One Lite Entry Doors by HMI Doors |

238 239, 246 and 312 are all $1400 on the estimate from my local door guy (did some windows for me before)

notes: doors and trash removed, lifetime warranty performance and finish, 20 gauge steel 19 " security lock block, ball bearing security hinges 16 gauge frame , opening completely sealed from air and water infiltration

i'm assuming these are better than the 300 dollar lowes doors but still...1400 seems a bit high? and i never asked but now that i think about it, i dont even know if these are prehung, or does it matter?

2 sidelites about 24 inches wide are 930 but the one thing i need to call him about tomorrow is i'm not clear if this is all as one front door unit or individual units, we discussed both when he was here.

my goal was to get a price for the entire unit because it would be too much painting etc for individual pieces (the woodwork etc thats not replaced) and i dont mind paying for my front door because i'm sure it's complicated, but paying 1400 for the other 3 entry doors is just something i will not do. i cant imagine there would be a payback in even 50 years and i dont have that kind of money lol. just a 300 cheapie lowes for me

 

IMO that's a lot for a steel door. Our local Jeld Wen showroom has a magnificent entrance door system of mahogany......$15,000 will put it right in your opening
When starting to read your post, I was imagining something like an exotic wood or even fiberglas, which are all more expensive. Then you mentioned steel, and it watered it down for me. Have you done any more shopping around with different manufacturers?

 

This sounds like an installed price to me.

 

yes installed..and its only replacing whats there..i have half lites and would be 930 for both them to have new windows put in....but that leave me painting the entire outside and leaves me with old no so good wood on the other 1/2 of the lite and door to fix up..really PITA..so im calling monday and having them give me a price for the full one piece unit which i know will be more..just dont know how much more


and i dont mind paying for the front..will be difficult...but for the other 3 standard entry doors, i think my friend and i can probably handle them at much less than1400....plus even a 300 dollar lowes door gotta be airtight id think lol

 

I guess it would somewhat depend on whether the sidelights are a part of the existing door and share the frame, or if they are separated by structural framing.

$1400 to replace an entry door? I'd need a breakdown between labor and materials.

I know when I worked with contractors and carpenters...in my area the standard was about $200-250 labor minimum for a single standard door. Start getting into pricey/fancy glass and such at it was basically 1/2 the cost of the door for labor.

$1000 door would be $500 labor.

 

side lites are remaining" as is" in every aspect except he will take out my single pane glass and put in a new 'solid window'..so the bottom half of the lite will be my same crappy one i have..solid wood or whatever is there....the entire frame inside and out wont be touched, thats work i have to do to paint it etc

and i still dont know if the 1400 door is prehung or not, not that it makes a difference i guess...but not hung means he would have to do a lotta extra carpentry i guess.

if it's 2300 for the 3 individual pieces, with all my old framing etc remaining, i'd expect the all in one totally maintenance free one with entire new sidelights to be about 3500 or so..but i'm totally guessing.

 

I'd really like to see a pic of the existing setup. Don't think I've ever seen 24" sidelights..though I assume they are out there. More common is 10", 12", and 14" I believe.

I'd really wonder exactly what he intends to do. A slab door of the correct size shouldn't cost $1400

Ohhhhhh wait a minute! Heres the clue " security lock block, ball bearing security hinges 16 gauge frame , opening completely sealed from air and water infiltration".

I'd bet this is one of those retrofit doors that has it's own metal subframe that is attached to the existing wooden frame! Rehab doors or retrofit doors? Something like that?

I'd have to say that pricing seems extremely high. Esp since your doors don't appear to be real fancy. I'd almost think a good carpenter could build down the opening and install a stock size door with sidelites...unless you are real attached the the 24" ones. Just to be clear, is that 24" on each side...or 24" total?

 

he wasnt in friday when i called...no clue about even what a retro door is lol..ill find out exactly what it is monday..is that 16 gauge frame etc really good or something? i dont need top security, just great insulation and airtight..it's under a porch no sun or north side of the house..hardly gets wet even in the worse of weather...probably waiting to do screen door until later..he wants 600 for that

the entire opening is about 86 wide..the glass itself on each of the sides is 20 and the opening for the glass about 22ish. i love how it is...would hate to go narrower unless i'd be saving a ton of money.but then how would it look ...i was leaning toward mostly solid door and just windows on the side

pic will be uploaded sunday and i do have a handy friend but unsure he could tackle the big front door....

 

If its what I'm thinking...you'll lose about 2-3" in width and 1 1/2" or so in height of the actual door opening.

This is from the website you linked to...scroll down to "steel replacement frame" for an idea of what I mean. Entry Door Jambs | Entry Door Framing |

How old is the home? I'm just wondering if they possibly used cut down or slab doors to make the sidelites?

I guess, if its a classic home the exterior look would be vital. A little bit of framing, some sheetrock and some exterior covering (siding would be cheap and easy, brick or stucco not so much) would take the opening down nicely.

You could have a door like 239 with some 12" 1/2 lights and keep an open airy feel...but of course it would be less than you have now. The advantage would be that replacement in the future would be much easier than custom stuff as the sidelights and door will be now.

I'd suggest you contact/find some reputable carpenters/contractors in your area and get their opinions.

A door like I described above would probably run ABOUT (I've been out of the selling end for a few years) $800-900....thats with a typical 36x80 entry door with two 12-14" sidelights...overall width about 70" or so. Depends on how its ordered... could vary by 3-4" if they order it with stud pockets or not.

That would leave quite a chunk left over for framing and trim work. If you can do any of that yourself...even better.

 

ACK...just read better in your post. $600 for a screen door? Unless you have a really odd front entry...thats a complete rip (IMO). Some of the best storm doors out there are about $400 (with insulated glass) and take about an hour to install.

 

oh yes he's not cheap...they make their own windows, which i got installed 2005 and spend over 5K for..all very custom..13x5 bay and 3 others..i've been happy for 6 years...now he carries okna windows (still makes his own if you want them), which i read in other forums are pretty good, and they are cheaper than what lowes came to my house and estimated...so i'd def rather have his windows...

unsure why the doors are marked up so much though. and yes 600 for storm door, no way would i pay that, i dont mind the 200 lowes special..dont need anything fancy..and who knows, maybe i can talk him down..dont know if i should try..hate to insult them lol....i could deal with 900 or so but 1400 just seems way a lot..unless its for the unit as a single piece but i seriously doubt it

i wish i could find someone reputable for carpentry lol...gotta get ahold of my one friend who worked for a contractor that rehabbed houses in the city, he's pretty handy

home is 1952 permastone and ill take a few shots tomorrow and post them...the sanding and painting of the remainder of the exisitng wood would be just not fun at all

 

i think any narrower windows would look silly..unsure how u would fill in all that space anyway. and those windows help light up a very dark hallway that goes back thru the center of the house so they are important to me



i believe that is a 2x6 and would stay ..he said he would try to order an 8 inch threshold, i have a 6.5 inch depth vs a 4.5 inch on new construction..or so he said




wood is in very bad shape..would take a lot of work to make look good, many angles to sand and paint. good news is there is no apparent rot...but i dont know what is even in the bottom of the sidelights...no insulation in any other wall in the house



inside view..if i keep the existing frames, i will get to keep my shelves on either side of the door, i admit i would miss them with new full half lites vs him just replacing my window. but if new would be better insulated and tight i would deal with it

 

more info after i called him

will take 10% off if i get the door in addition to the windows i'm definitely getting..so makes the door and lites 2097

he said the 22 inch lites are expensive and what he will do is make a vinyl window 53 inches high with the low E and gas. so the 2 of them total 930. i asked what if i go to a standard lite of 12 inches and instead of keeping my lower existing 'box' on the bottom of my lite (has unknown insulation etc), it would be a 12 inch entire full lite. he said then it would be about 900 EACH and that the glass wouldnt be as good as the window he can put in there. he said the glass in new full lights would be only 1/2 inch and have no gas in it. so basically my choice is 930 for just the 53 inch new windows with my exact 22 inch configuration (with the tons of light i want) or spend 2x that for 1/2 the light and less efficiency.

Also he stated all the doors are prehung and that my front door is really 80.5 but HMI makes an 80.5 door factory so not an issue. this would save me from doing framing work for my 80 inch lowes door of course.

there was no option on my contract for the entire assembly as a single unit because he told me when he started doing the calculation for an 89 inch opening it got above 4000 very quickly..so he stopped and didnt bother

he also said the 6.5 inch jamb is one reason for something but now i forget what..maybe high price because thicker?

also that front door is so heavy it needs ball bearing hinges, which i never heard of

i still am on the fence...2100 for the front is a lot plus all that painting i have to do after in the spring..but no way will i get the other doors in my house from him...only 300 dollar lowes for me there i can do 1100 in carpentry and still come out ahead lol

there was one fiberglass door i had picked out just for the fun of it..it was 3000 just in white lol!! no way

 

i wouldnt say it's a good deal or i wouldnt have posted lol...seemed high..and it did bug me that he wouldnt break out labor and door cost saying he didnt know..he owns the place....but the only other 'reputable' place i know, i'd never go near..a friend was quoted 700 for a very basic window... and i dont know to trust big boxes

having an 89 inch wide opening is so much trouble!

i did finally get ahold of someone else i trust and he did say putting in just the new regular 'window' on the existing lites vs entire new ones would be more efficient and of course cheaper. but he still suggested trying to price a one piece unit but i have no idea where in my area to go for that. otherwise he could help me cap the outside once it's all in..

i did find out at least that when he was rehabbing houses for the city they used the same contractor as me and since my other windows are something i'm happy with at least the guy has a good rep

and i really want this done this year for the tax credit so time is running short

i'm also happy with his price for windows so maybe i should just take his 10% off, the 10% tax credit and call it a day lol..(assuming i qualify for it)..would be about 840 off total price...i can look at it that the windows are 1880 and the door/lites are really just 1488 vs the 2300 price...so 1488 for the front individual assembly isnt thaaaat bad is it

just all that painting next year is gonna suck lol...and i cant do it until spring of course

 

just to update things, i ordered the hme 246 steel One Lite Entry Doors by HMI Doors | in wedgewood blue (non texture since you cant see it more than 10 ft away lol) and then he will make the custom sidelites himself

generic pic here http://www.hmidoors.com/wp-content/u...6/hme246fg.jpg

i found out the door 'real' price was 1200 but since it's .5 inches higher it's a bit more $$$$ additional...i forget the rest breakdown but with the handle, the hinges (45) and the 2 sided paint was 1600 then he took off 10%...ill have before and after pics around christmas..i looked more at the existing jamb and stuff and it seems like could be a challenge so i'm glad he's doing it

ill do the other doors in my house myself

he said one issue he had when he was trying to price the sidelites at 22 inches was no on makes them that big so they way he was talking they would basicall just be making me 2 small doors lol..unsure how accurate that was but its what he said

ill see if i can deal without a screendoor in summer

 

This thread is a bit old and just stumbled upon it while doing research. There is absolutely no way in hell you could buy an HMI entry door for 1400 bucks, thats not even cost. Its much more. No offense but comparing a jeldwin to an HMI is alot like comparing a used Kia to a brand new mercedes. Provia also make a nice door.

 

It wasn't the matter of the door being a Mercedes at all, but the fact that the installer wouldn't break out the cost of the door versus the labor and miscellaneous. Some doors and windows are overpriced, and have a particular market. Some people like to save money and still have quality. We try to include options for everyone.

Our OP's problem was solved, but required custom work, which was uber expensive, but necessary.