Free in-home measure and quote - PGT, CGI and CWS impact lines compared on your actual openings, style by style
Sliding glass doors
Impact garage doorsPGTCGI
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Door Installation Across East Palo Alto
Door installation in East Palo Alto costs $850-$4,200 for a standard entry or swing door, and most jobs are completed in one visit. That range covers the door itself, hardware, trim, and the frame correction work that older East Palo Alto homes routinely require. Call (888) 635-0804 for a written line-item quote. We work throughout East Palo Alto, from Weeks to University Avenue, and we know what these 1940s-1960s houses demand before the first screw comes out.
We’re TruePane Windows & Doors. Dale Kessler founded the company in 2008, but the craft behind it runs many years deep in the Bay Area. We’re the crew East Palo Alto homeowners call when a door binds, a threshold corrodes, or a frame has gone out of plumb on Bay fill. We answer the phone with a live person, every time.
Why TruePane Windows & Doors Is East Palo Alto’s Preferred Door Installation Company
We earn East Palo Alto’s trust one opening at a time. This is not a market where a straight door swap works. The soil moves. The salt air eats hardware. The framing in a 1950s Weeks neighborhood ranch has opinions. We measure every rough opening twice, check plumb on both jambs and the header, and we quote the door and the correction together on paper, so there is no second bill showing up later.
Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed. They work in your home the way they would work in their own mother’s. Every job carries the Done Right Promise and The Keystone Standard: both manufacturer warranty layers registered in writing, durations stated, before the truck leaves your driveway. If the pane is not true, the job is not done. That rule comes straight from Dale Kessler’s whiteboard, and it governs every door we set in East Palo Alto.
We are an authorized installer for more than a dozen manufacturer lines, including. When we quote, we put manufacturer lines side by side on the page so you see exactly what you are buying and what the warranty actually covers. No fine print. No arguing later. A live person answers our phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That matters in East Palo Alto, where homeowners have been burned before by contractors who stopped answering after the check cleared.
Door Installation is not a sideline for us. It is the craft. And we plan to be answering the phone in East Palo Alto thirty years from now.
Our Door Installation Services in East Palo Alto
We install, replace, and service residential doors across East Palo Alto. Here is what that looks like in practice on the streets we know.
Entry & Swing Doors
Most East Palo Alto homes carry the original hollow-core entry door from the 1950s or 1960s. Those doors were never designed for Bay salt air. The hinges pit, the threshold corrodes, and the slab sags until it catches on the jamb. We replace them with solid-core or engineered wood doors, stainless hinges, and a properly flashed sill pan. A new entry door in East Palo Alto typically runs $1,200-$3,400, including frame correction.
Double & French Doors
French doors on Bay fill require more than a wider rough opening. The two jamb legs need to carry the load, and on Weeks and University Avenue properties, the header often needs shimming to bring both openings into a single plane. We set French doors on fill soils with reinforced thresholds and fusion-welded frames that will not rack when the ground settles another quarter inch. Budget $2,800-$6,500 for a proper East Palo Alto French door installation, depending on glass package and hardware.
Bifold & Folding Doors
Bifold doors are common on East Palo Alto back patios where owners want the Bay breeze moving through in the evening. They are also the most sensitive to a racked opening, because a half-inch out of plumb turns into a 2-inch gap across four panels. We correct the opening first, then hang the panels. No forcing, no shaving the door to fit the mistake.
Pivot Doors
Pivot doors are heavy. On East Palo Alto’s fill soils, that weight placed on an undersized header is a callback waiting to happen. We size the structural header for the door’s actual weight, not the manufacturer minimum, and we set the pivot point on a reinforced base. Pivot doors in East Palo Alto run $3,500-$9,000 installed, and the framing is why. This is the one door where cutting corners on structure costs more than the door itself.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in East Palo Alto
We are an authorized installer for manufacturer lines that hold up to Bay conditions. For East Palo Alto’s salt air and morning fog, we frequently quote PGT impact-rated doors, Milgard frames with marine-grade finishes, and CGI for homeowners who want the strongest threshold assembly on the market. We also work with CWS when a custom size or historic profile is needed. We quote these lines side by side so you can compare glass packages, frame materials, and warranty durations like a tradesperson, not a customer reading a brochure.
Common Door Installation Problems We See in East Palo Alto Homes
- Racked rough openings from Bay fill settling. A 1950s ranch in Weeks can be 1-2 inches out of plumb at the header. A straight swap means the new slab will not latch, seal, or close square. We pull casing, reframe the header, and shim before we set the new door.
- Corroded thresholds and hinges from marine air. Properties east of Highway 101 sit close enough to the Bay that salt-laden fog works on aluminum and interior-grade steel year-round. We use stainless hinges, aluminum or composite thresholds, and flashing tape on every jam leg.
- Fogged decorative glass panels in older doors. East Palo Alto’s morning fog finds every failed seal on a 1960s door insert. We replace the panel with dual-pane Low-E glass and argon fill, and we register the seal warranty in writing.
- Heavy doors sagging on undersized headers. We see this most with French and pivot doors added during the investor renovations that have moved through the city. When the header is undersized, the frame flexes and the sashes misalign. We reframe before we rehang.
Pricing for Door Installation in East Palo Alto, CA
Here is what East Palo Alto homeowners can expect, in writing, before work starts.
| Door Type | Typical Range (East Palo Alto) |
|---|---|
| Entry / Swing Door | $1,200 - $3,400 |
| Double / French Doors | $2,800 - $6,500 |
| Bifold / Folding Doors | $2,200 - $5,800 |
| Pivot Doors | $3,500 - $9,000 |
Fill-soil frame correction adds $350-$1,200 depending on how far out of plumb the opening has moved. Stainless hardware upgrades run $150-$450. Every quote from us is a written line-item price, not an estimate that moves. Most jobs are completed in a single visit. We also hold standing offers: a free written repair estimate, a maintenance check, and a permanent 5% discount for seniors and veterans. Call (888) 635-0804 for your free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near East Palo Alto
TruePane Windows & Doors serves East Palo Alto and the surrounding communities, including Parkway, Arden-Arcade, Ladera Heights, and Commerce. If you are just over the city line and dealing with the same Bay fill and salt air, we will come measure your openings the same way we do here.
Serving East Palo Alto, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the East Palo Alto area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Door Installation in East Palo Alto
Because significant portions of the Weeks and University Avenue corridors sit on Bay fill and marsh soils, and after 60 years those openings are routinely 1-2 inches out of plumb. A door installed in a racked frame will not latch, seal, or close square, no matter how good the door is. We check plumb on every jamb and the header, then correct the opening before we set the slab. Call (888) 635-0804 and we will measure yours for free.
Stainless steel hinges and composite or aluminum thresholds are the minimum for homes east of Highway 101 in East Palo Alto, where marine fog carries salt that pits interior-grade steel within two winters. We use stainless hardware on every door we set within a mile of the Bay, and we flash and tape the threshold so the sill pan drains instead of trapping moisture.
Yes. French doors place load on both jamb legs, and pivot doors concentrate weight at a single point. On compressible fill, an undersized header will flex and the sashes will misalign, often within the first year. We size headers for the actual door weight, not the manufacturer minimum, and we reinforce the pivot base. That is why a proper pivot door in East Palo Alto starts around $3,500, while a straight swap quote elsewhere might come in lower and fail sooner.
Moisture inside the glass means the seal has failed and the desiccant inside the insulated glass unit is saturated. East Palo Alto’s morning fog produces condensation on the coldest surface in the room, and a failed door panel is often the first place it appears. We replace the panel with dual-pane Low-E glass and argon fill, and we register the seal warranty in writing under The Keystone Standard. Call (888) 635-0804 for a panel quote.
Yes. We install custom and arched doors in older East Palo Alto homes, and we can match the original 1950s profile, lite pattern, and hardware escutcheon while upgrading the glass package to low-emissivity coated dual-pane with argon fill. We quote the custom profile side by side with a stock option so you can see the cost difference before you decide. Estimates are free.
Written by Dale Kessler, Owner at TruePane Windows & Doors, serving East Palo Alto since 2008 and the Bay Area since 2008.