Sliding Glass Door Replacement

[RWebb]

How much should it cost, or how many hours should it take, to replace a sliding glass door?

This is a std. size door and they need to carry the new one down a flight of stairs outside - must be 30 steps, so they take some extra breakage risk.

By replace, I mean swap the doors, dispose of the old one, and trim the thing out with decent weatherproofing included subject to E* guidelines. I am just interested in the labor cost (time).

Thx for your help.

[dennis in se pa]

It might take a whole day. Often the framing for 1 exterior door does not suit for another. I don't think it should take more than 8 hours to complete. Maybe 4 if they get lucky.

[notfarnow]

Our sliding door cost us about 170k over 3 years.

See, if you stepped on the plate, it was a bit soft, and once the door was out you could have taken the sill out with a serving spoon. So the deck had to come off to do 24' of sill. Well, no use putting the deck on if we know we need to do drain tile. And if the backhoe is there, it only makes sense to replace the cracked foundation wall on the garage. But if they're pouring concrete anyway...

[Stonestreet]

A growing part of my business is window and door installation for a couple nice window manufacturers out of Canada. If I was sending my guys I'd have two there for the whole day for $1200.00

I'm in Toronto, Canada so it might be a bit cheaper where you are.

[look 171]

1000-1500 depending how much they have to do after the door is in place. finishing to match existing is a butt kicker (stucco, wood siding and painting?). It take lots of time and it doesn't seem like anything is being done.

[RWebb]

Thx - is the 8 hours total man-hours? Or is 8 hours of clock time for 2 guys (= 16 hours)?

I am trying to figure out the approx. labor cost as the proposals I am getting seem high... very high.

[dennis in se pa]

With no issues 8 hours total should be fine. Might need a helper (YOU?) to move the unit around, but other than that 1 guy can do it.

[RWebb]

Thx, I've been pricing the doors and a quality FG door (Marvin Integra) is:

"all Ultrex" - $1,461
Ultrex and bare pine interior - $1,600
Anderson ("same quality") - $1,100

for a Marvin with CVG Doug Fir (to match my trim) the price escalate rapidly for some reason - $4,100

those are retail prices for the doors only

Yet, the total price quoted by a quality contractor is $4,140 for a Milgard FG door that seems similar to the Marvin Integra. That is looking like about $3,000 in labor to me.

Another contractor quoted over $8,000 for a total - I expect that was for a $4,000 door tho, but it would still include $4k in labor.

My guess at what is going on here is that the this is a program thru the local utility to encourage energy savings by retrofitting low U doors and windows. Only about 20 contractors have qualified under the program, and I think they are taking advantage to over-charge.

I may jettison the utility program and just hire a guy who has done work on my house several times to put the door in. I won't get the rebate but would save maybe $2,000.

I can also trim the thing out myself. I'm slow but careful.

[dennis in se pa]

Think about a french or hinged door vs a slider. The rollers always go bad. Will a swinging door work? Unless you need a "designer door" I can't see them being over $1000. I got a nice wood french door at HD a few years ago for $400.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Another vote for a swinging door. We replaced our old sliding door with an Andersen patio door, huge difference. It should last longer, be cheaper, and will operate correctly long term. I can't see how you make that project last more than 8 hours, even if there is exterior siding and paint work.

My father in law is a contractor and has been installing Andersen for 20+ years, he's a huge fan because they are quality products that last, and they have excellent support. A spring inside our door latch just broke, causing the horizontal handle to droop at rest. They are mailing me a new latch mechanism, no questions asked.

Pay close attention to brands, there is a difference. Pretty sure I've heard good things about Marvin, but I believe Millguard is a big box type "contractor" grade product, i.e. crap. My first house was 40 years old with original Pella windows, they all operated smoothly and sealed well. My current house is 20 years old, every single one of the "contractor" grade windows were shot and have since been replaced by Andersen.

[NY65912]

$1500 -1800 for labor is not out of the question for a mechanic and helper if the mechanic is not the owner. Probably a little less if the mechanic is the owner. I was quoted 2K to remove an Andersen Frenchwood slider, re-frame and re-set the door.

I wound up puting in new door, did the framing and install with a buddy for $800, cost of door, and it was a better job than the contractor could ever do.

We installed a sill pan to prevent any water intrusion and used Flex Wrap around the door frame as a flashing.

[RWebb]

It has to be a slider - there is a step and a swing door will not meet code there unless I can figure out a way to rig it as an inswing.

Thx for the brand comment. I've never had a high opinion for Milgard but maybe they are trying to move up the quality ladder. I just got the retail prices on the Milgard Ultra (which is FG) and it is $1,789. The Milgard wood clad is $2,181. That is more than the mid-line Marvin Integra. huh

[MRM]

Originally Posted by RWebb

Thx, I've been pricing the doors and a quality FG door (Marvin Integra) is:

"all Ultrex" - $1,461
Ultrex and bare pine interior - $1,600
Anderson ("same quality") - $1,100

for a Marvin with CVG Doug Fir (to match my trim) the price escalate rapidly for some reason - $4,100

those are retail prices for the doors only

Yet, the total price quoted by a quality contractor is $4,140 for a Milgard FG door that seems similar to the Marvin Integra. That is looking like about $3,000 in labor to me.

Another contractor quoted over $8,000 for a total - I expect that was for a $4,000 door tho, but it would still include $4k in labor.

My guess at what is going on here is that the this is a program thru the local utility to encourage energy savings by retrofitting low U doors and windows. Only about 20 contractors have qualified under the program, and I think they are taking advantage to over-charge.

I may jettison the utility program and just hire a guy who has done work on my house several times to put the door in. I won't get the rebate but would save maybe $2,000.

I can also trim the thing out myself. I'm slow but careful.

The Andersen product you are looking at is better than the Marvin Integra product. Andersen's product is vinyl clad wood, which is superior to a fiberglass product like Integra. The advantage of Marvin is that they can custom size the window for the opening. Andersen sells only standard sizes. The standard-sized product is probably a little better than then custom-fit one, but if your opening doesn't fit, it's tough to use Andersen. The Andersen unit you're looking at will be more comparable to Millgard. If you want an inswing hinged door instead of a slider, Andersen's Frenchwood Hinged Door will run at least $2,000 but will look fantastic. It can be hinged to swing in or out with the same performance rating.

As Mike2 said, be careful to flash the rough opening. Use flexwrap and get a nice shingle-style lap over and under the building paper. leave a quarter inch between the frame and siding/stucco, fill the joint with backer rod and caulk and you'll be good for 40 years.

[RWebb]

Thanks - the Rules of the House forbid any vinyl products, so that cuts out the Anderson.

I have the info for weatherproofing wraps,

Do you have an opinion on the Milgard line?

[MRM]

Randy, you don't understand the products correctly. Andersen is a wood window, not a vinyl window. It has a vinyl cladding on it, but that is completely different than a vinyl window. It is generally considered the highest end type product out there. The classes of product are roughly vinyl, fiberglass, wood framed but aluminum clad and then wood framed but vinyl clad. There are some windows that are a complete composite material such as Fibrex and there are a few residential windows that are pure aluminum but those are more commercial. Millard is also a vinyl clad wood product.

So the Andersen product is the best one you're looking at. Millard will be about the same. I don't know why anyone would pay more for a Millgard. Either Marvin or Andersen's wood clad product is excellent. I'd pick Andersen, but I'm a bit biased.

[Stonestreet]

I've never used the Milgard windows, but their warranty covers installation, and that gives me a bit of confidence in the company. Most issues with doors and windows are due to poor installation/site conditions. That said, I couldn't recommend them since I've never installed their product.

Again, just to clarify, I never send someone without a helper, so it would be 16 man hours depending on the specifics of your house.

If you're still not sure, you could go to some of the better looking projects in your city and talk to the project manger/site super to get their take on what your options are. You might be able to find a local manufacturer of custom windows and get a really great product with the vertical grain doug fir, and also a lead on a good installer.

Cheers,

Marc

[rusnak]

I've got some sort of Scandanavian wooden triple pane doors on the deck. If I was to replace a sliding glass door that costs around a grand, I'd be tempted mightily to just do it myself.

[RWebb]

No, I don't understand the construction details. I will need to avoid any vinyl in it at all, even hidden inside, so will see what brand I can use.

It looks to me like the contractors are raising their prices (to put it mildly) because of the utilities program. $120/hr is a bit rich for a carpenter.

Thanks for your help!

[Hugh R]

Look at the energy rebates with state and fed if they still exist. When I redid my doors and windows I got something like a $250 per window/door tax credit. The qualifying ones are actually a little bit better made and you definitely notice the lack of thermal gradient as you move towards the door, or away from it.