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AfterReplacement Doors in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Replacing a door in Fort Lauderdale typically costs between $800 and $4,500 installed, depending on the door type, frame condition, and whether the opening needs impact-rated glazing to meet Broward County code. Most jobs are completed in a single visit, with both warranty layers registered in writing before we leave the driveway.
At TruePane Windows & Doors, our Door Installation services are not a side job – they are a core part of what Dale Kessler built this company to do. Since 2008, we have been measuring openings in Fort Lauderdale homes, quoting manufacturer lines on paper side by side, and installing doors the way a second-generation glazier does it: plumb, square, and true the first time. If you are ready to talk specifics, a live person answers at (754) 310-3589, any hour of the day.
This page covers everything you need to know before making that call – what drives cost here in Fort Lauderdale, what our process looks like, and what separates a door installed right from one that will bind by next July. Our full Door Installation in Fort Lauderdale page covers the broader service if you want context on new construction or add-a-door projects.
When You Need Replacement Doors
Some of these signs are obvious. Others show up quietly over years until one August afternoon the door simply will not close. Fort Lauderdale’s climate – salt air off the Intracoastal, sustained humidity, and the thermal cycling that comes with long summers – accelerates every one of them.
- The door drags, sticks, or binds seasonally. Wood frames and even some composite frames swell during Fort Lauderdale’s wet season. If the door binds every June and July and has done so for three or more years running, the frame has moved beyond adjustment – it needs to be replaced, not planed down again.
- You feel air or see daylight around the perimeter. Gaps around the door frame mean your air conditioning is fighting the outside. In Fort Lauderdale, where cooling loads run ten months a year, a compromised door seal can meaningfully affect your FPL bill – not as a marketing claim, but as a physics fact.
- The door fails Broward County’s current impact requirements. Many homes in Fort Lauderdale built before 2002 have entry doors that do not meet today’s Florida Building Code wind-load standards. If you are selling, renovating, or simply living through another hurricane season with an older door, replacement with a CGI or PGT impact-rated unit is the right call – and in many cases it is required before a permit closes.
- Hardware is failing and replacement parts are discontinued. Multi-point locking systems on doors more than fifteen years old sometimes reach end-of-parts life. When the lockset, hinges, and closer are all reaching failure at once, replacement is more economical than sourcing legacy hardware.
- The frame or sill shows rot or corrosion. In neighborhoods like Rio Vista, Tarpon River, and the barrier island streets of Fort Lauderdale Beach, salt-air corrosion on steel door frames and rot on wood sills is something we see on almost every job. A new door hung in a compromised frame will fail in the same places – the frame has to go too.
- Energy efficiency has dropped noticeably. If you remember when the house stayed cooler with the same thermostat setting, the door’s weatherstripping, core insulation, and glass (if applicable) may have degraded. Older sliding glass doors in particular lose their thermal performance as seals deteriorate.
Our Replacement Doors Process
We have done enough of these in Fort Lauderdale to know that the jobs that go wrong almost always go wrong at step one or step two – the measure and the frame assessment. Skipping either to save thirty minutes is how you end up with a door that does not hang true. Here is exactly how we work.
- On-site measurement and frame inspection. A background-checked, uniformed technician comes to the property and measures the rough opening – not once, but twice. We also assess the frame, sill, and surrounding structure for rot, corrosion, out-of-plumb conditions, and any evidence of water intrusion behind the jamb. In Fort Lauderdale homes built in the 1960s through 1980s, especially in Victoria Park and Lauderdale Manors, we regularly find wood framing behind stucco that has been wicking moisture for years. That finding changes the scope and the quote, and you hear about it before we schedule the install, not during it.
- Side-by-side quotes on paper. We carry authorization for more than a dozen manufacturer lines, and we quote relevant options side by side in writing so you can see exactly what you are buying: the door model, the glass specification, the hardware grade, the warranty duration, and the installed price. We do not steer you toward the line with the best margin for us – we explain what each option does and what it costs, and you decide.
- Permit coordination where required. Broward County requires a permit for most full door replacements, particularly when the opening size changes or when impact-rated units are being installed. We handle the paperwork and the inspection schedule. You do not have to navigate the Broward County Building Division portal yourself.
- Frame preparation and old door removal. The old door and frame come out carefully – we protect the floor and interior finish, and we do not cut corners on frame prep because that is where the new door’s performance is determined. Any damaged framing, rotted sill material, or corroded flashing gets addressed before the new unit goes in. A square deal means no hidden work discovered after the bill is already written.
- Installation, shimming, and adjustment. The new door goes in plumb and level. We shim the frame systematically, set the hinges or pivot hardware to specification, adjust the strike and latch, and test the swing, latch, and lock function before touching anything else. If the pane is not true, the job is not done – that is the rule Dale Kessler keeps on the whiteboard, and it applies to every door we hang.
- Warranty registration before we leave. Both manufacturer warranty layers – the product warranty and the finish/glass warranty where applicable – are registered in writing before the truck leaves the driveway. You receive documentation with durations stated. The 90-Day Done Right Promise covers our workmanship on top of that: if something is not right within ninety days, we come back and make it right with no paperwork fights and no arguing about whose fault it is.
Replacement Doors Pricing in Fort Lauderdale
Replacement door costs in Fort Lauderdale run higher than national averages for a few specific reasons: Florida Building Code impact requirements add material cost, Broward County permit fees apply to most full replacements, and the labor involved in properly addressing salt-corroded or moisture-damaged frames is real work that takes real time. Any quote that skips the frame assessment is not a complete quote.
The ranges below reflect installed prices – material, labor, permit, and warranty registration – for typical Fort Lauderdale residential jobs. They are honest ranges, not minimums designed to get us in the door.
| Door Type | Typical Installed Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard fiberglass entry door (non-impact) | $800 – $1,800 | Interior-protected openings; no impact glazing required |
| Impact-rated fiberglass entry door (CGI, PGT) | $1,600 – $3,200 | Florida Building Code compliant; includes permit coordination |
| Impact-rated sliding glass door replacement | $2,200 – $4,500 | Opening size, glass spec, and track condition affect cost |
| French door replacement (impact-rated) | $2,800 – $5,200 | Multi-point locking hardware adds to cost; common in older Fort Lauderdale homes |
| Frame repair or partial frame replacement | $300 – $900 (added to door cost) | Common in coastal neighborhoods; assessed on-site |
| Permit (Broward County) | $150 – $400 depending on valuation | Required for most full replacements; we handle filing |
Seniors and veterans receive a permanent 5% discount on every job. If your repair or associated work runs over $250, our standing $50 Off Any Repair Over $250 offer applies. We do not add surprise line items after the fact – the quote you approve is the bill you receive.
Call (754) 310-3589 for a free on-site estimate. A live person will answer and can schedule a technician at a time that works for you.
Impact-Rated Doors in Fort Lauderdale: What the Code Actually Requires
Fort Lauderdale falls within Broward County’s High-Velocity Hurricane Zone designation, which means the Florida Building Code’s impact-protection requirements apply to Storm & Exterior Doors in most circumstances. This is not optional, and it is not something that can be addressed with hurricane shutters alone when you are replacing the door itself.
What this means practically: if you are replacing an Entry Doors unit, sliding glass door, or French door on the exterior envelope of a Fort Lauderdale home, the replacement unit needs to meet the wind-load and impact requirements for your specific location – which varies by street distance from the coast, building height, and other factors the permit process evaluates. We handle that assessment as part of our process. You do not need to show up to a permit counter with engineering calculations.
ES Windows and CGI are two of the manufacturer lines we install for impact-rated applications. Both carry Florida Product Approval, and both have options appropriate for the architectural styles common in Fort Lauderdale neighborhoods – from the 1950s CBS ranch homes in Melrose Park to the newer construction in Flagler Village. We quote them on paper next to each other so you can make an informed decision, not a pressured one.
What Fort Lauderdale Homes Do to Doors Over Time
Forty-two years of working in South Florida has taught us that Fort Lauderdale’s climate does specific, predictable things to doors, and knowing what to look for is what separates a correct diagnosis from a patch job that fails in eighteen months.
Salt air off the Atlantic and the Intracoastal corrodes steel frames and hardware faster than anything else we see. In neighborhoods east of Federal Highway – Coral Ridge, Lauderdale Beach, Imperial Point – we regularly pull steel door frames that have rusted through at the sill corners while looking perfectly fine at eye level. The stucco hides it. We probe the sill on every job for that reason.
Wood framing behind exterior stucco in homes built before the 1980s is another consistent finding, particularly in the older neighborhoods west of I-95 like Edgewood, Rock Island, and Lauderdale Lakes (which we serve from our Fort Lauderdale base). When the stucco cracks at the door corners – and it eventually does on most of these homes – water gets in behind the frame and sits in the wood. By the time the door starts binding, the rot is often six inches deep on both sides of the rough opening. That is a frame replacement, not an adjustment.
Thermal cycling is the third factor. Fort Lauderdale’s temperature difference between a January morning and an August afternoon is not extreme by northern standards, but the humidity swing is. Doors that are improperly sealed at installation absorb that humidity change into the frame material every day of the year. Over a decade, even a composite door frame will shift if the install was not done right at the outset.
FAQs – Replacement Doors in Fort Lauderdale
How long does a replacement door installation take in Fort Lauderdale?
Most single-door replacements in Fort Lauderdale are completed in a single visit of three to five hours. If significant frame repair is needed – which we will identify and communicate during the estimate, not on installation day – the job may extend to a full day or require a second visit for the frame work before the door goes in. We do not leave a job half-finished. When we schedule a completion date, that is when it is done.
Do I need a permit to replace a door in Fort Lauderdale?
In most cases, yes. Broward County requires a permit for full door replacements on the exterior envelope, particularly when impact-rated units are involved or when the opening dimensions change. We file the permit, coordinate the inspection, and hand you the closed-permit documentation at the end of the job. You do not have to manage that process yourself. Call (754) 310-3589 if you want to talk through whether your specific project requires one.
Is it better to repair or replace a door?
Repair makes sense when the door unit itself is structurally sound and the problem is isolated – a worn weatherstrip, a hardware failure, or a hinge that has pulled from the frame. Replacement is the right call when the frame is compromised, when the door no longer meets current Florida Building Code impact requirements, when the door has degraded to the point that repair costs approach replacement costs, or when the door is more than twenty years old and showing multiple failure points. We will tell you honestly which category your door falls into during the estimate – we do not replace doors that do not need replacing, because a customer who trusts our assessment is more valuable than a single upsold job. For a free on-site evaluation, call (754) 310-3589.
How do TruePane’s warranties work on replacement doors?
Every replacement door we install is covered by two warranty layers under The Keystone Standard: the manufacturer’s product warranty (duration varies by line – we state it in writing on your documentation) and our 90-Day Done Right Promise on workmanship. Both layers are registered before the truck leaves the driveway, and both are documented on paper with durations stated. If something is not right within ninety days of installation, we come back and make it right – no paperwork fights, no fine print, no arguing. We stand behind it because our reputation in Fort Lauderdale is worth more than a callback dispute.
Why Fort Lauderdale Homeowners Call TruePane First
The short answer is that we have been here long enough to have a track record, and we are structured in a way that makes a bad install costly for us rather than profitable. When both warranty layers are registered before we leave and a 90-day workmanship guarantee is attached to every job, we have every reason to do it right the first time.
Dale Kessler founded TruePane in 2008 on the principle that out-of-true installs and voided warranties were problems worth fixing permanently – not managing around. Over 42 years of combined craft heritage, we have seen what happens to doors in Fort Lauderdale’s salt air, in its wet-season humidity, and through its hurricane seasons. That experience is in how we measure, how we assess frames, how we select and recommend manufacturer lines, and how we handle the jobs that turn out to be more complicated than they looked at first glance.
We are an authorized installer for CGI, ES Windows, and other manufacturer lines appropriate for Fort Lauderdale’s impact requirements. We hire local, train apprentices into journeymen, and sponsor county fairs and church roof funds because we plan to still be in this community in thirty years. That is not marketing language – it is the reason a live person answers our phone at any hour and why Dale Kessler’s name is on every job we do.
If you have a door in Fort Lauderdale that is binding, corroding, failing its seal, or simply not meeting current code, call (754) 310-3589. We will send a technician, measure the opening twice, assess the frame, and give you a straight quote on paper. The estimate is free. The warranty is in writing. And if it is not done right, we make it right.
You can also learn more about our full range of work on the home page, or start with our parent service overview for Door Installation in Fort Lauderdale if you want to see how replacement fits alongside other door services we offer.
Written by Dale Kessler, Owner at TruePane Windows & Doors, serving Fort Lauderdale.
Six Reasons Homeowners Choose TruePane Windows & Doors
Impact systems engineered to design pressures up to +/-100, matched to your wind zone - your openings hold when the storm arrives.
Low-E insulated impact glass from our manufacturer lines commonly cuts monthly cooling bills 20-30%.
Laminated impact glass shuts out up to 40% of outside noise - traffic, neighbors, weather.
Monitoring services run $30-90 a month. Laminated impact glass resists forced entry around the clock, with no subscription.
Florida homeowners average around 25% savings on the windstorm portion of their policy after protecting every opening - some homes qualify for more.
A full impact package upgrades curb appeal, buyer confidence and appraised value in one project.