Front and entry doors
Front doors that fit the house and keep the weather out
A front door that sticks in August and drafts in January, a threshold that lets snow blow in, a door that's simply done. In a lot of Hamilton houses, the door is fine and the seals around it aren't. We connect you with an independent local pro who refits doors or replaces them, and who'll tell you which yours needs.
- Refit before replace
- Heritage and permit rules explained
- Weatherproofing for the Mountain
Start with the fit
Refit or replace? Weatherstripping, hinges, thresholds
Before pricing a new door, find what's actually failing:
Weatherstripping
If you see daylight around the closed door or feel air at the latch, new weatherstrip is the first fix.
Hinges and strike
A door that rubs at the top corner or needs a shove to latch has sagged. Longer screws, shims or a moved strike plate fix it.
Threshold and sweep
They take the most wear, and adjusting or replacing them stops most drafts and snow at the floor.
The door itself
Rot or splits at the bottom of a wood door, rust-through on steel, a soft frame or a warped slab mean replacing.
If it's time
Steel, fibreglass or wood
Match the door to the house and to how exposed the step is.
Steel
Strong and plain. It dents, and rusts where the paint breaks, so keep it painted on a salted step.
Fibreglass
Won't dent, rust or swell, and can look like painted or stained wood.
Wood
Right for many older houses and often expected on heritage ones. Happiest under a porch or behind a storm door.
Glass in the door
Glass in entry doors: inserts, sidelights, transoms
A cracked or foggy pane rarely means a new door. Inserts, panes in older wood doors, and the sidelights and transoms many Lower City houses still have can be replaced on their own, in safety glass where the code calls for it. See door glass replacement. New glass can change the look too: frosted for privacy, clear for light.
Heritage
Heritage houses: get the permit before the door
On a designated property or in one of Hamilton's heritage conservation districts, replacing a front door needs a Heritage Permit first, storm doors included, even the removable kind. It's free, and no building permit is issued until it's approved.
Weatherstripping, like-for-like repairs and new glass usually don't. Repair first is a view the City's heritage staff share for original windows; ask them about your door too. Our heritage districts guide shows how to check your address.
Above the escarpment
Wind and snow on the Mountain
The Mountain gets noticeably more snow than the Lower City and more wind-whipped lake-effect weather, so a front door up there has it harder.
Snow at the threshold
Drifts pack against the sill and melt into it. A sweep that touches and a sill sealed underneath matter more up top.
Wind at the latch
Gusts find any gap. Check the seal all the way round before blaming the door.
A storm door in front
It buffers wind-driven snow. If it slams or won't latch, see storm and screen door repair.
Before you ask
What drives the price of a front door
These move a refit or a new-door quote:
- Refit parts: weatherstrip, sweep, threshold, hinges
- Steel, fibreglass or wood
- Glass, sidelights and transoms
- Same opening or a wider one, with a permit
- The frame and sill once the old door is out
- Hardware, a storm door, and heritage matching
Send a photo from the street, one from inside, and the door's width.
Building permits
Permits: same opening vs a new or wider one
A same-opening swap generally doesn't need a building permit in Hamilton unless a fire-resistance rating applies. Widening the opening, adding a sidelight or moving the door does, as does work on the header. See the City's building permit page; near the LRT corridor, Metrolinx approval may come first. Burlington and Grimsby run their own permits.
Questions
Front door questions
Explore your options
Related door jobs
Local pros refit and replace front doors across Hamilton and the former towns, including Hamilton Mountain, Durand, Dundas, Ancaster and Waterdown.
Send us a photo of the doorway
One photo from outside, one from inside, and a line about what's wrong. We'll pass it to a local door pro, who'll quote a refit, a new door, or both.