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 Pasadena
Our Door Installation in Pasadena is rarely a simple swap. A typical entry door replacement in this city runs $1,800 to $4,200 installed, but homes in the historic landmark districts often push past $7,000 once custom millwork and Design Review enter the picture. That is the honest range, and we would rather tell you now than surprise you later. TruePane Windows & Doors has been setting doors in Pasadena’s Craftsman bungalows, Spanish Colonials, and mid-century ranches for years, and we know the difference between a door that fits today and one that still closes true in July. Call (888) 635-0804 to talk through your door with a live person, any time day or night.
Why TruePane Windows & Doors Is Pasadena’s Preferred Door Installation Company
Homeowners in Pasadena call us because we answer with a person, not a phone tree. That matters when you are standing in a drafty entryway in Bungalow Heaven, looking at a 1920s door with a rotted sill and no idea where to start. Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed, and they work in your home the way they would work in their own mother’s. We have been doing this under Dale Kessler’s name since 2008, built on a craft tradition that goes back many years in local glazing and millwork.
We are not the cheapest bid in Pasadena. We are the company you call when the cheapest bid already failed once. Every job carries our Done Right Promise and The Keystone Standard: both manufacturer warranty layers registered in writing, durations stated, before the truck leaves your driveway. No paperwork fights. No arguing. If the pane is not true, the job is not done.
Pasadena homeowners also get something most companies cannot offer: a crew that has actually stood in front of the city’s Historic Preservation counter. We know what the Design Review staff will reject, which saves you weeks and a redesign fee. That local knowledge is why architects and designers across Pasadena keep our number on file.
Our Door Installation Services in Pasadena
Arched & Custom Doors
Pasadena’s Spanish Colonial Revival and Mediterranean homes often feature arched openings with non-standard radii. A stock pre-hung door will not fill that opening, and forcing one means framing work that destroys the original stucco reveal. We source custom arched doors that follow the existing radius, then set them with flashing tape and low-E glass where glazing is involved. If your Bungalow Heaven or Madison Heights home has an arched entry that has been leaking or binding for years, call (888) 635-0804 and describe the opening. We will tell you straight what is possible.
Entry & Swing Doors
A front door in Pasadena is not just an entry. It is the first thing a guest sees and the first place heat escapes. In neighborhoods around the Rose Bowl and along Orange Grove Boulevard, we regularly replace solid wood entry doors with units carrying true divided lights and period-correct hardware. We measure every rough opening twice, because Pasadena’s pre-1940 homes rarely have a standard 36-by-80 rough opening. A mortised jamb from 1925 is not the same as a modern pre-hung frame. Our Door Installation team treats every measurement as the difference between a square deal and a callback.
Double & French Doors
French doors leading to a Pasadena patio or garden take a beating from the sun. East- and west-facing French doors near the San Gabriel foothills bake all afternoon, which is why we recommend low-E glazing and thermally broken frames on nearly every Pasadena install. We also see a lot of out-of-square openings on older homes: a double door that binds in August is usually a settling foundation, not a bad hinge. We shim, plane, and set each leaf so both doors close without dragging.
Pivot Doors
Pivot doors have become a design favorite in Pasadena’s newer builds and high-end remodels, particularly in the Linda Vista and San Rafael areas. A pivot door can span wider than a hinged door and swings on a top and bottom axis instead of side hinges. The catch: a pivot door is unforgiving. If the floor is not dead level or the header is out of plane, the door will rub or fail to latch. We install pivot doors with the same patience we bring to a historic Craftsman front door, and we will not sign off until the swing is true.
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 Pasadena
We are an authorized installer for more than a dozen manufacturer lines, including PGT, CGI, and Ply Gem, and we carry parts and hardware for those brands in our local inventory, including stock for Impact Windows & Doors in Pasadena. That means a Pasadena homeowner with a PGT French door that needs a new roller or a CGI impact door with a worn threshold does not wait weeks for a part to ship from the East Coast. We quote manufacturer lines side by side on paper so you see exactly what you are buying, and we register both warranty layers in writing before the truck leaves your driveway.
Common Door Installation Problems We See in Pasadena Homes
- Non-standard rough openings in historic homes. A 1920s Craftsman bungalow in Bungalow Heaven rarely has a modern 36-by-80 rough opening. Installers who force a standard pre-hung door into that space end up reframing, which means stucco repair, trim work, and a bill that grows by the hour.
- Vinyl or simulated-divided-light doors getting rejected by Design Review. In Pasadena’s Historic Landmark Districts, a vinyl door with snap-in muntins is an automatic denial. The city requires wood or clad-wood with true divided lights whose sash dimensions match the original Craftsman profile on file.
- Heat warping on solid wood doors. Pasadena regularly sees summer temperatures over 100°F, especially in the northern foothill neighborhoods. A solid wood door with a dark finish will warp and bind if it is not properly sealed and given room to expand.
- Fogged insulated glass in French and patio doors. Pasadena’s diurnal temperature swings, cool canyon mornings and hot afternoons, stress the seals on double-pane glazing. A fogged IGU means the seal has failed, and in a French door that carries glass, that means replacing the glass unit, not just wiping it down.
Pricing for Door Installation in Pasadena, CA
Here is what Pasadena homeowners can expect to pay for door installation in today’s market, including the door, hardware, labor, and finish work:
- Standard entry door replacement: $1,800-$4,200 installed, depending on door material and whether the existing jamb is reusable.
- Custom wood entry door with true divided lights: $3,500-$7,500 installed, higher in landmark districts where Design Review and custom millwork apply.
- French or double door replacement (with sidelights): $4,000-$9,000 installed, with low-E glass and thermally broken frames on the higher end.
- Arched custom door: $5,000-$12,000 installed, driven by the radius, wood species, and whether the opening needs structural work.
- Pivot door installation: $6,000-$15,000 installed, heavily dependent on the door size, hardware, and floor leveling required.
What drives the price in Pasadena is not labor. It is lead time on historically accurate custom doors and the Design Review process that must happen before we even order. A door for a Bungalow Heaven home with a period-correct profile and true divided lights can take 8 to 12 weeks from approval to delivery. We lock the price in writing before the order goes out, so the number on the quote is the number on the bill. No change orders, no surprise line items. Call (888) 635-0804 for a free estimate and we will walk through your door line by line.
One thing Pasadena homeowners specifically need to understand: if your home is in a designated Historic Landmark District, such as Bungalow Heaven, the City Design Review approval process applies to door replacements, not just windows. A standard off-the-shelf door will not pass. This dual compliance burden, historic preservation plus California Title 24 energy code, simply does not exist in neighboring Arcadia, Monrovia, or Temple City. It is a defining business reality in Pasadena, and it adds weeks to the project timeline and real cost to the door. We handle the permit paperwork and the preservation staff coordination, because we have done it enough times to know exactly what the reviewers need to see.
When a Bungalow Heaven homeowner needed to replace a rotting 1920s Craftsman front door without losing its original mortised jamb profile, our crew sourced a custom Douglas fir door with true divided lights and a matching transom, coordinating with the city’s Historic Preservation staff and the architect before ordering. The sash dimensions had to match the original Craftsman profile on file, so we locked the price in writing before the 10-week lead time began, then installed with flashing tape and low-E glass to meet Title 24. The homeowner kept their home’s original character and got a door that actually seals. That is the standard on the first visit and the baseline for every callback.
We Also Serve Cities Near Pasadena
While this page is written for homeowners in Pasadena, our crews regularly work in Door Installation in Pasadena‘s neighboring communities: San Marino, South Pasadena, Altadena, and San Gabriel. Each city has its own permitting quirks and housing stock, and we bring the same measured approach to every job. If you are just outside Pasadena and wondering whether we cover your street, call (888) 635-0804. If we serve your address, we will tell you. If we do not, we will tell you that too.
Serving Pasadena, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Pasadena 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 Pasadena
Yes. In Bungalow Heaven and the city’s other Historic Landmark Districts, a front door replacement triggers Design Review approval, just like windows. The city’s Historic Preservation staff requires wood or clad-wood doors with true divided lights whose sash dimensions match the original Craftsman profile on file. A vinyl or simulated-divided-light door is an automatic rejection. Call (888) 635-0804 before you order anything, because a $400 stock door that gets denied at permit review is a $400 mistake plus a redesign fee and a lost month.
In Pasadena’s historic districts, the door must be reviewed and approved before it is ordered, and then it must be custom-milled to match the original profile. That means 8 to 12 weeks of lead time before the door even arrives on site. The install itself is often a single day. Homeowners who assume labor is the long pole in the schedule end up with a gaping entryway for months. We plan the permit submission and the order date first, and we build the install schedule around the door’s delivery, not the other way around.
California Title 24 sets minimum energy performance standards for replacement doors, including maximum U-factor and solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) values depending on the door’s orientation and glazing area. In Pasadena, where summer temperatures regularly exceed 100°F, east- and west-facing doors with significant glass need low-E glazing to meet code. A solid wood door with no glass often passes on U-factor alone, but any glazed door, sidelights included, should be specified with Title 24 compliance in mind from the first quote. We handle that documentation as part of the permit package. Call (888) 635-0804 for an exact assessment of your door and orientation.
In most cases, no. A pivot door is a modern design element, and Pasadena’s Historic Preservation staff applies strict period-correct standards to exterior doors in landmark districts. A pivot door on a 1920s Craftsman bungalow will almost certainly be rejected as incompatible with the home’s historic character. Pivot doors are far better suited to Pasadena’s newer builds and mid-century remodels outside the landmark districts. If you are in a historic district and want a wider door opening, there are code-compliant ways to achieve that with period-appropriate double doors or a wider custom single door, but it must go through Design Review. We will tell you honestly what will pass before you spend a dollar.
Fogging means the seal on the insulated glass unit has failed, and moisture has entered the airspace between the panes. The glass cannot be cleaned or repaired from the outside; the IGU must be replaced. In a Pasadena French door, where the doors are exposed to 100°F heat on summer afternoons and cool overnight temperatures, this seal stress is common. We replace failed IGUs in French doors and patio doors, and we register the new glass warranty in writing before we leave. Call (888) 635-0804 and describe the fogging pattern. We will tell you whether it is a warranty-eligible failure or a replacement, and what each option costs.
Written by Dale Kessler, Owner at TruePane Windows & Doors.