Q&A: How much would it cost to have interior doors installed?
Question by SoCalBoy: How much would it cost to have interior doors installed?
... for a home office. Right now, the room (built as a den) has no doors... just a large arched opening... 103″ high at peak.... 53″ wide. French (double) doors would likely make most sense. Anyone have an idea of a ballpark price range for quality doors? Something with good noise blocking... not luan or hollowcore. I know ultimately I'd need to get someone in here to check it out, but just curious in the meantime. Thanks so much.
Best answer:
Answer by justwondering
Prices vary with location. Call your local Home Depot or Lowe's or another building supply to check price. You can check the web site for the first two and get a quote that way. Labor rates will vary too. That arched part will have to be dealt with -- closed off or a window added or something.
Add your own answer in the comments!
Since the opeining is arched, you can opt for custom doors that could be made to fit the arched opening or have some drywall work done on the arch to close it in and install a regular french door.
Arched door option will probably require some drywall work and framing plus the cost of the new door.
I would roughly estimate that at $ 1500.-1800.
The drywall, framing and new regular door $ 1000-1500.
A set of basic 4 ft french doors with glass panels and solid wood (stain grade) might cost you $ 400 or more.
To install them you will have to close in the width to 50″ rough opening. And height to 82″ max.
You could get a transom window to go over top, but half round ones are hard to find and chances are it would never match your opening. Normally those are made with flexible plastic and supported almost entirely by the drywall alone, so removing the arch is easy. The rough framing will be at the highest point in the arch. So if you found a rectangular or even a half round transom, it wouldn’t be hard to modify the opening to fit it.
Otherwise just frame it down to a single 2×4 header with one or two cripple supports above it. (2v4’s)
Cut back the existing drywall to expose part of the existing stud work so you have support all around for your new drywall. Finish the wall before installing the door. Meaning tape joints and block coat. Sand it out and prime coat it 2 times. You can final coat it before or after the doors depending on how you’re finishing them. Prehung doors are easy to install.
Get some 8 and 16 penny finish nails and a pack of cedar shims.
Split apart the door jamb, remove all staples, and the nails that hold the panels closed for transport, and start with the panel side, hinges towards you. Position supports to raise the door panels enough to clear flooring. If you have carpet, you’ll want 1/2″ or so. If you have tile or hardwood, you might need more. Place the door in the hole, and put a level against all three hinges on each side. Look at the alignment of the two doors. (when it’s resting in the opening it doesn’t take much to keep it there). You may need to tweak it’s position a little for plumb. And you may need to adjust the height of the support under each side until the panels align at top and bottom, and have a consistent gap between them. Then nail through the casing in the center with 1 16d finish nail at each hinge. The object is to secure the casing to the stud behind the drywall.
Once you’ve secured the face side, open the panels and go inside, and close them. Now you’re looking for the plane they are closing on to be equal. In other words, is one door kinda sticking out while the other pulls in? You adjust for this by tapping out the jamb in opposing places. For instance. The top of your left panel pulls in, so you hammer the jamb on the top left outward a bit, then hammer out the bottom right a bit to pull in the right top panel. The idea is to subtly split the difference. It’s easier to show than explain in words of course.
Once you are satisfied with the door position, place shims into the space between the jamb and the stud next to each hinge. Make them snug but not to the point of moving the jamb’s position. Then open the door and carefully nail 2 nails (1 above and 1 below but close to the stop molding) through into the stud to secure the door completely. Use a nail set to bury the heads just below the surface.
Double check the door’s operation to make any re-adjustments (using a pry bar and hammer), and then position the other half of the jamb set into place and secure with 8d nails around the casing.
And you will have installed a door.
Be sure to finish it at every exposed surface. Remove the door panels and stain or paint them on all 6 sides. Use painter’s putty to hide nails.