Front door replacement quote

Hi all,

I have received a quote from a handy man

"to replace the door, install new lock and deadlock, weather strip, hinges, repair door jam, undercoat of paint on door jam it will be $568"

I asked the handy man for a cheap plain front door as the property isn't that flash, i did a quick check on bunnings and for a deadlock, hinges, weather strip and door it works outs to be $200 on retail price.

is it reasonable to charge $386 labour for i would think no more then 3 hours to allow for the job.

has anyone got quotes recently for front doors?

Cheers, Elives

 

We got a quote a year ago, but it was for a flash door and whole jamb replacement, but it was close to $3k. I thought that was way too much so declined.

I ended up repairing the existing door myself, but the replacement glass still cost $350.

 

So $200 for parts, plus markup? Call it $220 (allowing for his Bunnings trade discount)

$348 sounds a bit steep on face value (5hrs?), but what's happening with the old door and jamb? Is he leaving them at the house for you to dispose of or is he doing that? Disposal costs time and $$. So does travel time to/from your job.

You can probably get it done cheaper, but if you're happy with his quality of workmanship maybe just ask him for a better price? Nothing more expensive than a "cheap" job.

 

Bunnings in Victoria charges about $160 to install a door. They subcontract to the Grey Army.

Doesn't include delivering the door or the purchase of the door.

 

I wouldn't do it for that price.

Tools

 

A reasonable front door will set you back around $200 min (little bit of glass) - I'm with @Tools

 

Sounds reasonable to me. It might only be a few hours job but they need to allow a bit extra just in case. Also they waste a lot of time in their business just quoting jobs, you're paying for all that wasted time too.

I had a mate who did this gig for a while. He had to allocate one whole day a week just for quoting, out of 3 quotes they might get one job.

 

I think it is just for the door, hinges and basic lock install. Doesn't include jambs.

 

does he have to go out, buy the door, take it to your place, do the job and then get rid of the old door? if so it sounds ok

 

As above. I think sounds reasonable when taking into account their time spent getting materials, dumping door, and if he is recommended so will be a good quality job.

 

Sounds reasonable. Also you don't give an indication of what door he will be using. It could well be worth more than the $200 you are using for comparison.

 

Depends on the size of the job of course, but I try to avoid getting quotes where possible on smaller ones.

If you had 2 guys, A and B and kept getting them to quote stuff and A kept getting chosen, B would soon tell you to get stuffed. Better just to have guys like A on hand who have good prices and do good work and just keep reusing them.

 

It sounds reasonable to me for a decent job.
You need to know what's involved. In addition to what's mentioned above, he might need to make adjustment to the door frame, the hinges, even the door itself. He might spend 4 hrs on your door, but might spend 6 hrs on the next one. It all depends on how well the old door was put in, and how well the new one fits. It's more complicated if it's steel frame.
Btw, whilst he's at it, you might like to get him to install a weather shield to stop bugs and cold air.

 

You're a PM though and you have a good practical sense of what needs to be done. Most people have no idea. Like I said with my mate he would waste a lot of time quoting, someone would tell him on the phone it's an easy job and would only take 2 hours, he would go out to look and it's a full days work.

 

It really does not matter what we think.

Unless you can do the job yourself, then you have to pay someone.

If not happy with the quote, get another. Or more.

We had a small tiling job done not so long ago. Rang 6-7 tilers but could only get one to actually come and quote. Everyone else was booked up for months. We felt the quote was higher than it should be, but wanted the job done so paid up. The tiler did it on his weekend off!
Marg

 

very wise advice. takes time to build up that relationship with key trades though and the experience to pick a gem instead of a lemon

 

is't a plain door (which are cheapest) it's not a feature door. i did ask he said the door was $90. which sounds about right.

 

$200 was what i found of bunnings thats why i said "retail price" yea he would get trade discount. i've asked him if the quote includes removal of old door will be interesting to see what he says.

 

Poor handy man has to justify where every dollar of profit goes.

 

i'm asking him if he's taking the old door with him..