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 Lafayette
Door installation in Lafayette runs $1,800-$6,500 for most entry, French, and custom jobs, with lead times on premium custom work running 6-14 weeks because the millwork order, not the labor, sets the calendar. We’re TruePane Windows & Doors, and we’ve been setting doors in Lafayette’s ranch homes, split-levels, and hillside custom builds long enough to know which openings will fight you and which suppliers will actually hit a date. If you live above the BART line toward Reliez Valley or along the Las Trampas ridge, call (888) 635-0804 and Dale Kessler’s crew will give you a written line-item quote before anything gets ordered.
Why TruePane Windows & Doors Is Lafayette’s Preferred Door Installation Company
Lafayette homeowners tend to keep their houses for twenty or thirty years, and they remember every contractor who left them with a door that binds in July or a fogged seal that nobody would stand behind. We work differently. Dale Kessler founded this company in 2008 on a rule that’s still on the whiteboard: if the pane is not true, the job is not done. That applies to the jamb, the threshold, the weatherstripping, and the glass package, not just the aesthetic. Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed, and they measure every opening twice before quoting. We are an authorized installer for more than a dozen manufacturer lines, including, and we register both warranty layers in writing before the truck leaves your driveway. A live person answers our phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week, not a voicemail tree. When a Lafayette homeowner calls about a door that won’t latch or a frame that’s rotted at the threshold, they talk to a person who can schedule the fix.
We also carry Free Written Repair Estimates, a maintenance check, and a permanent 5% discount for seniors and veterans. If the work’s not done right within 90 days, we make it right, no paperwork fights.
Our Door Installation Services in Lafayette
Our Door Installation team handles the full range, but three categories dominate Lafayette’s housing stock.
Entry & Swing Doors
A front door in Lafayette’s inland heat pocket is not just a first impression. It’s the first line of defense against 100°F July afternoons and fall Diablo winds. We install solid-core wood, fiberglass, and steel entry doors with correct low-SHGC glazing where the opening has sidelights or a transom. On hillside properties in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, we spec dual-pane tempered glass and intumescent seals to satisfy the permit inspector before the first inspection happens.
Double & French Doors
French doors open up the back of a ranch or split-level, but in Lafayette they also need to handle a 40°F temperature swing between morning marine air and mid-afternoon inland heat. That’s why we flash the rough opening with butyl tape, set the threshold with slope away from the house, and use multipoint locking hardware. Our installers replaced one 1970s aluminum-frame sliding patio door above Reliez Valley Road that had warped so badly in Lafayette’s heat that the jamb no longer sealed. The home got a Marvin clad-wood French door with low-E argon-filled glass, fire-rated intumescent weatherstripping, and a multipoint lock. Flashing went in before the jamb, and the door still seals tight.
Bifold & Folding Doors
Bifold doors are common on Lafayette’s 1980s-2000s hillside builds where larger openings connect living space to decks and patios. These openings often have non-standard jamb depths, so off-the-shelf panels leave gaps that violate Title 24 air leakage limits. We order the track system and panels to the exact rough opening, with roller hardware rated for the panel weight and a sill that drains properly during winter rain. If you’re weighing a French door against a bifold for a hillside opening, the bifold gives you the full wall opening but costs more and demands a better header. We’ll quote both side by side on paper so you see exactly what you’re buying.
Pivot Doors
A pivot door on a custom Lafayette home is a millwork order, not a trip to the lumberyard. We coordinate with designers and architects on custom door slabs, pivot hardware, and glass packages, and we’re candid that the lead time runs 8-14 weeks because the millwork sets the calendar. The price is fixed in writing before we order. No change orders, no surprise line items.
Storm Doors
A storm door on a Lafayette ranch can protect an older wood entry door from direct sun and rain, extending the life of the main door. We carry Ply Gem and PGT storm door lines and stock common replacement parts for Lafayette homeowners who need a closer, a sweep, or a full-door swap without waiting on a regional warehouse. Most storm door installs run a single visit.
Arched & Custom Doors
Lafayette’s colonial-revival and custom hillside homes often have arched or radius-top openings that were never standard. We template each opening, order the slab to the exact radius, and set the jamb to match the existing trim profile. This is not a one-size-fits-all product. It’s a custom order with a fixed price and a written lead time, and it gets done right the first visit or we’re back under the Done Right Promise.
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 Lafayette
We install and service doors from Andersen, Pella, Marvin, Milgard, PGT, CGI, and Ply Gem, among others. Because we stock local parts for Lafayette customers, a broken multipoint lock or a failed sweep doesn’t have to wait on a distributor’s shipping schedule. We quote manufacturer lines side by side on paper so you can compare glass packages, frame materials, and warranty durations before committing. Both warranty layers get registered in writing, with durations stated, before the truck leaves the driveway.
Common Door Installation Problems We See in Lafayette Homes
- Corroded aluminum thresholds from 1950s-70s builds. Original aluminum door frames in Lafayette’s ranch and split-level stock corrode at the threshold and conduct heat, causing seal failure and fogged insulated glass units long before the sash wears out. The fix is usually a full frame replacement, not a glass swap.
- Cracked wood jambs on hillside homes. Sustained 95-100°F summer highs and fall Diablo winds dry out wood door frames above the BART line, cracking jambs and failing weatherstripping. During fire season, every gap around a door becomes a potential ember-intrusion point, so we replace damaged weatherstripping with fire-rated intumescent material where the property falls in the VHFSZ.
- Non-standard rough openings on 1980s-2000s custom builds. Larger fixed-glass and clerestory assemblies often have jamb depths that don’t match anything off the shelf. A replacement that leaves gaps violates Title 24 air leakage limits, so we field-measure and order to the opening, not to a catalog number.
- Overheating rooms from wrong glass packages. Doors without low-SHGC glazing in Lafayette’s inland heat pocket turn afternoon sun into a radiator. Rooms overheat, cooling bills climb, and interior finishes fade within a few seasons. We spec low-E with the solar heat gain coefficient matched to the door’s exposure.
Pricing for Door Installation in Lafayette, CA
A standard entry door replacement in Lafayette typically runs $1,800-$3,400 for a quality fiberglass or solid wood door with standard hardware. French doors run $2,800-$5,200 depending on width, glass package, and whether the rough opening needs reframing. Bifold and folding door systems start around $4,500 and go up with panel count, track quality, and custom millwork. Arched and custom doors run $3,500-$6,500 and beyond because the slab is milled to order. Fire-rated dual-pane tempered glass and intumescent seals add $300-$800 on VHFSZ properties. Senior and veteran clients take 5% off every job, and any repair over $250 carries $50 off. Call (888) 635-0804 for a written line-item quote, free.
The single largest cost driver on custom work is the millwork order. We fix the price in writing before we order the slab, the hardware, and the glass package. If the supplier pushes the date, that’s on the supplier’s schedule, not your budget.
We Also Serve Cities Near Lafayette
From our scheduling base in the San Francisco Bay Area, our crews serve Lafayette and the surrounding Lamorinda corridor every week. We cover Walnut Creek, Orinda, Moraga, and Pleasant Hill with the same written quotes and the same Done Right Promise. If you’re a homeowner in one of those towns, call (888) 635-0804 and ask for Dale’s crew.
Serving Lafayette, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Lafayette 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 Lafayette
Yes, if your property falls within CAL FIRE’s Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, your door replacement likely needs dual-pane tempered glass and intumescent seals to pass permit inspection. This applies to many hillside streets above the BART line toward Reliez Valley and the Las Trampas ridge. Flat-valley Walnut Creek or Concord jobs almost never trigger this requirement. We check your parcel against the VHFSZ map before quoting, and we spec the glazing and seals the inspector will look for. Call (888) 635-0804 for an exact quote on your specific door.
A custom wood door costs more because the slab is milled to your exact opening dimensions, radius, and jamb depth, not pulled from a warehouse rack. In Lafayette, many 1950s-70s ranches and 1980s-2000s hillside builds have non-standard rough openings that off-the-shelf doors simply don’t fit without gaps that violate Title 24. The lead time runs 6-14 weeks because the millwork order sets the calendar. Our price is fixed in writing before we order, so a supplier delay never becomes a surprise line item on your bill. Call (888) 635-0804 for a written quote and an honest lead time.
Fogging between the panes means the insulated glass unit’s seal has failed, and the fix is a full replacement of the door or the glass unit, not a repair. In Lafayette’s heat pocket, original aluminum frames from the 1950s-70s corrode at the threshold and conduct heat, accelerating seal failure. We can replace the glass unit in some frames, but if the frame itself is corroded or warped, a full door replacement is the honest call. Call (888) 635-0804 and our techs will tell you which applies to your door, free.
Choose a French door if you want daily in-and-out access and a tighter air seal for Lafayette’s winter mornings and summer heat. Choose a bifold door if you want the full wall opening and are willing to pay more for the track system and a beefier header. Bifold panels stack to the sides and create a wider passage, but they cost more per linear foot and demand better flashing because there are more panel joints. We’ll quote both side by side on paper with real numbers and lead times. Call (888) 635-0804 for the free estimate.
The solar heat gain coefficient matters more in Lafayette than in Oakland or even Walnut Creek, because Lafayette sits inland of the Oakland Hills and runs 30-40°F hotter on summer afternoons. A front door with sidelights or a transom needs low-SHGC low-E glass to keep afternoon sun from turning the entry into a radiator. On VHFSZ hillside properties, dual-pane tempered glass may also be required by code. We spec the glass package to the door’s exposure and your parcel’s fire zone, not to a generic Bay Area standard. Call (888) 635-0804 for a written line-item quote that shows exactly what glass you’re paying for.
Written by Dale Kessler, Owner at TruePane Windows & Doors, serving Lafayette and the Lamorinda corridor with door and window installations built to The Keystone Standard.