2022 Prices Guide for French & Patio Doors
It’s seems quite easy to buy a new front door “off the shelf”, but if you don’t think it through first you could be storing up a bit of trouble & expense for yourself and this is obviously going to be very counterproductive if you want to keep your costs under control.
Apart from the obvious factor, which is what your door is going to be made out of – there are Hardwood, soft wood, engineered wood, composite, uPVC Aluminium to choose from – you may need to consider other less obvious costs that can be added as ‘extras’ because not everything is always included in the basic price.
For example, the cost of these items may be sometimes charged separately:
- Glazed insert sections
- Quality of the surrounding door frames
- Different or non-standard threshold levels
- Door Furniture, such as handles, locks, letterboxes, weather strips
- Special surfaces such as wood-grain or colours
- Above standard thermal performance (A+ ratings)
- Side & top panels will definitely cost extra
Unless you are doing the work yourself, then you will also have to take into account the amount of labour needed to remove the old one & fit your new door, many older houses may have openings that are out of square or maybe there will be a need for renewal or replacement of interior plastering around the reveals – labour cost can vary a lot.
DIY or Professional Fitting?
In either case, replacement windows & doors need to meet building regulations for thermal efficiency & also for glazed sections in critical areas (such as where the glass comes to ground level) and can only be certified by way of a personal application to your local authority (this has a cost in both time & money) or a company / person who is a member of CERTASS or FENSA and can “self-certify”.
In effect, unless you are a highly skilled DIY person, it is best to have your work measured & quoted for by a properly accredited person or company.