Where to shop for a new front door?

July 30, 2017 7:02 AM

Where should we be shopping for a new front door?

The front door to our house sucks, and we want a new one. We've been to the local big-box stores to check out our options, and neither Lowe's nor Home Depot really had a very impressive in-store selection. Both stores' websites have much bigger selections, but if I'm going to be shopping and even potentially ordering a door online I'm left wondering if there's a reputable online retailer that I should be looking at that's better than Lowe's or HD. Where else should we be looking that has cool doors at great prices?

Potentially relevant additional details:

- We live in St. Augustine, FL.
- We'd prefer to spend less than $1000.
- There's no urgency to this.
- Our complains with our current door are almost exclusively aesthetic. It has a big oval window that we loathe, and also the door knob/handle both looks and works like garbage.
- Our ideal doors are generally pretty simple ones, with simple windows and details.
- We'd like the door to be in a pretty bold color, so bonus points for being able to customize a color before delivery.

posted by saladin to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

In your price range, your best bet will be big box (did you check out their special order options?) or as lalex mentioned, a building co-op. Be careful about measurements! Doors are tricky to order. The big box stores have a ordering module that they walk you through to ensure you get the right size, trim etc.
posted by walkinginsunshine at 7:22 AM on July 30, 2017

I just asked a search engine for door stores where you live and got: http://www.stjohnsdoorandwindow.com/ and http://mastercraftwindowsanddoors.com/ and http://gatordooreast.com/ and http://www.mbs-corp.com/st-augustine/ as the top results.

Specialist door stores should do the trick for you.

I would personally just wait til the door I wanted showed up on Craigslist in the materials section, and paint it/install knob as needed.
posted by aniola at 7:24 AM on July 30, 2017

This isn't a complete answer but keep in mind that the door and knob/handle are entirely seaparate; you'll shop for your door and lock/handle separately. If you wanted to you could easily replace the knob/handle and keep the door, though clearly you don't want to. Also, the big box stores' selection of door hardware is closer to "all the options" - not literally all, just closer than their door selection.
posted by Tomorrowful at 8:20 AM on July 30, 2017

We got a new front door through an Anderson window dealer.
posted by SemiSalt at 9:01 AM on July 30, 2017

I like stores that sell reclaimed building parts for this kind of thing- I don't know if there's something closer, but here's a place in Jacksonville. Like any used store it would take some luck to find what you want, however.
posted by pinochiette at 10:09 AM on July 30, 2017

I think $1000 is too low for a budget for this. A new door package (door, jam, frame) is closer to $2k and the lock set is another $200. You can go on Yelp and look at reviews for door supply stores. Often the best stores (the one used by contractors and home builders) is something super generic like "John's Discount Doors" or "A and B Door Supply".
posted by saradarlin at 10:20 AM on July 30, 2017

In addition to the reminder above that the lockset is separate, also keep in mind that you can paint doors with a product like Rustoleum, which comes in tons of bold or muted shades. Even if you can't find the exact color you'd like, you can paint it yourself and it'll last for ages. Bonus: you'll have extra paint if it gets dinged or scratched.

Honestly, Lowe's was fantastic. Their installer was excellent as well. I would strongly recommend them, if just for the service level.
posted by Verdandi at 11:03 AM on July 30, 2017

Most front doors in the lower price range are traditional-looking and fiberglass rather than wood (which to me is a plus). If that's ok with you, and especially if you have a standard 36 x 80" door, then you should do fine with the catalogs from Lowe's or Home Depot. We ended up being able to find a $700 modern-looking pre-hung door from Home Depot, primed but unpainted. It's doable for under $1000 including the lockset.
posted by karbonokapi at 1:50 PM on July 30, 2017