. Fitting a new slab into a racked frame produces a door that sticks exactly the same way, and the customer reasonably expects the new door to close properly. Check the frame with a level and look at the reveal around the existing door before quoting the cheap scope. Water damage at the threshold is the other thing to probe, because rot in the sill and the framing beneath is hidden by trim and turns a prehung swap into structural repair once the old unit is out.
Before you quote
- Check the frame for plumb, level and square before quoting a slab-only swap.
- Probe the threshold and sill area for rot.
- Confirm hinge and lock positions match if reusing the frame.
Where the rules come from
Questions
About this calculator
Can I just replace the door and keep the frame?
Only if the frame is sound and square and the hinge and lock positions match. A door that has been sticking is usually evidence the frame has moved, and a new slab in a racked frame sticks the same way. Checking with a level before quoting is what separates a quick job from a callback.
What is a prehung door?
A door already fitted into a new frame with hinges attached, which is installed as one unit. It costs more than a slab but produces a door that closes properly regardless of what the old frame was doing, and it is the usual answer when the existing frame is out of square or damaged.
Why check for rot at the bottom of the door?
Because that is where water collects and the damage is hidden behind the threshold and trim. A sill and the framing under it can be substantially rotten with nothing visible, and finding it after the old unit is out turns a door replacement into carpentry. Probing first means quoting it rather than discovering it.
The formula
total = hours x people x rate + parts + call-out, then sales tax
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How to use this calculator
- Hours on site (h). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 16 h.
- People needed. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $92.
- Parts and materials ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $4,200.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $95.
- Sales tax (%). Leave at zero if you are quoting before tax.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to estimated total, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Hours on site | 16 h |
| People needed | 1 |
| Labour rate charged | $92 |
| Parts and materials | $4,200 |
| Call-out or diagnostic fee | $95 |
| Sales tax | 0% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Estimated total main result | $5,767 |
| Labour | $1,472 |
| Before tax | $5,767 |
| Sales tax | $0 |
About $5,767: $1,472 of labour, $4,200 of parts and a $95 call-out.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only labour rate charged, this is what happens to estimated total. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Labour rate charged ($) | Estimated total |
|---|---|
| $46 | $5,031 |
| $69 | $5,399 |
| $92 example above | $5,767 |
| $138 | $6,503 |
| $184 | $7,239 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Hours on site (h)
- Measured in h, between 0 and 400, starting at 16 h.
- People needed
- A number, between 0 and 40, starting at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($)
- A money amount, starting at $92.
- Parts and materials ($)
- A money amount, starting at $4,200.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($)
- A money amount, starting at $95.
- Sales tax (%)
- Leave at zero if you are quoting before tax.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Estimated total | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Labour | A money figure. |
| Before tax | A money figure. |
| Sales tax | A money figure. |
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.