Door Installation & Replacement in Palo Alto

Most interior doors can be replaced without a permit. There are two ways to do it:

• Slab — a new door hung in your existing frame. Cheaper, and it keeps the original trim, but the frame has to be square.
• Prehung — door and frame together. More work, but it fixes frames that are out of square and gives a clean, tight fit.

Sean looks at the opening first and tells you which one makes sense. Sometimes a sticking door doesn't need replacing at all — just a hinge or strike adjustment.

Replacing an entry door, a patio door or a French door goes through a City of Palo Alto building permit, the same as windows. Doors with glass have to meet the state energy code, and a city inspector signs off on the installation. For a retrofit in a non-historic single-family home or duplex, the permit is issued online the same day.

We pull the permit and handle the paperwork.

California's building code treats this door differently. It has to be solid wood or steel at least 1-3/8" thick, or a 20-minute fire-rated door, and it has to close on its own. A hollow interior door in that opening doesn't meet code. If yours looks like a regular bedroom door, it's worth replacing.

• Removing the old door and hauling it away
• Setting and shimming the new door or frame
• Hinges, handle, lock or deadbolt
• Trim and caulking
• Painting or staining the door and trim, if you want it

SHR Remodeling LLC · CSLB #1121642. Sean has worked in Palo Alto homes for years and is a Nextdoor Neighborhood Fave six years running.