Replacing an exterior door (houses, tile, tax)

[Q-tip motha]

Anyone have any recommendations (or cautionary tales) about local companies that would replace an exterior door and possibly the frame around it? Especially those that do their own installation. I'm fairly competent in doing most renovations, but there are some things that I'd rather leave to the professionals.

[Hopes]

We replaced all of ours on our own without a problem. We bought the doors already in the frames instead of just the doors. It's like replacing windows---you have to shim around the frame to ensure the door is square. Based on the pictures of the things you've tackled, I think you have the skills to do it. I once hired a random installer from a big box store to replace a door on our previous home and had no problems whatsoever.

[PreservationPioneer]

I hired Home Depot to install a basic steel 6 panel entry door on my old house, and they did a nice job.

[XRiteMA98]

I replaced two doors in my house in Morningside. Back door & front door. First was done by home depot the other by lowes. No problems.

[ferraris]

C'mon, Q-Tip, we've seen some of your other renovation work. I think you can handle a door!

My only tip is to not forget the weatherstripping and door sweep.

[robrobrob]

I think this is something that you pay someone to do. I think the "brick mould", I think that is what it is called, is confusing. It all depends on how well the door fits to begin with.

[bbrian12]

thermo twin
they did a great jod on my windows and doors

[Kippy]

Be sure to save your receipts! I believe that you can get a tax deduction for replacing exterior doors, assuming they are energy efficient.

[Q-tip motha]

Originally Posted by ferraris

C'mon, Q-Tip, we've seen some of your other renovation work. I think you can handle a door!

My only tip is to not forget the weatherstripping and door sweep.

The house is 120 yrs old, so a lot of the prefab doors that are already hung won't cut it unfortunately. I'd rather have someone else do a nicer/quicker job than I could.

The great thing about a renovation project is that often you can walk away from it and start again another time when you become frustrated. With a window, door, or a roof not so much.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Q-tip motha

The house is 120 yrs old, so a lot of the prefab doors that are already hung won't cut it unfortunately. I'd rather have someone else do a nicer/quicker job than I could.

The great thing about a renovation project is that often you can walk away from it and start again another time when you become frustrated. With a window, door, or a roof not so much.

Our house is 120 years old and they worked for us, but I understand choosing to hire someone for certain things. I've laid tile many times, but I've decided to hire someone this time. Same with the roof. We installed three roofs on relatives houses, but ended up hiring someone to do ours because we were tired of installing roofs. Based on the responses here, you can feel confident that most installers will do a good job. If you use a store's installer, you have the store's guarantee to back up the work.