Exterior door replacement: how much to spend?

April 24, 2023 3:56 PM

I live in a 100-year-old house with an archtop (i.e. round top) front door. I'd like to get the door replaced mainly for security reasons. How do I do this economically?

Most of the door is 5/8" wide, and if I push my foot against the bottom I can feel it give a bit. My guess is that the door wouldn't survive a kick-in attempt. Home invasions and burglaries are unfortunately a thing in my neighborhood, and I'm told that kicking in the front door is the most common way to break in. The secondary reason is weather proofing: there are large gaps on the side and bottom, and the door is drafty even with weatherstripping put in.

So that's why I want to replace it. The question is, with what? For context, I live in Seattle, where construction costs aren't cheap, compared to the rest of the US.

One option is to get a custom door of the same size and shape and have someone install it. I was told this would come to approx $5K + $4K for the custom door and the installation respectively, coming to a total of $9K, which sounds like a lot to me. Another option is to replace it with a standard-size rectangular door, which would make the door itself cheaper but would involve cutting the exterior wall and perhaps creating a new rough-in framing for the new door. I've no idea if this would save money when added up, but if it does that might be worth it. (I do have a sentimental preference for retaining the current archtop door shape, but not if it costs twice as much as a standard rectangular door.)

Also, I'm not sure whether it would save any money to try to only replace the door slab without the door frame.

Any tips on whether any of these options would be any more economical than the others? Or if there is something else I might be overlooking, or whether it would be possible to buttress the door instead of replacing it?

posted by splitpeasoup to Home & Garden (13 answers total)

Just for point of reference, we had our backdoor replaced last fall and it cost $3,200 all in all. That was in North Carolina for a standard size/shape, pre hung door made out of composite with a window in it and a screen door. I think our experience was just about as close to the base cost as you could have
posted by raccoon409 at 4:22 PM on April 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

Have you checked out Second Use or Ballard Reuse, any places like that? (Search "Seattle architectural salvage".) There's always a possibility that they would have a similarly shaped door. I would say an exact dimensional match is highly unlikely, so there would still be substantial installation costs, but it's worth a shot. If it doesn't feel urgent, you could also connect with the shop operators and ask them to keep an eye out for a suitably sized door, and maybe set a time limit in your mind that you'll wait before going with a modern doorway.
posted by happy_cat at 5:03 PM on April 24, 2023 [2 favorites]

Yeah, 9,000 for a custom door and installation sounds cheap, honestly.
posted by rockindata at 5:18 PM on April 24, 2023

One other option could be restoration of the door- at those prices it may be competitive. A quick google search shows several historic door and window restoration carpenters in Seattle.
posted by sizeable beetle at 5:20 PM on April 24, 2023 [7 favorites]

Does the door swing open and close nicely and have good hinges? Decent hardware and deadbolt? If so, consider reinforcing the door from the inside and weather stripping. Finding the right pro to do it may be tough but it should cost less than 10k even in Seattle.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:59 PM on April 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

I would look for a carpenter who can restore the door, since it sounds like you like it in general. Assuming the door is painted and not stained, so you don't really see the details of the wood, it is not too difficult to replace any sections that might be getting a bit spongy (if there are any and you aren't just seeing normal flex). Weather proofing should be a fixable problem as well, though it might be easier to add or adjust the trim that the door closes against or even the jamb itself rather than the door to close up those gaps and make it easier to install good weatherstripping. A good carpenter who specializes in such things should be able to formulate a plan.

At the same time, you can reinforce the deadbolt area and even consider a deadbolt at the bottom of the door as well, if warrranted. I think when doors are kicked in, it's mostly a case of smashing the deadbolt through the door jamb, which is an area that can be quite easily and cheaply improved, rather than a case of actually breaking apart the door itself. You may also be able to install a steel plate to reinforce the deadbolt area on the door or upgrade the hinges or how they are secured to the jamb. In any case, a carpenter with experience can tell you the best way to proceed.
posted by ssg at 7:01 PM on April 24, 2023 [4 favorites]

Could you not get a standard sized rectangular framed door, and then put an arched window above it?
posted by itsflyable at 7:13 PM on April 24, 2023 [2 favorites]

I had a custom, arch top door made for my 100 yr old house about 10 years ago. I still had the original door and it was literally falling to pieces. The new one is mahogany, beautifully crafted and they had to remake the door jam around the opening to properly mount it. It was about $7000, 10 years ago…. I balked at the price but soon realized that it was worth every penny. Definitely check out local reuse shops, you’ll probably find a few choices. I found a door at one that we almost used but decided at the last second to go ahead and do the custom option.
posted by pearlybob at 3:31 AM on April 25, 2023

It may not be a good option architecturally, but you could consider adding a security screen door (which would prevent the kick entry risk) and then restoring the current door to solve the weather gaps.

It would seem sad to replace a nice old arched door with a standard rectangular door; I'd go the custom route before doing that.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:57 AM on April 25, 2023 [3 favorites]

1) I'm pretty sure archtop doors are common enough that you can just order one out of a catalogue at a big box store. Whether you will find one you like well enough or not I'm not sure. So from that perspective, $9000 is pretty high. Is yours actually custom?

2) Even if you get a new door, doors and door framing isn't really structural, so it's easy to kick one in if you are so motivated to do so, so don't think a new door is really going to make that much difference.

3) I got my door replaced like a 1.5 years ago - I have a normal double door. I got a Therma-Tru fiberglass because where I live the temperature changes on wood doors are pretty dramatic from a weather-sealing perspective, and fiberglass doors don't expand and contract as much.
I painted myself for $2250. Adding more glass and painting them in the factory adds like $1000 per door.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:36 AM on April 25, 2023

The archtop prices I'm seeing for a single door are in the $1500 - $3000 range, depending on material and how much glass, so they are slightly more expensive than square doors, but not dramatically so.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:42 AM on April 25, 2023

There's an $1100 arched exterior door at Earthwise Salvage in Seattle, maybe more not listed online; Earthwise has locations in Tacoma and Aberdeen, too. (Whether you refurbish or replace, add a strong door frame or other door reinforcement to thwart would-be kickers.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:53 AM on April 25, 2023

It may not be a good option architecturally, but you could consider adding a security screen door (which would prevent the kick entry risk) and then restoring the current door to solve the weather gaps.


I was going to suggest this too- people don't even attempt to kick your door in with a security screen door. They are frequently custom so an arch is no issue, and I bet it would be cheaper than 9 grand. And you can leave the front door open when the weather is nice. We have them on our front and back doors because they came with the house, and I really appreciate the fact that we can have nice breeze in the summer.

You'd still need to weatherstrip your original door of course.
posted by oneirodynia at 4:55 PM on April 25, 2023