Handyman
Door Repair Cost Calculator
Prices door repair, where most faults are alignment rather than hardware.
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
Hours times crew times rate, plus parts and the call-out. Door repairs are among the cheapest and most satisfying handyman jobs because most of them are adjustment: tightening or packing hinges, moving a strike plate, planing a sticking edge, adjusting a closer or replacing worn weatherstripping. Actual component replacement, a hinge, a latch, a handleset or a closer, is a modest part. The skill is diagnosing which one it is rather than replacing parts hopefully.
What moves the number
- Whether the fault is alignment, a worn component, or the frame having moved.
- Whether the door is interior or exterior, since exterior adds weather sealing.
- Whether it is a fire door, which constrains what may be done to it.
- Door material, as planing a fibreglass or metal door is not an option.
Where this one goes wrong
Test the door with the latch retracted before diagnosing. If it swings freely and closes against the frame cleanly, the fault is at the latch and strike. If it binds against the frame, it is alignment or the frame, and adjusting hardware will not help. Loose hinge screws are the single most common cause and the cheapest fix, often resolved by longer screws into the framing behind the jamb. On a fire door, do not plane it to fit or remove the closer: the clearances and the self-closing function are part of the rating, and altering them defeats the assembly even though the door still works.
Before you quote
- Test the swing with the latch retracted to isolate the fault.
- Check and tighten hinge screws, using longer screws into framing if loose.
- Do not plane or alter a fire door, or disable its closer.
Questions
About this calculator
My door sticks. Does it need planing?
Usually not. Loose hinge screws are the most common cause, and longer screws reaching the framing behind the jamb often fix it entirely. Planing removes material permanently and does not help if the door moved rather than grew, so it is a last step rather than a first.
The door will not latch. Is the lock broken?
Usually it is alignment. Test the swing with the latch retracted: if the door closes cleanly against the frame, the problem is the latch meeting the strike off-centre, which is a strike adjustment. If it binds on the frame, the door or frame has moved and the lock is not the issue.
Can a fire door be adjusted to stop it sticking?
Not by planing it or removing the closer. The clearances around a fire door and its self-closing function are part of what makes the assembly rated, so altering either defeats it. Adjustment has to stay within what the rating allows, which usually means hinges and the strike rather than the door.
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 3 h.
- People needed. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $85.
- Parts and materials ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $60.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($). 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 | 3 h |
| People needed | 1 |
| Labour rate charged | $85 |
| Parts and materials | $60 |
| Call-out or diagnostic fee | $95 |
| Sales tax | 0% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Estimated total main result | $410 |
| Labour | $255 |
| Before tax | $410 |
| Sales tax | $0 |
About $410: $255 of labour, $60 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 |
|---|---|
| $43 | $284 |
| $64 | $347 |
| $85 example above | $410 |
| $128 | $539 |
| $170 | $665 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Hours on site (h)
- Measured in h, between 0 and 400, starting at 3 h.
- People needed
- A number, between 0 and 40, starting at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($)
- A money amount, starting at $85.
- Parts and materials ($)
- A money amount, starting at $60.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($)
- 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.