We speak as professional DIYers *irony*: >We are currently in the learning phase where everything always ends up being much more expensive than expected, and online research doesn’t necessarily provide realistic prices – or does it?
“Problem”: We probably underestimated the cost for interior doors, at least if we want to buy them locally in stores instead of online. The dimensions are standard, 3 times 198.5x86 cm (78.1x33.9 inches) and 2 times 198.5x73 cm (78.1x28.7 inches).
The current doors are 22 years old, still in good condition apart from the door handles, but they have an orange tint that we don’t like visually. The existing laminate flooring (also brownish-orange) matches the doors but probably no longer fits our idea of a new floor.
The owner once suggested the idea of only replacing the door panels, but then the frames would not match the color of the doors anymore, right? We want white door panels or doors in a light wood finish.
Anyway, based on some online research, we thought that for about 120 euros (around $130), you could definitely get good door panels, especially since there are appealing doors online for around 70 euros (about $75) at first glance.
In a local specialist store, we nearly had a heart attack, as even the simplest white doors including the frame and handle barely cost less than 500 euros (about $540).
Or were we simply looking in an overpriced store?
We cannot replace frames ourselves. We have a trained carpenter among our acquaintances who once agreed to help us. We initially thought that replacing 5 door frames, door panels, and handles would take about 2 hours? Probably another miscalculation?
If we were to have the doors fully installed by a professional, based on your experience, what would be a rough estimate for 5 doors?
We originally didn’t want to order online because we thought: the doors might not fit afterward, complaints and returns might be much more complicated than buying locally, sometimes extremely high shipping costs, etc. But since these are basically standard sizes, given the local prices and our miscalculation, we are now uncertain whether we should consider ordering doors, frames, and so on online after all?
“Problem”: We probably underestimated the cost for interior doors, at least if we want to buy them locally in stores instead of online. The dimensions are standard, 3 times 198.5x86 cm (78.1x33.9 inches) and 2 times 198.5x73 cm (78.1x28.7 inches).
The current doors are 22 years old, still in good condition apart from the door handles, but they have an orange tint that we don’t like visually. The existing laminate flooring (also brownish-orange) matches the doors but probably no longer fits our idea of a new floor.
The owner once suggested the idea of only replacing the door panels, but then the frames would not match the color of the doors anymore, right? We want white door panels or doors in a light wood finish.
Anyway, based on some online research, we thought that for about 120 euros (around $130), you could definitely get good door panels, especially since there are appealing doors online for around 70 euros (about $75) at first glance.
In a local specialist store, we nearly had a heart attack, as even the simplest white doors including the frame and handle barely cost less than 500 euros (about $540).
Or were we simply looking in an overpriced store?
We cannot replace frames ourselves. We have a trained carpenter among our acquaintances who once agreed to help us. We initially thought that replacing 5 door frames, door panels, and handles would take about 2 hours? Probably another miscalculation?
If we were to have the doors fully installed by a professional, based on your experience, what would be a rough estimate for 5 doors?
We originally didn’t want to order online because we thought: the doors might not fit afterward, complaints and returns might be much more complicated than buying locally, sometimes extremely high shipping costs, etc. But since these are basically standard sizes, given the local prices and our miscalculation, we are now uncertain whether we should consider ordering doors, frames, and so on online after all?
Lucy Westenraa schrieb:
I just looked up experiences with Meister Portas [...] Apparently, you can expect to pay around €150 or more per door leaf and per renovationAs mentioned, they probably have several competitors by now; and many surfaces are laminated these days. I can easily imagine that one of the local carpenters now also offers re-laminations.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
We will inquire about this, but if a new door leaf itself typically costs around 100-150 euros, the effort of re-laminating for even 75 euros hardly seems worthwhile. Maybe I’m miscalculating; for a very high-quality door that originally cost 500 euros or significantly more, it certainly makes sense. However, the doors currently installed are at best mid-range in price.
I’m following [USER=32530]@Nordlys’s suggestion.
Whether using an orbital sander or not, doing the painting and varnishing yourself is part of cost-effective renovation and modernization, whether it’s wood or a plastered wall.
When it comes to doors, it’s a good practice. If you sand by hand, use a primer, remove the door from its hinges to work on it, and apply the paint with a roller in one direction, by the second door you’ll have gained experience, so the rest can even be enjoyable. Eventually, the kitchen doors, windows, and so on on the ground floor will get a fresh coat of paint every two years.
I would start by pre-painting the edges with a brush... but you can easily watch how to do this on YouTube.
Cost estimate for one door: 5€!
Go ahead, you’re already in renovation mode—what you save can be spent on your parquet flooring.
Best regards, Yvonne
Whether using an orbital sander or not, doing the painting and varnishing yourself is part of cost-effective renovation and modernization, whether it’s wood or a plastered wall.
When it comes to doors, it’s a good practice. If you sand by hand, use a primer, remove the door from its hinges to work on it, and apply the paint with a roller in one direction, by the second door you’ll have gained experience, so the rest can even be enjoyable. Eventually, the kitchen doors, windows, and so on on the ground floor will get a fresh coat of paint every two years.
I would start by pre-painting the edges with a brush... but you can easily watch how to do this on YouTube.
Cost estimate for one door: 5€!
Go ahead, you’re already in renovation mode—what you save can be spent on your parquet flooring.
Best regards, Yvonne
...at first, I only thought about saving the door frames and repainting them. The door panels themselves are not that expensive. Door frames can be costly, especially because of labor. And replacing door frames also creates a lot of mess. However, one thing is true: painting a door panel is not complicated, as long as you’re not in a hurry. The steps involved are all fairly straightforward, just requiring careful attention. By the way, if you need to sand inside, you can reduce the dust problem quite well by using 300-grit wet sanding paper.
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