Considering glass front doors but not sure on the what the front door replacement cost will be? What about changing the door glass size with door glass inserts? Sharing about our 3/4 lite glass exterior doors and the process we considered when wanting a larger front door glass insert installed.
The backstory on having low light issues with frosted glass front doors.
When we moved in to this house, I knew pretty early on that something had to be done about our original glass front doors. They provided no light into our foyer, which is such a cool space with the circle staircase. Or, I knew it could be such a cool space with more light.
Pretty early on in our home journey, I took off the storm doors (below) to see if that helped bring more light in to the foyer. Another reason for doing this was that the storm doors just added more bulk and ugliness to the front porch.
A few years after that, I set out to make some changes to both the foyer area and the front doors. On the top of my list was to have our wooden front doors with glass updated by replacing the front door glass inserts. Another problem that I wanted to address was that someone installed the door hardware unaligned with each other.
On top of those problems, in the summer months, the wood doors would stick together and be extremely difficult to pull apart. In the winter months, you can feel air coming through the doors.
I was hopeful still, that the wood doors could be salvaged but I wasn’t sure.
Let me just give you the beautiful visual so you can understand. LOL
Original Exterior Doors with Glass
As you can see, the doors were dated and a bit rough looking in a few different ways. The door window panes were higher-end, back in the day, but definitely not our style. The glass panels were in good shape but they blocked all light in the foyer.
To help determine what our best course of action was on the exterior glass doors, we had a recommended custom door and millwork company come out to talk through the issues, what we wanted and all of our options.
From them, we learned that the double “exterior doors” themselves also had problems. The chipping on the bottom could be fixed but, hilariously enough, the “exterior doors” weren’t actually exterior doors. Someone, at sometime, had installed interior doors (on accident?) as our double front entry doors.
Some of those issues could have been fixed completely and some could have been fixed with “band-aids”. You know, fixing for the time, being but not really fixing the problem.
After weighing our options, we ultimately decided that a front door glass replacement wasn’t going to be the way to go for us. It was going to be around $450 (2017 pricing) to get the front door glass installed and enlarged but then we had all the other issues to address. It just didn’t make sense to proceed forward with the old doors.
But, just because it wasn’t the right option for us in this situation, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t consider it.
Is Exterior Door Glass Replacement Worth It?
Yes. If you are replacing cracked or broken glass, there are door glass replacement kits you can order. We weren’t going to go this route from the start because we don’t know what we are doing and felt like this was outside of our skillset.
You can also just have a door and glass company come out to replace the window panes in the doors themselves.
If you want to add glass to a front door or change the glass panel size (like going from a small window pane to a 3/4 glass door), this is definitely doable for a millwork and door company.
Front Door Glass Replacement Cost
I was quoted $150 for the glass for 3/4 glass doors. That would have been the price for the window pane (not including labor) on my original doors (again, this was in 2017).
For pricing comparisons, I’m in Missouri. The labor for cutting a larger window hole in my door, installing the 3/4 glass pane and the finish work was going to be around $300 (this price doesn’t include painting or staining).
I’d say $450 is a good baseline for a double front door glass replacement project. If you wanted a full glass front door made out of an existing front door, your price in glass would go up a bit but I don’t imagine it would be substantial.
Front Door Replacement
We decided to bite the bullet and buy pre-hung, new glass front doors. It’s something that had been on our list as an upgrade item that we’d love to do and it was just time to get it done.
In an effort to always be honest, I will say that I did not price compare for this project. I knew what I wanted, I knew I liked the customer service that was provided and the company I went with was local and has been in the business a long time.
We had used a big box store last year when we had to replace our patio door and it was not a good experience so we were looking to go a different route. So, all of that is to say, use this as a guide and go from there!
Pricing For Glass Exterior Doors
The look of the 3/4 lite glass in the estimate is different than what we have, but it’s just because the trim that I wanted didn’t have a stock image.
Total Glass Front Doors Cost – $2,155.47
- Fiberglass, pre-hung, exterior doors with glass were $1255.47
- Hiring out painting double doors was $400
- Hiring out glass front door install was $500
Is it worth it to replace a front door?
Yes, especially if you are leaking heating/cooling and have other issues that can’t be fixed by updating.
I’d honestly say yes just based on the way our glass entry doors look from the outside and the inside. They allow so much more light in to our foyer. I’m so thrilled that we did this project.
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One potential negative of a front door with glass
Our home is situated on the top of a small hill, away from the street. So, privacy of a front door with glass is not a problem for us. That being said, when the door rings, it’s pretty visible from most spaces in our home so there’s no hiding from anyone who is at the door.
If we lived on a busy street and our door was in direct eyesight of the street, I might not love having a glass front door. If you are considering door options, I would take that into account as well as whether or not you have an entryway that is hidden from your other spaces.
I hope this learning about the cost differences and details for full front door replacement versus just replacing the door glass was helpful for you.
I want to share a few other pricing breakdowns that you might be interested in. I love sharing price quotes and details because I find that that type of information is so hard to to find.
- Cost to Enlarge Windows
- Cost to Add an Egress Window
- Drywall Installation Cost
- Cost for New Gutters
- Cost to Replace Kitchen Cabinet Doors and the DRASTIC change it made to our space
I love your new doors! Is the color the same as the cabinets in your kitchen? I want to upgrade my front door – it just updates the whole house! Are you worried about privacy with the larger, clear windows? Thank you for sharing all of your information and process!!!!!!!
Thanks Jessica! Yes, the color is the same – Cracked Pepper By Behr. We really love the color so decided to just use it again. So, we aren’t worried about the privacy. My thought on this: We live on a hill so we are a bit further back from the street. HOWEVER, even in our circle drive which is right in front of the door… you can’t see in. We face north so I don’t know if that’s it or what but there’s just reflection when you are trying to see in. Now, anyone that comes to the front door will be able to see in of course, but we love it!
So you have a link to a door that is remotely close to price on what you spent. HD has similar for for like 4k! Where did you get it from?
A custom local millwork company. If you cut out the big box stores.. you tend to see a better value for the price.
I just wanted to drop in to say thank you for posting actual costs and numbers! All too often bloggers only show the end result and we as readers don’t really know how much it costs. Having numbers is just so amazingly helpful and feels so honest and genuine. So thank you!
Thanks so much for your comment! I really try to be helpful and have found that this information is hard to find. So, I so appreciate you taking the time to comment!
Looks awesome!! I am having a hard time finding these doors. Can you provide the store you got it from, maybe they ship.
Missouri Millwork in Springfield, MO. =) Good luck!
This makes me happy! The house we are buying is fairly new and the door is in good shape so replacing the glass would be the way to go for us! Thank you for this post, I showed it to my husband and I think he’s finally on board with my ideas!
yay! Happy for you! My hubby takes awhile to come around too but it’s always a good thing when we are on board with something together.
I nerver even though of this. And it looks so good.
Thanks Julia! It wanted to do it years ago but couldn’t figure out who I needed to talk to about the glass replacement. I finally just called around and I’m so glad I did.
You made a great choice, Ashely! Those doors are gorgeous. 🙂
Thanks Robin! I’m so in love with the brightness they bring to the space.
Wow… what an amazing collection of doors. All are awesome.
What an amazing change, I love the new color and the size and look of those windows. The light in your home must be amazing!
Hey Ashley,
Such an amazing collection of doors you have. Thanks a ton for sharing.
Ashley what a difference! I want to replace my front door also. I call them church confessional doors from the 70’s. Definitely need to start pricing them out. Love the look of the double doors and the color matches your style perfectly. Hope you get your paint issues resolved. Maybe he needs to use a sprayer to avoid the streaking?
Thanks Michelle! They actually sprayed them the first time around but the humidity levels were super high so they came out and brushed the last coat on. Fixed though!!
Do you ever miss having a screen door? This is my hesitation with our current dark double door situation. It would be so nice to leave the doors open and not let bugs in or babies out! Do you have a pocket screen perhaps?
We don’t but we aren’t screen type people much. My husband and little boy both have pretty serious seasonal allergies. I know that doesn’t help much!
Thanks for the tips for replacing the front door. I like how you said that replacing the glass in the door is viable option, if the door is in good shape. Our door is pretty beat up, so I think that we’ll have to get a whole replacement.
Hi Ashley, thanks for sharing this information as well as the awesome images. We are going to have a renovation before the wedding. And I have also suggested that we must include custom doors. Cheers!
I’m sorry if this question was asked and I didn’t see it, but wondering if you know what color are your new front doors? I know you purchased them new so you probably didn’t have to paint them but do you happen to have the specific color? Thanks
Hi Cali,
It’s cracked pepper by Behr! I used the same color in my kitchen and just loved it!
I just came across your site because my husband and I bought our first house and I have LOTS of ideas but absolutely zero idea or reference points for costs of things. Anyway, so wanted to swing by and say I find your posts super helpful and informative—so thanks!
Hi Cate,
First off, congrats!! A house is so exciting. So happy you’ve found me and said hi.
Providing prices is great; however without a date to your post, the prices are potentially obsolete. February 18, 2022–with a year of historical inflation—$2,200 is now probably $3,000. Just sayin’…