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AfterTherma-Tru Door Installation: The Fort Lauderdale Owner’s Guide
Therma-Tru door installation in Fort Lauderdale typically runs between $850 and $2,400 installed, depending on whether we’re replacing a single component or the entire slab and frame system. We stock Therma-Tru-compatible hardware, sweeps, thresholds, and weatherstripping on our trucks, and most repairs finish in one visit. The call usually starts the same way: a door that suddenly won’t latch, a threshold that’s let salt air work its way into the frame, or a sweep that’s worn down to the metal after a few Florida summers. If you’ve got a Therma-Tru unit that’s binding, leaking, or simply not closing the way it did when it was new, this page will tell you exactly what you’re dealing with, what it costs, and whether it’s worth fixing or replacing.
Which Therma-Tru Models This Applies To
Therma-Tru builds several door lines, and the parts are not all interchangeable. The Classic-Craft, Fiber-Classic, and Smooth-Star series each use their own slab thickness, hinge prep, and weatherstrip channel profiles. The most common compatibility gotcha we see in Fort Lauderdale involves bottom sweeps: a sweep made for a Smooth-Star door will not seat properly in a Fiber-Classic threshold, and within a season the gap returns. If you’re not sure which line you have, look at the hinge edge of the slab for a manufacturer label, or measure the door thickness. Therma-Tru slabs run 1-3/4 inches thick on almost all residential models, but the corner pads and adjustable sill caps vary by series. We identify the part by series name, door thickness, and the existing threshold profile before we order or pull anything from the truck. OEM parts are the right call for anything structural: hinge plates, corner pads, and adjustable sills. For consumables like sweeps and weatherstripping, we use OEM when it’s available, but we’ll quote a quality aftermarket equivalent in writing if it performs identically and costs less. You’ll see both numbers on paper before we touch the door.
Signs Your Therma-Tru Door Installation Is Failing
- Daylight visible under the door. The sweep has compressed or the sill cap has settled out of adjustment. In Fort Lauderdale’s humidity, that gap is an open invitation for moisture intrusion and higher cooling bills.
- The door binds at the top corner in the afternoon. Florida heat expands fiberglass slabs, and if the reveal was set too tight at installation, the door will stick every afternoon and loosen at night.
- Water staining at the interior side of the threshold. The sill pan or the caulk joint under the threshold has failed. Salt air accelerates this, especially within two miles of the Intracoastal.
- The deadbolt no longer lines up with the strike plate. Hinges have worn or the frame has shifted. Forcing the bolt wears the lock and makes the door harder to secure.
- The sweep drags across the floor or leaves marks. The sweep was cut too long or the sill caps were adjusted without re-measuring the gap. This is the number one DIY mistake we correct on Therma-Tru doors in Fort Lauderdale.
Replacement Cost & What’s Included
Here are the installed price ranges we quote in Fort Lauderdale for Therma-Tru door work:
- Bottom sweep replacement: $95 to $180 installed, including the sweep and sill adjustment.
- Threshold and sill cap replacement: $220 to $450, depending on whether the existing pan is still sound.
- Weatherstripping (full perimeter): $180 to $320 for OEM-grade replacement on both sides and the head.
- Slab replacement (existing frame kept): $850 to $1,600, including hinges, corner pads, and re-hanging.
- Full frame and slab installation: $1,800 to $2,400, including removal, shimming, insulation, trim, and exterior sealing.
Every quote includes the part, the labor, and the disposal of the old component. We don’t add surprise line items, and if the job requires something we didn’t see at the estimate, we talk to you before we spend a dollar more. Our 90-Day Done Right Promise covers the workmanship, and both manufacturer warranty layers are registered in writing before the truck leaves your driveway. That’s The Keystone Standard, and it applies to every Therma-Tru job we do in Fort Lauderdale.
DIY or Call Us?
You can safely inspect a few things yourself. Look at the sweep for wear, check whether the sill caps are loose, and note where the door rubs. What you shouldn’t do is try to re-shim a Therma-Tru frame or replace a threshold without checking the condition of the sill pan underneath. Fiberglass doors are forgiving, but they’re not indestructible, and a misaligned frame will eat a new sweep in months. More importantly, Therma-Tru’s warranty is tied to proper installation. If a homeowner modifies the frame or uses non-specified parts and the door fails, the warranty claim gets complicated. If the door is binding, leaking, or the threshold has shifted, call us at (754) 310-3589. Dale Kessler and our crew will measure it, spec the right Therma-Tru-compatible parts, and put the quote in writing. We’ve been doing this work in Fort Lauderdale long enough to know what salt air and afternoon heat do to a door, and we’d rather fix it once than watch you pay twice.
FAQs
Sweeps and weatherstripping last 3 to 5 years in Fort Lauderdale’s heat and humidity, while a properly installed slab and frame can last 20 years or more with regular adjustment. Salt air near the Intracoastal shortens the life of metal threshold components, so we recommend an $89 Seasonal Tune-Up every year to check the sills and hardware before corrosion gets a foothold. Call (754) 310-3589 to schedule a check.
Most problems can be repaired with the right component, and we’ll always quote repair before replacement. If the slab itself is cracked or the frame has rot from years of water intrusion, replacement is the honest answer. We’ll show you the condition of the existing framing before we quote either direction.
Most sweep, threshold, and weatherstripping jobs are completed in one visit, usually within 90 minutes. A full slab or frame replacement typically takes half a day. We come with the parts on the truck when we know the series and measurements ahead of time.
Yes, we carry Therma-Tru-compatible sweeps, thresholds, weatherstripping, and hinge plates for the most common Fort Lauderdale installations, along with parts for PGT, CGI, and CWS doors. If you need a slab or custom component, we order it directly and give you a written lead time before any work is scheduled.
TruePane Windows & Doors is an independent service provider and is not affiliated with Therma-Tru. We install and service their doors because we respect the product, not because we’re tied to it. Call (754) 310-3589 for a free estimate, and we’ll measure everything twice before we put a single number in writing. Measure twice, spec it right, and put it in writing – the frame does not forgive shortcuts.
Written by Dale Kessler, Owner, TruePane Windows & Doors at TruePane Windows & Doors, serving Fort Lauderdale and nearby areas.
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