A door project involves two decisions that are easy to confuse, because the trade uses one set of words for both. The first is what you are buying: a door panel on its own, or a door already hung in a frame. The second is how much of your existing opening is coming out: the frame staying in place, or the frame, sill and trim being removed. A prehung unit can be part of a full-frame replacement, so “prehung” and “full-frame” answer different questions — which is why two quotes can both say “prehung” and mean different amounts of work.
This section covers those pre-order decisions, and what a homeowner can tell by looking — without removing trim or opening anything up. What lies behind the trim is found out during the work, and it is a question for your estimator rather than for you.
Prices live with our cost guides, and structural work belongs to a professional. What you will find here is how to tell which job you have.
In this section
Slab vs. prehung vs. full-frame door replacement — the two questions behind three words, and what each job requires your quote to say.
Back to the doors hub.