Storm & Exterior Doors in Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Storm & Exterior Doors in Fort Lauderdale, FL

Our Door Installation services in Fort Lauderdale mean installing a door that can hold up against a Category 3 wind field and still operate smoothly after fifteen summers of salt air, humidity cycling, and the kind of hard afternoon rain that arrives without warning in June. A properly installed impact-rated exterior door protects the opening structurally, keeps conditioned air where it belongs, and meets Broward County’s current wind-load code requirements – which have tightened meaningfully since the 2007 Florida Building Code revision. At TruePane Windows & Doors, we have been setting exterior and storm doors in Fort Lauderdale since before most of our competitors were in business, and every installation is backed by The Keystone Standard: both manufacturer warranty layers registered in writing, durations stated, before the truck leaves the driveway.

If you are ready to talk specifics, a live person answers our phone at (754) 310-3589 around the clock – not a voicemail tree, not a callback form. This page falls under our broader Door Installation in Fort Lauderdale service, where you can see the full scope of what we install and replace for homeowners across Broward County. You can also visit our home page to learn more about TruePane as a company.

Dale Kessler founded TruePane in 2008 on a straightforward principle: out-of-true installs and voided warranties are problems worth fixing permanently. He keeps one rule on the whiteboard – if the pane is not true, the job is not done. That rule applies to every door frame, every threshold, and every hinge mortise we cut in Fort Lauderdale.

When You Need Storm & Exterior Doors

Some door problems are obvious. Others announce themselves gradually, and by the time most homeowners in Fort Lauderdale call us, the door has been giving warnings for at least one full season. Here is what typically sends people our way:

• The frame or slab is no longer impact-rated for Broward County code. If your exterior door was installed before 2002 and has never been replaced, it almost certainly does not meet current Florida Building Code wind-load requirements. In Fort Lauderdale, which sits in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, that is not a cosmetic issue – it is a coverage issue with your insurer.
• The door binds, drags, or fails to latch in July. South Florida’s summer humidity causes wood and even some composite frames to swell measurably. A door that latches fine in February and sticks by July was almost always installed with insufficient clearance or the wrong frame material for this climate. We see this regularly in older Coral Ridge and Victoria Park homes.
• Daylight or air is visible around the perimeter. A gap at the threshold or along the hinge jamb is not just an energy problem – in Fort Lauderdale’s mosquito and palmetto bug season, it is an entry point. Gaps also compromise the door’s ability to function as a pressure-rated unit during a storm event.
• The glass panel is fogged, cracked, or not impact-rated. Many older Fort Lauderdale homes have decorative glass sidelights or panels that were installed before laminated impact glass became standard. A beautiful door with a non-impact lite is not a storm door in any meaningful sense.
• The door is pulling away from the buck or the rough opening shows rot. Salt air accelerates wood rot in coastal South Florida faster than most homeowners expect. In Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and Harbor Beach, we routinely find bucks that have deteriorated behind otherwise intact-looking trim. A new door set into a compromised rough opening will fail early regardless of the door’s quality.
• You are refinancing or selling and the home inspection flagged the door. Broward County home inspectors are trained to flag non-compliant openings. A door replacement handled correctly – with permit pulled, installation inspected, and warranty registered – eliminates that line item from the buyer’s repair request.

Our Storm & Exterior Doors Process

We do not treat a door installation as a delivery-and-hang job. The rough opening condition, the buck material, the threshold substrate, and the weather-resistive barrier all affect whether a door performs in year one and in year fifteen. Here is how we work through every Fort Lauderdale installation:

1. Measure the opening and assess the rough opening condition.
   We measure every opening twice – height, width, and diagonals to confirm square. We also probe the buck material for rot, check the header for deflection, and assess the threshold substrate. In many Fort Lauderdale homes built in the 1970s and 1980s, we find pressure-treated wood bucks that are technically intact but absorbing moisture. We document what we find before any material is ordered.
2. Present manufacturer options side by side on paper.
   We are authorized installers for CGI and ES Windows, among others – and we quote comparable lines side by side so you can see exactly what you are buying at each price point. Style, glass options, hardware finish, wind-load rating, and warranty duration all appear on the same sheet. There is no upsell pressure and no one manufacturer we favor over the customer’s interest.
3. Pull the permit through Broward County.
   Exterior door replacements in Fort Lauderdale require a building permit when the door is impact-rated or when structural work on the rough opening is involved. We handle the permit application, scheduling the inspection, and the documentation. If a contractor tells you a permit is not required for a full exterior door replacement in Fort Lauderdale, that is worth questioning carefully.
4. Prepare the rough opening and install the door system.
   We remove the old unit, clean the rough opening, replace any compromised buck material, and apply a continuous weather-resistive barrier before the new frame goes in. The door is shimmed plumb and square, fastened to the structural buck at code-required intervals for the rated wind load, and the threshold is set and sealed against South Florida’s driving-rain events. We do not leave sealant application to the homeowner as a “punch list item.”
5. Inspect, adjust, and test the complete unit.
   Before any tools leave the truck, we cycle the door through its full range of operation, confirm the deadbolt throws cleanly, verify the threshold seal compresses evenly, and check that the door is plumb after the buck has been loaded. A door that hangs true in an empty frame sometimes behaves differently once the trim is applied and the frame is loaded – we check after, not before.
6. Register both warranty layers in writing before we leave.
   The Keystone Standard is not a marketing phrase. Before the truck leaves the driveway, the manufacturer product warranty and the installation warranty are registered in writing, durations stated, and a copy is left with the homeowner. Our 90-Day Done Right Promise covers workmanship for ninety days with no paperwork fights. If something is not right, we come back and make it right – full stop.

Storm & Exterior Doors Pricing in Fort Lauderdale

Storm and exterior door pricing in Fort Lauderdale typically runs from $900 to $4,200 installed, depending on door size, glass type, hardware, and the condition of the existing rough opening. Most standard single-door replacements where the rough opening is sound land between $1,100 and $2,200. That range is honest for this market – Broward County’s impact-code requirements mean the door units themselves cost more than equivalent non-impact products sold in other states, and the permitting process adds both cost and time that a square-deal contractor will not hide from you.

Several things move a price toward the top of a range in Fort Lauderdale specifically. Non-standard door heights – common in 1950s-era ranch homes in Coral Ridge Isles and the Tarpon River neighborhood – require a custom-sized unit rather than a stock slab. Second-floor installations add labor time. And when we open a frame and find the buck is rotted through, we will not reinstall over it and hand you a warranty – we repair the opening correctly, quote it transparently, and document it on the invoice.

We offer $50 off any repair over $250, and we extend a permanent 5% discount to seniors and veterans – no expiration date, no conditions. Estimates are always free. Call (754) 310-3589 and a live person will schedule a time that works for you.

FAQs – Storm & Exterior Doors in Fort Lauderdale

Do I need a permit to replace an exterior door in Fort Lauderdale?

Yes, in most cases you do. Broward County requires a building permit when replacing an exterior door that is impact-rated or when any structural modification to the rough opening is involved – which covers the majority of exterior door replacements in Fort Lauderdale. The permit ensures the installation is inspected and that the door’s wind-load rating is documented on record, which matters both for code compliance and for your homeowner’s insurance. TruePane handles the permit application and the inspection scheduling as part of the job. Call (754) 310-3589 if you have questions about what your specific replacement will require.

How much does a storm door installation cost in Fort Lauderdale?

A standard single impact-rated exterior door installed in Fort Lauderdale typically runs $1,100 to $2,200 when the rough opening is in sound condition. Doors with decorative glass, sidelights, or double configurations cost more – generally $1,800 to $4,200 installed. What drives the number up most reliably in South Florida is rough opening condition: salt-air rot in the buck or header adds $200 to $600 in repair costs, and we will never reinstall over a compromised opening just to keep the number down. Estimates are free and the quote is upfront with no surprise line items on the bill. Call (754) 310-3589 for an exact number on your opening.

What is the difference between a storm door and an impact-rated exterior door in Florida?

In the traditional sense, a “storm door” is a secondary screen-and-glass door installed in front of an existing exterior door – the kind common in northern climates for insulation. In Fort Lauderdale and throughout Broward County’s High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, the term is more often used to describe a fully impact-rated exterior door that meets Florida Building Code wind-load requirements as the primary entry. These are laminated-glass or solid-panel doors tested to withstand large-missile impact and sustained wind pressure – not secondary screen doors. When Fort Lauderdale homeowners call us asking about Hurricane-Proof Front & Entry Doors, we make sure we are talking about the same thing before any product is recommended.

How long does a storm or exterior door installation take?

Most standard single-door installations in Fort Lauderdale are completed in a single visit of four to six hours – that includes rough opening prep, installation, threshold sealing, hardware setting, and cleanup. French & Double Doors or jobs that require buck repair run six to eight hours and may extend to a second visit if structural framing work is needed. Custom-sized units for non-standard openings require a lead time of two to four weeks from the manufacturer before installation can be scheduled. We will give you a clear timeline at estimate – no second appointment left hanging without a confirmed date.

Why Fort Lauderdale Homeowners Call TruePane

Dale Kessler built TruePane on the understanding that homeowners in Fort Lauderdale – people who have owned their homes for twenty, thirty, sometimes forty years – remember the contractors who cut corners. They remember the door that started binding after one summer. They remember waiting three weeks for a callback that never came. TruePane has been in this community for over 42 years and we hire local, train apprentices into journeymen, and act like a company that plans to be in Fort Lauderdale in thirty more years, because we do.

Every technician who comes to your home is background-checked and uniformed. They measure twice, quote manufacturer lines like CGI and ES Windows side by side on paper, and do not leave until the door cycles true and the warranty is registered. The 90-Day Done Right Promise is not a marketing footnote – it is a written commitment, and if something is not right within those ninety days, we come back and correct it without a paperwork fight or a fine-print argument.

We are also straightforward about what we cost. TruePane is not the cheapest bid in Fort Lauderdale, and we do not try to be. But the price you see on the estimate is the price on the invoice, and the warranty you are handed at the end of the job is registered before anyone leaves the driveway. That is the square deal we offer, and it is the same deal every homeowner gets.

Key Takeaways

• Impact-rated exterior doors in Fort Lauderdale must meet Broward County’s High-Velocity Hurricane Zone wind-load code – this affects both permit requirements and product selection.
• Most standard single-door replacements with a sound rough opening run $1,100 to $2,200 installed in Fort Lauderdale’s current market.
• Buck rot from salt-air exposure is common in coastal Fort Lauderdale neighborhoods and should be assessed and repaired before any new door is set.
• TruePane pulls the permit, handles the inspection, and registers both warranty layers in writing before leaving the job site.
• The 90-Day Done Right Promise covers workmanship with no fine print and no arguing.
• Seniors and veterans receive a permanent 5% discount; any repair over $250 qualifies for $50 off.
• A live person answers (754) 310-3589 at any hour – call with questions before the estimate, not after the problem gets worse.

Call (754) 310-3589 to schedule your free estimate. A live person will answer, we will get a time on the calendar that works for you, and Dale’s team will come out, measure the opening, and give you an honest number in writing – no pressure, no vague ballpark, no surprises on the bill.

Written by Dale Kessler, Owner at TruePane Windows & Doors, serving Fort Lauderdale.