Is your home in need of a new front door? If you’re looking at your entryway and thinking you need an upgrade, a modern entry door would be a definite benefit. You’ll enjoy the beautiful, contemporary door styles and the latest features that make your home’s entrance inviting, safe, and long-lasting.
But should you double down on refreshing your front door by installing it yourself? Well, once you consider all the many door installation problems and mishaps that can arise when you attempt a DIY door replacement, you’ll see why hiring a pro can save you time, money, and ongoing problems.
What You Don’t Know About Door Installation Can Hurt You
Installing a new door can seem like an easy DIY project—until you get started. Unfortunately, if you’re not experienced with installing doors, you could end up with a multitude of problems that make your home more prone to damage, safety issues, moisture leaks, and more. Here’s why.
1. Not Having the Right Tools
You might think all it takes to hang a door is a screwdriver and a level, but pro installers have several specialized tools to ensure the door hangs snugly and works properly. You’ll also need items like a pry bar, razor knife, sill pan flashing kit, a drill, plenty of caulk, paint and primer.
Buying tools gets expensive, of course, so you can count on spending more money (and time at the hardware store) to get the missing tools you need to do the job. And some of these tools, you’ll rarely (or never) use again.
2. Insufficient Time or Manpower
There are two types of door units you’ll come across:
Slab doors are only a sheet of wood, metal or fiberglass. They don’t include holes, handles, knobs, hinges or other fixtures. You’ll need time (and carpentry knowledge) to install the fixtures.
Pre-hung doors come ready for installation, with fixtures already in place. Even the door frame is attached. While pre-hung doors are handy, they are also quite heavy. You’ll need help to move them, hold them up, and install them.
You can count on the process taking longer than you expect, because all DIY jobs take longer than planned. Things go wrong, and you’ll spend a lot more time than a pro who does this every day.
3. Failure to Properly Level the Door
There are two ways to level a door—horizontally and vertically. And you need to do both with precision, as this is what ensures the door opens and closes easily and snugly. If you don’t do this just right, you might experience:
- Loss of energy efficiency (even voiding the door’s Energy Star® rating!)
- Difficulty opening and closing the door
- Misaligned lock mechanisms that are hard to lock or unlock
- Gaps that allow in air and bugs
4. Incorrect Placement of Door Elements
A door can appear to be a simple fixture—but it actually has several parts that all must work together properly for it to function smoothly. Many steps have to happen just right during the installation, and because expert installers do this all the time, it’s simple for them.
It’s not so simple for DIY-ers who may install shims backwards, use the wrong screws, put the hinges in wrong, misalign the locking mechanism, and so on. All these missteps must be fixed, which can mean undoing everything you’ve just done and needing to start over.
5. Overlooked Repairs
Often, older homes can hide sneaky damage to structural elements. Wood rot and other signs of moisture damage may lurk in and around your door frame—but you might not notice it if you don’t know what you’re looking for.
Other issues that can remain hidden when do-it-yourselfers miss them include pest infestations (termites, ants, powderpost beetles, etc.), mildew, mold, and more. Pros are trained to spot issues and address them before installing a new door, protecting your home long-term.
6. Risk of Causing Damage
Because doors are large, unwieldy and often heavy, they can be difficult to safely maneuver. Problems can occur when you remove the existing door during the new installation of the new door.
You can end up dropping the door against the wall or door frame, breaking them. You might even drop the door on your foot or hand, requiring a trip to the doctor.
7. Improper Caulking & Sealing
To ensure your new door properly keeps your home insulated and efficient, it must be installed snugly and caulked correctly. What a lot of DIY homeowners miss is that specialty caulking is required, or you won’t get the insulating value you should have.
Installing the caulk correctly is not always easy, but it’s necessary to prevent drafts. So is the proper placement of window tape on the bottom door seal. These little details are painstaking and best performed by pros.
8. Impeded Security and Lowered Curb Appeal
The bottom line is that your door should look great to your guests, as well as deter break-ins. When your front door isn’t installed properly, it simply will not look as attractive as it could. And it’ll be easier for thieves to take advantage of locks that don’t perform optimally.
Why do that to yourself? Pro installation ensures you get exactly the beauty and security you deserve for your home.
Pro Door Installation from Our Team Makes Your Life Easier
Why put your home at risk of all these problems when calling on experts can simplify your door installation and put your mind at ease?
At Beissel Window & Siding, we use our 70+ years of experience and knowledge to match your architecture and goals with the best door for your home. We’ll make the process easy so you can enjoy a beautiful, transformed entryway.
Contact us for a free consultation for your door installation today.
