When a Commercial Door Needs Replacing
Hardware can be repaired again and again. The door itself cannot. When a hollow metal door rusts through at the bottom, when its skin delaminates from the core, when a wood door splits or an aluminum stile cracks, the door has failed. New hinges and closers will not make it latch reliably again.
At that point, a like-for-like replacement is usually the fastest and cheapest fix. The existing frame stays in place, the new door is built to match it, and the swap happens in a single install day. It is the step after repair in our commercial door repair and replacement service across Toronto.
What Like-for-Like Means
A like-for-like door matches the old one on every point that matters:
- Size: width, height and thickness to suit the frame
- Handing: which way it swings and which side the hinges are on
- Construction: hollow metal gauge and core, solid-core wood or aluminum stile
- Fire label: same rating where the opening is rated
- Hardware preps: hinge locations, lock and exit device preps, closer reinforcement
Getting those details right on the first visit is what lets the swap happen fast.
Door Types We Replace
Hollow metal steel doors
Common at service corridors, stairwells, rear exits and warehouse man doors. Typically 18 or 16-gauge steel with honeycomb, polystyrene or steel-stiffened cores. Exterior doors use galvanneal steel for corrosion resistance. For damaged dock and rear doors specifically, see commercial steel door replacement.
Solid-core wood doors
Common in office suites, corridors and condo common areas. We match species or finish where possible and supply rated wood doors where required.
Aluminum doors
For storefront and lobby doors, see storefront door replacement, which covers full-lite panel swaps.
Typical Replacement Costs
| Door type | Typical range (CAD) |
|---|---|
| Hollow metal door, existing frame, hardware transferred | $1,500 - $2,800 |
| Fire-rated hollow metal or wood door | $2,500 - $4,500 |
| Solid-core wood office door with new hardware | $1,800 - $3,500 |
| Aluminum door with glass in existing frame | $3,500 - $5,500 |
Your written CAD scope confirms the range before ordering. Hardware upgrades, finishes and ratings move the number.
How the Replacement Works
On the first visit we measure the opening, record handing and preps, check the frame and note which hardware can be reused. You get a written scope. Once approved, the door is ordered while the old one stays in service. On install day, the crew removes the old door, hangs the new one, transfers or upgrades hardware and adjusts everything. The old door leaves with us.
On one Etobicoke office, a delaminated hollow metal door at a ground-floor service corridor would not stay latched. The crew measured on Tuesday, ordered a matching 18-gauge door and hung it the following Thursday morning with the existing LCN closer transferred. The corridor was out of service for under three hours.
Repair or Replace?
Repair makes sense when the door is sound and only the hardware has failed. Replace when the door itself is damaged, when repairs keep coming back or when a rated door’s label can no longer be verified. We will give you both options in writing so the decision is easy.
When the Frame Is the Problem
A new door in a rusted or bent frame will not latch either. If the frame has rotted at grade from road salt or been pried in a break-in, see commercial door frame replacement. We assess both door and frame on the same visit.
New Openings
If you need a door where there was none, or a full new opening as part of a fit-out, see commercial door installation for our Division 8 scope.
