Trim & Finish Carpentry
Interior Door Installation
The short answer
Replacing interior doors is one of the most cost-effective updates in an older Calgary home, because hollow-core flat doors are strongly associated with the era they were installed. The critical skill is hanging a door square in an opening that is not — settled and out-of-plumb openings are the norm rather than the exception, and how that is handled decides whether a door swings true and latches cleanly.
Part of our Trim Carpentry service.
Slab or pre-hung
There are two ways to replace an interior door and the right choice depends on the condition of the existing jamb.
A slab replacement reuses the existing jamb and hardware locations. The new door is cut to size, mortised for hinges, bored for the handle set and hung. It is less disruptive, keeps the existing casing intact, and is the right call when the jamb is square, undamaged and the casing is staying.
A pre-hung door arrives already hung in a new jamb. The old jamb and casing come out, the new unit is set plumb and level in the rough opening, shimmed and fastened, then re-cased. It costs more and creates more work, but it is the only real option when the existing jamb is damaged, badly out of plumb, or when the casing is being upgraded anyway.
In practice, on a whole-house door replacement where trim is also being upgraded, pre-hung is usually the better value despite the higher unit cost — because the labour to make old jambs work well can exceed the saving.
Get a free quote for door installation
We measure, draw and provide a fixed written price — no cost, no obligation.
Door types we install
- Hinged interior doors
- The standard swing door in solid-core or hollow-core. Solid-core costs more and is dramatically better for sound isolation — worth it for bedrooms, bathrooms and home offices.
- Barn doors
- Surface-mounted on a track. Useful where a swing door has nowhere to go. They do not seal, so they are poor for bathrooms and any room needing sound privacy. The track needs solid backing across its full span.
- Pocket doors
- Slide into a wall cavity, saving the full swing area. Excellent where space is tight, but installation requires opening the wall and the cavity cannot contain services or be a load-bearing element without engineering.
- Double and French doors
- Paired doors for a wide opening. Alignment between the two leaves is the demanding part.
- Bifold and closet doors
- Folding or sliding closet closures. Often the cheapest visible element in a house and one of the easiest to upgrade.
- Cased openings
- Removing a door entirely and finishing the opening with jamb and casing. Frequently the best answer for doorways that never get closed.
Answers
Frequently asked questions
- Can I just replace the door slab and keep my existing frames?
- Often yes, provided the existing jamb is square, sound and staying. The new slab is cut to fit, mortised for hinges and bored for hardware. If the jamb is damaged, badly out of plumb, or if you are upgrading the casing anyway, a pre-hung unit gives a better result.
- How much do interior doors cost to install?
- The main variables are whether you are fitting slabs or pre-hung units, the door specification — hollow-core, solid-core, panelled, glazed — and whether casing is being replaced at the same time. Slab replacement is less per door but is only viable with good existing jambs. We quote per opening after inspecting the frames.
- Are barn doors a good idea?
- They are excellent where a swing door has nowhere to go, and they look good. They are a poor choice for bathrooms and any room needing sound privacy, because they do not seal against a jamb. They also need solid backing across the full track span and clear wall for the door to slide onto.
- Can you install a pocket door in an existing wall?
- Yes, but it requires opening the wall to install the pocket frame, and the wall cavity must be free of electrical, plumbing and ductwork. It cannot be done in a load-bearing wall without proper structural provision. We assess what is inside the wall before committing, since services in the cavity are the most common reason a pocket door is not feasible.
- My doors stick and will not latch. Can that be fixed without replacing them?
- Usually. Sticking doors are typically a hinge, strike-plate or jamb alignment issue caused by seasonal movement or settlement, and adjustment or re-shimming resolves most cases. Occasionally the door itself has warped, which does require replacement. We will diagnose before recommending new doors.
Why homeowners choose us
Careful work, honestly quoted.
We would rather talk you out of the wrong project than sell you one. Everything below is something you can hold us to.
Fixed written quotes
You get a drawing and a fixed price before anything is built — not an hourly estimate that moves.
Built for this climate
Material and joinery chosen for Calgary’s dry winters, so joints stay closed when the humidity drops.
Shop-built, site-scribed
Components made in a controlled shop, then scribed to your actual walls rather than trimmed to hide gaps.
One point of contact
The person who measures your space is the person accountable for the finished work.
Where we work
Calgary Carpentry serves Calgary and the surrounding communities.
Thinking about door installation?
Send a few details and we will come and measure. Free, no obligation, and a fixed written price.