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AfterFast, Reliable Door Installation Across Kensington
Door installation in Kensington runs $2,800 to $14,000 for most projects, with entry and swing doors on the lower end and custom pivot or arched units at the top. That price reflects something flatland cities never deal with: Kensington sits inside a CAL FIRE Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, so every replacement door must carry Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) compliant glazing and frame materials. We’ve done this work here for years, and our crews know the Kensington hills the way a mail carrier knows his route. Call (888) 635-0804 for a free estimate.
The Door Installation team at TruePane measures every opening twice, quotes manufacturer lines side by side on paper, and registers both warranty layers before the truck leaves your driveway. If you’re on the Arlington Avenue ridgeline or tucked near the Kensington Community Park, the process is the same: we show up when we say, we do the work right, and we stand behind it.
Why TruePane Windows & Doors Is Kensington’s Preferred Door Installation Company
Kensington homeowners don’t call the cheapest bid. They call the company that answers the phone with a live person at midnight and still has a truck in the neighborhood when the fog rolls in off the Bay. TruePane was founded in 2008 by second-generation glazier Dale Kessler on a rule that still hangs on the whiteboard: if the pane is not true, the job is not done. That rule covers every swinging, folding, and pivoting door we set in this town.
We’ve worked on doors along Coventry Road, up near the Kensington ridgeline, and down in the flats near the Solano Avenue commercial strip. Kensington is not like Berkeley or El Cerrito. The permits pull through Contra Costa County, the lots tilt on hillside grades, and the houses are almost all Craftsman bungalows and Period Revivals from the 1920s and 1930s. Standard slab doors look wrong on these openings. We know that because we’ve corrected more than a few.
Every job in Kensington carries the Done Right Promise and The Keystone Standard: both manufacturer warranty layers registered in writing, durations stated, before the truck pulls away. No paperwork fights. No arguing about what was covered. A square deal, put in writing.
Our Door Installation Services in Kensington
Entry & Swing Doors
A new entry door on a 1930s Kensington bungalow is rarely a pick-it-off-the-shelf job. The original jambs are often built from old-growth fir, and the rough opening has settled out of square by three-eighths of an inch over nine decades. We rebuild the jamb, shim it true, and hang the door so it latches with one finger in January and July alike. Entry door work in Kensington typically runs $2,800 to $6,500 depending on material and WUI glazing requirements.
Double & French Doors
French doors on a Kensington Spanish Colonial Revival open onto patios that catch the evening marine layer. The wrong weatherstripping here means a damp living room by February. We set French and double door systems with air-sealing rated for the higher lateral wind loads that hit exposed ridge lots near Creston Road and beyond. Expect $5,000 to $11,000 for a properly flashed, WUI-compliant double door system.
Bifold & Folding Doors
Bifold and folding door systems on a Kensington home are almost always custom orders. The openings weren’t framed for modern track systems, and the product has to meet fire-resistant glazing standards while still reading as appropriate for the house. We coordinate with the manufacturer, pull the Contra Costa County permit, and frame the header to hold the load. A folding door wall in Kensington typically starts around $8,000 and can reach $15,000 for wider multi-panel configurations.
Pivot Doors
A pivot door on a modern Kensington addition or remodel is a statement piece. It’s also a heavy piece, often 200 pounds or more, and it needs reinforced hinge blocking and a properly anchored frame or it will sag within the first wet season. We’ve hung pivot doors near the Kensington ridgeline where the wind drives straight off the Bay and the door has to close true every single time. Budget $7,000 to $14,000 for a pivot door done right in this zip code.
For arched openings, custom millwork, and specialty finishes on original Kensington door frames, talk to us about Arched & Custom Doors. This is where the schedule gets real: custom doors for these houses take 8 to 14 weeks to build before we ever schedule the install. We’ll fix the price in writing before the order goes in, and that price doesn’t move when a manufacturer announces a mid-year increase.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Kensington
We’re an authorized installer for more than a dozen manufacturer lines, and in Kensington we lean on the ones that build for this climate and this housing stock. CGI makes WUI-rated steel and aluminum door systems that hold up to the salt air and wildfire exposure. Marvin builds wood-clad door units with the divided-light profiles that match 1920s Craftsman sash patterns. ES Windows offers custom European-style folding and pivot systems for hillside remodels. We stock local replacement hardware and weatherstripping for Kensington customers, and we don’t make you wait six weeks for a glazing gasket.
Common Door Installation Problems We See in Kensington Homes
- WUI non-compliance on the first bid: A contractor who works mostly in Berkeley or El Cerrito specs a standard insulated door with non-rated glass. It fails Contra Costa County inspection, the reorder takes three months, and the homeowner is left with a tarped opening. We spec WUI-compliant products from the first line item.
- Off-the-shelf doors that wreck the architecture: Kensington’s 1920s and 1930s homes have small divided-light sash profiles that vinyl slab doors simply cannot match. We order semi-custom or fully custom wood-clad units that respect the original fenestration instead of flattening it.
- Rotted jambs from marine fog: The marine layer that pushes into the Kensington hills sits on door frames all night, every night. Original fir jambs rot from the bottom up. We cut out the rot, install new jamb stock with flashing tape at the sill and head, and set the door so water sheds away from the opening.
- Sagging heavy doors with inadequate blocking: A pivot or solid wood door hung on a stock rough opening will sag. We add reinforced hinge blocking and a fusion-welded frame so the door stays true through multiple fog seasons.
Pricing for Door Installation in Kensington, CA
Here’s the honest range for Kensington door work. A standard entry door replacement runs $2,800 to $5,500. A WUI-compliant double French door system runs $5,000 to $11,000 depending on glazing. A bifold or folding door wall starts around $8,000 and can hit $15,000 for wide openings. A custom arched door or pivot door runs $7,000 to $14,000, and the custom millwork schedule is the real driver: 8 to 14 weeks to build, then 2 to 3 days on site. The price is fixed in writing before the order goes in. Call (888) 635-0804 and we’ll walk the job line by line. The estimate is free.
We Also Serve Cities Near Kensington
TruePane serves Kensington and the surrounding East Bay hills, including Parkway, Arden-Arcade, Ladera Heights, and Commerce. If you’re on the edge of one of those communities and your door is binding or the seal has fogged, the same crew that works the Kensington ridgeline will come out and take a look. Read more about what we do across the region on our Kensington page, or just call directly for a free estimate at (888) 635-0804.
Serving Kensington, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Kensington 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 Kensington
Kensington’s entire residential area sits within the CAL FIRE Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, so yes, the WUI requirement applies whether your home is on a ridgeline or down near the flats. The rule covers the glass and the frame materials on every replacement door, including French and bifold units. A neighboring flatland El Cerrito home can use standard glazing; a Kensington home cannot. Call (888) 635-0804 and we’ll tell you exactly which products meet the current code before you spend a dollar.
Because no manufacturer stocks a door that matches a 1930s Craftsman or Spanish Colonial arch from a Kensington original. The frame radius varies from house to house, and the divided-light sash pattern was often made by a local mill that closed fifty years ago. We build or order a custom wood-clad door to match the existing fenestration, then hang it on a jamb we’ve rebuilt to modern WUI and air-sealing standards. Expect the custom millwork to add 8 to 12 weeks to the schedule. Call (888) 635-0804 and we’ll measure the opening and price the match exactly.
Twelve to sixteen weeks before you want the door hung. A pivot door with a specific finish, whether that’s a custom stain on wood cladding or a powder-coat color on an aluminum frame, is a made-to-order product. The specification and finish approval alone takes two to three weeks before the manufacturing window even opens. We’ll write the schedule down on paper and the price is fixed before the order goes in. Call (888) 635-0804 to lock a production slot.
No, and this is where a company that knows both the code and the architecture matters. A WUI-compliant French door system on a Kensington Spanish Colonial Revival should look like it was always there. We specify wood-clad exterior profiles with divided-light patterns that match the original sash, and the fire-rated glazing is nearly identical in appearance to standard low-E glass. The compliance is in the frame materials, the glazing rating, and the flashing schedule, not in a bulky industrial look. Call (888) 635-0804 and we’ll bring samples to your door.
It gets rejected, and the job stalls until the correct Contra Costa County Building Inspection Division forms are filed. Kensington is unincorporated Contra Costa County, not a city, so Berkeley and El Cerrito permits carry no authority here. A contractor who files the wrong jurisdiction’s paperwork can set a project back weeks. We’ve pulled Kensington permits many times and we know exactly which forms go where. Call (888) 635-0804 and we’ll handle the filing before the first hinge is hung.
Written by Dale Kessler, Owner at TruePane Windows & Doors. Dale founded TruePane in 2008 and leads a second-generation glazier’s practice built on the rule that if the pane is not true, the job is not done. Call (888) 635-0804 to schedule your free estimate.