Q: What does a Repair Cost, Anyway?
A: Well, every repair is different. But after many years we can give you a pretty good idea over the telephone or by email. Depending on the amount of damage, the typical range for a door insert repair is $300 to $400. It depends on where the damage is in the insert. Broken pieces out in the middle of the panel take longer to fix than those on the edge.
Q: Wouldn’t I be better off just getting a new Door?
A: Usually not. If you have matching sidelights and transom, a repair is almost always indicated. By the time you figure a new door, installation, new hardware, finishing, and new locksets and keys, a new door is certainly not a comparable price to a typical repair. We usually tell customers to figure on adding a minimum of $1,000 to the cost of a repair if they replace their door with a like-quality new door.
Over the past 10 years, we have only seen 3 or 4 doors where it would have been cheaper to replace the whole thing vs. repair the insert.
Q: Can’t I just bring you the door for repair?
A: No, we have limited storage space. We do have customers who will remove the glass from the door and bring it to us for repair. That is acceptable, but we remind you that you run the risk of breaking more glass. If you break it, we get to charge you for fixing it. If we break it, it’s on us.
Q: My Door Has Insulated Glass. One Side is broken! Can You Fix It?
A: Frequently customers confuse a single layer of safety glass with an insulated unit. If you can touch the decorative glass itself, it is not an insulated unit. The safety glass can be replaced very easily. If your door is steel or fiberglass, chances are that it is an insulated unit. A hardwood door is much more likely to only have a single layer of safety glazing with the decorative glass.
We have wholesale sources for complete replacement inserts for many of the steel and fiberglass doors. If we are able to match the size and shape of your door’s insert, that is the most economical way. Otherwise, a conventional repair can be done, but it gets very expensive.
The two outer sheets of flat glass in an insulated door unit are tempered. When they break, they crumble into thousands of little pieces. The decorative glass is sandwiched in between using a sticky gasket to form the vapor seal.
The broken unit must be cut apart and the decorative glass removed. Then, two more pieces of new tempered glass are used to make a new unit, using your existing decorative glass. Depending on the size of the insert, prices start at around $350 for the new tempered glass and the production of the new sealed unit. This does not include any decorative glass repairs if needed, or the removal, board-up, and re-installation.
Q: I Have a Hanging Light Fixture or Table Lamp Shade That’s Broken?
A: Any lamp that is ceiling hung must be taken down in order to work on it. We do not provide removal and re-installation services. All lamps can be restored/repaired, but the client must decide if the item is worth the approximately $50 per individual piece that it will cost to have it repaired. We have repaired hundreds of these shades, and will continue to do so. They will have to be brought to and picked up from our shop, and the repair will priced on a per hour basis plus materials.