What does it cost to fit a new door?

Answer up front: what drives the price of a door

In rough order of how much difference each one makes.

• New leaf into an existing frame: the cheapest route by a distance.
• New frame or lining as well: adds architrave, plaster making good and decoration.
• Fire rated doorset: certified components, precise gaps and correct ironmongery.
• Door type: hollow core, solid core, glazed, oak veneer and period style all differ.
• Ironmongery: handles, latches, hinges and closers vary hugely in price and quality.
• Quantity: doing a whole floor at once costs less per door than one at a time.

Why fitting is not just screwing on hinges

Very few openings in a British home are square. A door that has been cut and hung properly is scribed to the frame, with an even gap all the way round and a floor clearance that suits the floor covering going in.

That is where the labour goes: measuring, trimming within the manufacturer's limits, cutting hinge recesses cleanly, and setting the latch and strike so the door closes with one push rather than a shove.

The extras people forget to budget for

Most of the surprise cost on a door job is not the door.

• Architrave, especially if the existing profile has been discontinued.
• Threshold strips where flooring types meet.
• Painting or finishing, including the top and bottom edges which are often left bare.
• Removing and disposing of the old doors.
• Making good plaster where a lining has been taken out.

When repairing beats replacing

If a door is sound but catching, dropping or refusing to latch, the fix is often adjustment rather than a new door. Re-seating a tired hinge or easing a swollen edge is a fraction of the cost of a replacement, and we will tell you when that is the better call.

Questions we're asked about this