8 min read · Published
Front doors are the most-touched, most-seen, most-judged surface of a home. They're also one of the most variable handyman jobs in price — a hardware swap is a 20-minute call; a full pre-hung exterior replacement is a half-day job that needs trim work, threshold sealing, and careful weatherproofing afterward. Here are real 2026 cost ranges for the Rockwall area.
These are labor-only ranges. The door itself is separate: a basic steel pre-hung from the big-box runs $200-$600; mid-grade fiberglass $500-$1,200; solid wood or custom $1,000-$3,000+. We normally have you supply the door so you choose the look and price you want, then we handle the install.
This is the biggest single decision. Slab replacement (door alone) is faster and cheaper — we pull the old slab off the existing hinges, drill new mortises if needed, hang the new slab, check the latch alignment, and trim work doesn't usually need to change. Pre-hung is a much bigger job — we have to remove the entire frame, re-cut interior trim, plumb the new frame in the rough opening, shim, secure, re-trim the exterior, caulk and seal the threshold properly.
The decision usually isn't yours to make: if your existing frame is rotted at the bottom, has soft wood from years of weather, or is out of square, slab-only will leave you with the same problem next year. Pre-hung is the right call for a long-term fix.
Standard 36×80 single doors are the base case. Add cost for:
We see this most in Rockwall-area homes built in the 80s-90s: the bottom of the doorjamb is soft from decades of rain blowing under the door. If the frame is rotted, slab-only is a non-starter — we'd be hanging a beautiful new door on a frame that won't last another five years. We have to do pre-hung at that point, and the labor cost reflects it.
Other common frame issues that drive up cost: hinge mortises chewed out by hardware swaps over the years, strike-plate area gone spongy, jamb out of plumb (visible as a tapered light gap when the door is closed).
Pre-hung doors often come with builder-grade hardware. If you want to upgrade to a real deadbolt or smart lock at install time, we do it on the same visit — that's much cheaper than the second-trip version. Budget another $150-$400 for hardware itself (Schlage BE489 / Yale Assure / Kwikset Halo are good mid-range smart-lock choices for around $200).
A "complete" front door install includes:
Skipping any of these saves money short-term and costs money long-term — a poorly sealed exterior door is a heat-bill drain and a path for water damage.
A storm door over your main door costs $325-$475 in labor plus $200-$600 for the unit. Storm doors look polarizing — some people love them for the screened-airflow option and the extra layer of weather protection; others find them ugly. Up to you. We install whichever way you decide.
Text us a few photos to (469) 721-0145: one wide shot of the door from outside, one from inside showing the jamb and trim, one close-up of the bottom corner of the frame (we look for rot here). If you've picked the door you want, send a link. We'll get back with a written quote within a couple of hours during business hours.
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Hardware swap (lockset, deadbolt, handle) on the existing door — typically starts around $299 and is usually same-visit. Smart-lock installs are similar. A fresh paint + new hardware combo lands around $475-$650 and reads as "new door" from the street.
A pre-hung door comes attached to a new frame; a slab is just the door itself, installed into your existing frame. Pre-hung is more work (the frame has to fit the rough opening, exterior trim has to be re-cut and caulked) but gives you a fresh threshold and weatherstripping. Slab is faster and cheaper but only works if your existing frame is square and undamaged.
Yes — solid-core or solid-wood doors with quality deadbolts noticeably improve security. We can swap the slab into your existing frame in most cases. Anything beyond that (steel reinforcement plates, security cameras integrated into the door) goes to a security specialist.
Yes. We install Yale, Schlage, August, Kwikset and most major smart locks. The install itself is straightforward; the harder part is matching backset measurement (2-3/8" vs 2-3/4") and bolt throw to your existing door bore. We confirm both before bringing the unit.
Hardware swaps and slab replacements (into a square existing frame) are doable for an experienced DIYer with a Saturday. Pre-hung installs are technically possible but they're the unforgiving job in this category — a pre-hung that's not plumb means a door that doesn't close right or a gap that lets weather in for the next decade. Hire those out.
Call or text for a fast, free quote — most small jobs get scheduled the same week.