Aluminium door replacement

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Eva888

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#278475 18-Oct-2020 22:50

Requested a quote to replace a leaking wooden back door with an aluminium double glazed one including frame. Estimate came to $2200 plus $1850 to install excluding any replacement of rotten timber or additional materials.

Am I out of touch? 4K seems excessive and I am wondering if it’s a 'get lost we are too busy,' estimate as they also wrote they can’t do the job till February.

Any advice and recommendations in the Wellington area for supply and install would be welcome.

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#2587312 19-Oct-2020 01:10

Yes, getting any good tradespeople at the moment is very difficult. I had quotes for a fence raging from 8k to 15k for the same thing, and they couldn't start for months. It is good the economy is doing so well during Covid.

SirHumphreyAppleby

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#2587322 19-Oct-2020 06:29

Yes, $4k is excessive, but that does seem to be the going rate.

My mother recently had a screen door replaced (pre-COVID), costing close to $1k and we obtained a quote from someone else to replace a door which was in the region of $4k. The quote was from a contractor who had completed a much larger job for us around a year earlier for a fraction of what others had quoted. I suspect the difference is that doors/windows are custom made in factories, and they are seeing significant delays.

In theory, this is an easy DIY job. Aluminium is cheap, extrusions are cheap (if you're willing to buy 5m lengths), but I've not found the aluminium places to be terribly helpful when it comes to trying to build something from their large range of door/window extrusions. With no obvious guides, it's difficult to know how all the bits are meant to fit together based on some basic cross-section drawings.

Eva888

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#2587353 19-Oct-2020 08:05

Thanks. DIY is not an option. We bought all manner of seals etc but nothing worked. We then put a tarp over the door as I was sick of getting up in the night and wringing out sodden towels. The other option would be to leave the door as is and build a small timber framed with glass porch around it to shelter from the rain but I thought a watertight door was the most sensible. I can deal with the door price but the installation price seems crazy.

Dingbatt

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#2587371 19-Oct-2020 08:38

Part of the installation cost may be because they just don’t know how much rectification will be required if there is damage to the surrounds. In that case they will quote high to cover themselves.

I had the same thing when looking at replacing sliding doors. One quoter was up front and said they were happy to supply but weren’t interested in installing because they had been burnt by the structural stuff they had to fix with past jobs.

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eracode

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#2587373 19-Oct-2020 08:43

Were the purchase price and install cost from the same outfit? Can you get a separate quote for installation then buy the door and get the second quoter to install it? May be the only way to find out the market rate for installation.

I know the $1,850 sounds a lot but it doesn’t seem too excessive to me. On a job like this the installer is likely to quote high to cover unknowns and contingencies - even though replacing any rotten timber etc is quoted additionally. They don’t know what they’re going to find until they get into the job, get the old door off etc.There could be a lot of ‘making good’ in the existing framing and surrounding structure.

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Eva888

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#2587379 19-Oct-2020 08:57

eracode:
Were the purchase price and install cost from the same outfit? Can you get a separate quote for installation then buy the door and get the second quoter to install it? May be the only way to find out the market rate for installation.

Yes I was also thinking this, but that means trusting someone else not to botch up. Having the same people doing the whole job gives more security if they damage their door/frame while installing. I would consider this option if someone recommended a trustworthy and tried installer.

Meanwhile am looking to get some more quotes. Most don’t even bother to respond so any recommendations welcome.

Errata: Installation was $1500 not $1800.

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SirHumphreyAppleby

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#2587390 19-Oct-2020 09:14

Eva888:

Meanwhile am looking to get some more quotes. Most don’t even bother to respond so any recommendations welcome.

Which areas?

Eva888

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#2587395 19-Oct-2020 09:20

SirHumphreyAppleby:
Eva888:

Meanwhile am looking to get some more quotes. Most don’t even bother to respond so any recommendations welcome.

Which areas?

Wellington Central

eracode

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#2587408 19-Oct-2020 09:48

I think $1,500 is not too bad given the type of job. If you’re putting in a whole new frame, there is likely to be flashings required on top and sides - quite a bit of work.

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neb

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#2587461 19-Oct-2020 10:06

The aluminium is going to kill you, that's the most expensive door type you can get. You can get a decent solid-core external door for $500-800 depending on whether you want to have glass in it or not.

timmmay

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#2587508 19-Oct-2020 10:27

It can take a whole day to put a door in, plus parts, travel, etc. Price is a touch higher than I'd expect, but door / windows places have been flat out with huge demand for years so they keep jacking the prices up I guess. Cost us $6600 for one French door, one standard door, PVC and glass about 3-5 years ago.

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Eva888

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#2587512 19-Oct-2020 10:33

neb: The aluminium is going to kill you, that's the most expensive door type you can get. You can get a decent solid-core external door for $500-800 depending on whether you want to have glass in it or not.

It’s very exposed to sun as well as rain, so warping can be a problem, and the other even more exposed external door we have which is aluminium is leak free so that’s why I’m changing from wooden. I think the problem is a mix of frame plus door shrinking and moving over time.

A friend has suggested someone to quote who was miles cheaper for him than all the big companies so will share that if it’s better.

The problem has grown and the floor on one side seems to have rotted as it felt springy. Wondering if State Insurance would cover that damage. Any thoughts?

neb

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#2587515 19-Oct-2020 10:43

Eva888: It’s very exposed to sun as well as rain, so warping can be a problem, and the other even more exposed external door we have which is aluminium is leak free so that’s why I’m changing from wooden.

In that case look at fibreglass doors like Duramax, they're also much cheaper than alu.

Eva888

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#2587713 19-Oct-2020 12:43

neb:
Eva888: It’s very exposed to sun as well as rain, so warping can be a problem, and the other even more exposed external door we have which is aluminium is leak free so that’s why I’m changing from wooden.

In that case look at fibreglass doors like Duramax, they're also much cheaper than alu.

Funnily the new quoter asked me to look at that website. Hadn’t heard of fibreglass doors before. I guess it’s worth considering. Anyone had any experience of one?

neb

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#2587845 19-Oct-2020 16:11

Eva888: Hadn’t heard of fibreglass doors before. I guess it’s worth considering. Anyone had any experience of one?

How much of a hurry are you in? In a month or so I'll have had experience with one. Otherwise, a friend of mine has one in his house that gets direct sun for at least half the day and apart from some of the paint flaking off - not so bad since the underlying fibreglass is almost the same colour - it's still fine.

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