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 Palo Alto
Door installation in Palo Alto typically runs $1,800 to $6,400 for a standard entry door replacement, and $4,200 to $14,000+ for custom wood or architectural-grade units that meet Professorville’s design-review requirements. Most jobs are completed in a single day once materials arrive, though homes in the 94301 historic district add two to six weeks for Architectural Review Board approval. TruePane has worked Palo Alto’s older housing stock for years, and we know the difference between a door that clears ARB the first time and one that gets sent back. Call (888) 635-0804 and we’ll walk you through what your specific street needs.
Why TruePane Windows & Doors Is Palo Alto’s Preferred Door Installation Company
We’re not a franchise crew that drives in from Stockton. TruePane is led by Dale Kessler, a second-generation glazier who founded the company in 2008 on a simple rule: if the pane is not true, the job is not done. Our technicians are background-checked, uniformed, and trained to measure every opening twice before ordering anything. Palo Alto homeowners keep calling us because we register both manufacturer warranty layers in writing before the truck leaves the driveway, and we put a Done Right Promise behind every installation. If something isn’t right, we fix it. No paperwork fights, no arguing about who’s responsible.
We also answer the phone. A live person picks up 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When a Palo Alto homeowner calls about a door that’s binding or a lock that no longer aligns, they talk to someone who can schedule a visit, not a voicemail tree.
Our Door Installation Services in Palo Alto
Every Door Installation we do in Palo Alto starts with the house, not the catalog. A 1920s Craftsman in Professorville needs a different approach than a 1960s rancher near Midtown. Here’s how we handle the doors Palo Alto homeowners ask about most.
Entry & Swing Doors
Entry doors take the most abuse of anything on a house, and Palo Alto’s climate doesn’t help. The diurnal swing here, upper 80s and 90s by afternoon, low 50s overnight, works door frames through a thermal cycle most of the country never sees. That’s why we set entry jambs with shims rated for movement and use flashing tape that actually sheds water instead of trapping it. For 94301 homes subject to ARB review, we help pull the submittal packet and spec a door that gets approved the first time.
Double & French Doors
Double doors fail at the meeting stile most often, either from a sagging hinge or a misaligned astragal. In Palo Alto’s older homes, the original thresholds are often set below grade or worn past adjustment, so we rebuild the sill before hanging the new pair. We install French door units from Marvin, Pella, and Andersen, and we quote each line side by side on paper so you see exactly what you’re paying for, including the hardware finish and the glass package.
Bifold & Folding Doors
Palo Alto’s high land values mean a lot of homeowners add indoor-outdoor openings rather than square footage, and a multi-panel folding door is often the centerpiece. These systems are heavy, and the track has to be perfectly level or the panels bind within months. We’ve pulled permits for folding door retrofits across the Peninsula, and we handle the structural engineering review that some openings require. When the job is done, every panel glides. If one doesn’t, the Done Right Promise applies.
Pivot Doors
A pivot door is a statement, and Palo Alto has no shortage of statement homes. The engineering is different from a standard hinge door, with more load concentrated at the top and bottom pivot points. We custom-order these through our manufacturer partners and specify the exact pivot hardware for the door’s weight and width. If the rough opening isn’t plumb, we fix it before the door arrives, because a pivot door in an out-of-square opening will always swing back or drift open.
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 Palo Alto
We’re an authorized installer for more than a dozen manufacturer lines, and for Palo Alto clients we lean on the ones that clear architectural review without back-and-forth. Marvin and their aluminum-clad wood doors are the most common choice in Professorville, because the exterior profiles replicate the original wood stiles. Sierra Pacific and Loewen also make units that meet ARB sightline requirements. We also service and install ES Windows and ECO Window Systems doors where the design calls for a sleeker profile. Because we stock common hardware and weatherstripping locally, a simple hardware replacement on a Marvin or Pella door usually happens the same week, not two weeks out.
Common Door Installation Problems We See in Palo Alto Homes
- ARB rejection on vinyl or fiberglass retrofits. In Professorville, a door whose exterior profile doesn’t match the original 3¼-inch wood stile gets sent back. We pull the submittal before ordering product, so the door sitting in your garage is one the city already approved.
- Fog between dual-pane glass. Palo Alto’s hot afternoons and cold nights cycle IGU seals hard. A few years after a cheap install, the argon leaks out and moisture gets in. The fix is a new insulated glass unit, not a whole new door, and we can usually match the existing frame.
- Morning condensation on metal door edges. East-facing entries in particular collect marine-layer humidity on aluminum frames without a thermal break. The condensation looks like a leak, but it’s almost always a frame spec problem. We replace with a thermally broken unit and the sweating stops.
- Rot at the jamb bottom. Older Palo Alto homes often have door sills that sit close to grade, and years of moisture wicking up from concrete or soil eventually rot the bottom of the jamb. We cut out the bad wood, sister in new stock, and flash it properly before hanging anything.
Pricing for Door Installation in Palo Alto, CA
Here’s what Palo Alto homeowners actually pay. A standard single entry door, painted or stained fiberglass, runs $1,800 to $3,900 installed. A wood entry door with custom stile profiles for ARB compliance runs $3,500 to $7,200. Double French doors start around $4,200 and go to $9,500 depending on the glass package and hardware. A multi-panel folding door system runs $8,000 to $18,000+, and pivot doors start around $6,500 for an entry-grade unit. These numbers include tear-out, disposal, installation, and cleanup. What changes the price: the door material, the hardware you pick, whether the rough opening needs reframing, and how much trim work the exterior demands. We give you a written line-item quote before any work starts, and the price on the quote is the price on the bill. Call (888) 635-0804 to schedule your free estimate.
| Door Type | Typical Palo Alto Range (Installed) |
|---|---|
| Fiberglass entry door | $1,800 - $3,900 |
| Wood entry door (ARB-compliant) | $3,500 - $7,200 |
| Double French doors | $4,200 - $9,500 |
| Pivot door | $6,500 - $12,000+ |
| Folding door system | $8,000 - $18,000+ |
We Also Serve Cities Near Palo Alto
Our crews serve Palo Alto and the surrounding Peninsula communities, including Stanford, Menlo Park, Atherton, and Los Altos. If you live near the border, call us and we’ll tell you straight whether we’re the right fit for your job and your city’s permitting process.
Serving Palo Alto, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the 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 Palo Alto
Yes, in most cases. The City of Palo Alto’s ARB reviews exterior door changes on pre-1940s homes in the Professorville Historic District, and they routinely reject standard vinyl or fiberglass retrofits that don’t match the original wood profile. A replacement that matches the original material, stile width, and divided-light pattern can often be approved administratively, but a change in door style, material, or color triggers full design review. We pull the submittal packet and handle the paperwork for you, because a door that arrives before ARB signs off is a door that sits in your garage for weeks. Call (888) 635-0804 and we’ll tell you exactly what your address triggers.
For an administrative approval, which applies to like-for-like replacements that match the original profile, allow two to three weeks from submittal to sign-off. For a full design review, because the door style or material is changing, allow four to six weeks, and occasionally longer if the board tables the item or requests revisions. We schedule around this. We pull the submittal first, order the door only after approval, and schedule the install date in writing so you’re never left with an open rough opening while a committee deliberates. That’s the practical difference between a crew that knows Palo Alto and one that doesn’t.
Almost certainly not. The ARB’s design review staff have rejected fiberglass and vinyl doors whose exterior profile didn’t match the original 3¼-inch wood stile, and a printed wood-grain texture doesn’t fix that. What they’re looking at is the profile dimension, the stile and rail geometry, and the sightlines around the glass. Wood and aluminum-clad wood doors from Marvin, Sierra Pacific, and Loewen are the units that consistently clear review in the district. If you’re set on vinyl or fiberglass, we’ll tell you before you spend money on a submittal that won’t pass.
Seal failure in the insulated glass unit. Palo Alto’s diurnal temperature swing, upper 80s and 90s by afternoon, low 50s overnight, expands and contracts the sealant around the glass at a rate that coastal cities don’t experience. After enough cycles, the seal fails, argon leaks out, and moisture gets between the panes. On an entry door, the door slab’s daily slamming also contributes, each impact sends a small shock through the glass. The fix is a new IGU matched to the door’s existing frame, and we do these replacements regularly for Palo Alto homeowners, usually without having to replace the whole door. Call (888) 635-0804 to have us take a look.
Because the frame lacks a thermal break, and Palo Alto’s morning marine layer deposits moisture right at the coldest surface. Aluminum conducts heat efficiently, so if the door frame isn’t thermally broken, the inside face of the frame drops to the overnight low, and when the humid morning air hits it, water condenses. East-facing entries get it worst because they’re the first to warm up while the air is still saturated. The permanent fix is a door with a thermally broken frame or a different material entirely. We’ll help you spec it. For an exact quote on any door job in Palo Alto, call (888) 635-0804, estimates are free.
Written by Dale Kessler, Owner at TruePane Windows & Doors, serving Palo Alto and the Peninsula since 2008.