Entry door replacement and repair in Bergen County, NJ.
Fiberglass, clad wood and solid wood entry doors, with sidelights and transoms, set on a properly pitched sill pan so the threshold is not the leak. Where the door is worth keeping, the sill, the frame or the weatherstripping is what gets fixed. On older houses, the entrance around the door is repaired or rebuilt in kind.
Most front-door problems start below the door.
Before anyone prices a new door, the sill and the framing under it get looked at. That is where the answer usually is.
Repair it when
- The door itself is flat, solid and not splitting or delaminating.
- Rot is confined to the sill, the threshold or the bottom of the side jambs.
- Drafts come from worn weatherstripping or a tired door sweep.
- It drags or will not latch because hinges have loosened and the door has dropped.
Replace it when
- The door is warped, split or its skin is coming away.
- The frame has rotted through, not just at the foot.
- Glass in the door or sidelights has fogged between the panes.
- You want a different door, sidelights or a transom, or a better-insulated unit.
Six places water gets in around a door.
No sill pan
A threshold set straight onto the subfloor has nothing to catch the water that gets past it. A pan pitched to the outside sends it back out.
The head of the opening
Water running down the wall above the door needs a drip cap and flashing over the head trim, or it runs straight into the top of the frame.
The foot of the jambs
The bottom of each side jamb is end grain sitting in the wettest corner of the opening. It is the first wood to go soft.
A threshold out of level
An unsupported or back-pitched threshold holds water against the door bottom and feeds it inward.
Caulk doing flashing's job
Sealant around the trim helps, but it opens up within a few seasons. Behind it there has to be flashing that still works when it does.
An exposed opening
A door with no overhang above it takes rain directly. That changes which door is the right one, and how much attention the sill and finish need.
Chosen for the opening, not just the catalog.
Fiberglass
Does not rot and resists dents; takes paint or stain. The usual answer for a door that faces the weather.
Clad wood
Wood on the inside, a protective skin on the outside. The look of wood indoors with less upkeep outdoors.
Solid wood
The most traditional, and the most work to keep. Best in a sheltered opening, with a finish kept up.
Sidelights, transoms and sliders
Glass beside and above the door, and sliding patio doors, set on the same pitched sill pan.
On the custom home we are building in Edgewater, the entry door is a Therma-Tru in matte black and the sliding doors on the river side are Andersen. The new house in Wyckoff has wide sliding doors onto a paver patio. Both are on our new construction page.
Keep the entrance. Fix what is behind it.
On center-hall colonials and other older houses across the county, the front entrance is more than the door: a portico, a fanlight, pilasters and a surround that set the proportions of the whole front. Those are repaired or rebuilt in kind rather than replaced with a stock unit. A new door can go into an old surround, and an old door that is still sound can be rehung on a new sill.
Permits. Replacing a door in the same opening, without changing its size or framing, is ordinary maintenance under New Jersey’s code, storm doors and garage doors included: no permit, notice or inspection. Widening the opening, cutting a new one or changing the header is permit work, and so is a door in a fire-resistance rated wall. Our guide to permits for exterior work sets out the rest of the list.
Door trim and flashing tie into the wall around them, so a door replaced during a re-side gets the cleanest detail. The same goes for window replacement on the same elevation.
Do I need a permit to replace an entry door in New Jersey?
Not if the new door goes into the same opening without changing its size or framing. New Jersey's code lists that as ordinary maintenance, storm doors and garage doors included, so there is no permit, notice or inspection. Widening the opening, cutting a new one or changing the header is permit work. The one exception on the list is a door in a fire-resistance rated wall; ask the construction official before replacing one of those.
Should I repair or replace my front door?
Repair it if the door itself is sound and the trouble is the sill, the weatherstripping, the hinges or rot confined to the bottom of the frame. Replace it if the door is warped, split or delaminating, the frame has rotted through, or you want a different door, sidelights or a better-insulated unit. We look at the sill and the framing under it before saying which.
What is a sill pan and why does it matter?
It is a formed or flashed tray under the threshold, pitched to the outside, that catches any water getting past the door and sends it back out. Without one, water that gets under a threshold soaks the subfloor and the framing below, often for years before anyone sees it. We set every entry door on one.
Fiberglass, clad wood or solid wood: which entry door is best?
Fiberglass does not rot or dent easily and takes paint or stain, so it suits a door that faces the weather. Clad wood gives a wood interior with a protective exterior skin. Solid wood is the most traditional and the most work to keep: it wants a finish and an opening that is sheltered from the weather. The exposure of the opening usually decides it.
Can you repair the old entrance surround on our colonial?
Yes. On center-hall colonials and other older houses, the portico, fanlight, pilasters and surround are repaired or rebuilt in kind rather than replaced with a stock unit, so the front of the house keeps its proportions.
Do you install sliding patio doors?
Yes. Sliding doors are part of the same work, and they are on both of our current new builds: Andersen sliders facing the Hudson on the custom home in Edgewater, and wide sliding doors onto a new patio on the house in Wyckoff. They go in on the same pitched sill pan as an entry door.
Where to go next.
Windows & doors
Full-frame and insert windows, bay and bow, and sash worth restoring.
Details →Siding
The wall around the door, and the flashing that ties the two together.
Details →Decks
The door onto the deck, and the ledger and flashing below it.
Details →Fogged glass?
Moisture between panes, inside or outside: what each one means.
Read →Start with the sill, not the catalog.
Tell us the town and what the door is doing: sticking, drafty, leaking or simply worn out. We look at the opening before recommending anything.