Free in-home measure and quote - PGT, CGI and CWS impact lines compared on your actual openings, style by style
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AfterFast, Reliable Door Replacement Across Kensington
Door replacement in Kensington typically runs $1,400 to $4,800 for a standard exterior entry door, including the prehung unit, reinforced jamb, trim work, and haul-away of the old door. Most jobs take one to two days on site once the door arrives, and we coordinate the order, delivery, and installation from the San Francisco Bay Area office so Kensington homeowners never chase a third-party freight company. Call (682) 281-2168 and we’ll scope the project, give you a written price, and book the install. No four-hour windows, no quote that changes at the door.
Kensington’s door openings come with their own set of quirks: hillside lots, older framing, canyon wind, and intense afternoon sun off the ridges above Wildcat Canyon. We’ve measured enough jambs here to know that a “simple slab swap” rarely holds up on Arlington Avenue or the streets climbing off Kensington Circle. The right scope matters, and that starts with an honest evaluation and a price locked in writing before any work begins.
Why Juniper Windows & Doors Is Kensington’s Preferred Door Replacement Company
We show up with a written quote, a live arrival time, and before-and-after photos. That’s the Relay Standard, and it’s how we’ve run door replacements in Kensington since the brand’s founding in 2001 as part of the Relay Home Co. family. Homeowners around the Berkeley-Kensington line and up into the hills above Colusa Avenue know our crews: background-checked, uniformed, and trained on the specific product lines we carry, not just whichever door the supply yard had in stock.
The difference shows up in the details. Kensington’s hillside lots mean many doorways are framed into older lumber that’s shifted over decades. We sister framing when the jamb is out of plumb, shim to hold the reveal, and set the threshold so it seals against the downslope wind. That’s not standard “door contractor” work; it’s what this terrain requires.
Sean Mackey leads our crew, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise covers every installation we complete in Kensington. If something isn’t right, parts and labor, for a full year, in writing. That’s a commitment we put on every job, whether it’s a front entry door off Arlington Boulevard or a back door facing the canyon.
Door Contractors in Kensington
Door contractors in Kensington handle the full replacement: pulling the old jamb, correcting framing, leveling and shimming the new prehung unit, insulating the rough opening, and installing new interior and exterior trim. The job goes beyond swapping panels; it’s about getting the door to latch cleanly, seal against air, and hold plumb on a lot that may slope two directions at once. We quote door contractor work in Kensington from $800 to $2,200 in labor, depending on how much reframing the opening needs.
Full Prehung Unit Replacement
When the jamb is rotted, racked, or simply no longer square, pulling the entire prehung unit is the correct call. We order the door to the exact rough opening size, then rebuild the jamb so the new unit sits flat and fires square. This is the most common scope for older Kensington homes built before modern framing tolerances.
Exterior Door Upgrade with Sidelights
Many Kensington entries, especially the split-level and mid-century homes east of the Arlington, pair a main door with one or two sidelights. Those assemblies need a continuous sill and proper flashing at both the top and side jambs, or wind-driven rain works its way behind the frame. We treat the whole opening as one assembly, not a door plus an afterthought.
Door Frame Repair in Kensington
Door frame repair in Kensington addresses the jamb, the sill, and the structural framing around the opening without necessarily replacing the door itself. Common triggers include spring and fall temperature swings that expand and contract the wood, letting the door drift out of alignment. We price door frame repair in Kensington from $350 to $900 when the jamb can be saved, and up to $1,500 when sections need full replacement and re-flashing.
Rotted Jamb and Threshold Repair
The downhill face of a Kensington home catches more moisture than the uphill side, especially where sprinkler overspray or runoff pools at the base of the door. We’ll cut out the rotted section, splice in new lumber or composite, seal and flash the seam, and re-hang the door so it swings true. Wrapping the exterior casing in PVC or composite prevents a repeat.
Realigning and Re-Shimming
When the visible jamb looks fine but the door binds at the top or drags on the strike side, the problem usually sits behind the casing. We remove the trim, re-shim the jamb legs, and re-set the hinges so the reveal runs even. A door that sticks every July can often be corrected in a single visit without a full replacement.
Trusted Brands We Service in Kensington
We work with eight product lines, and for Kensington homes we lean on Therma-Tru for fiberglass entry doors that hold their shape through wet winters and hot canyon summers, PGT for impact-rated doors on wind-exposed slopes, and CGI when a hillside opening calls for a heavier reinforced frame. We keep direct supply channels to these manufacturers, which means we can order the exact glass, finish, and hardware spec a Kensington homeowner picks without relying on a middleman. If a hinge, threshold, or weatherstrip needs replacement under warranty, we handle that too.
Common Door Replacement Problems We See in Kensington Homes
- Summer door stick along the ridge and canyon exposures: Afternoon sun heats the western-facing doors on homes above the Kensington Circle, swelling the stiles and jamb until the door binds. Homes with little shade on the uphill side get it worst.
- Out-of-plumb jambs on older hillside framing: The same soil creep and settling that cracks driveway slabs in the hills also shifts door openings. A slab swap into a racked jamb won’t fix the problem; it just moves the sticking point.
- Wind-driven rain behind the top casing: On upslope lots, the prevailing wind pushes rain uphill into the door’s top reveal. Without proper flashing and a drip cap, water follows the trim inside the wall.
- Mis-sized replacement doors ordered without field measurements: Doors ordered from a catalog without a proper rough-opening measurement end up too tall for the interior trim or too shallow for the floor transition. We measure every opening in person before any order goes in.
Pricing for Door Replacement in Kensington, CA
Here’s the honest spread for door replacement in Kensington. A basic single entry door with a new prehung jamb runs $1,400 to $2,600 installed. Mid-range fiberglass or steel with decorative glass, better hardware, and upgraded trim lands between $2,600 and $3,900. A full entry system with sidelights or a heavier impact-rated unit on a wind-exposed opening can push $4,800 to $6,500. Door frame repair alone starts around $350, and a full jamb rebuild with flashing and stucco patching typically runs $900 to $1,500. Labor for door contractor work without materials sits between $800 and $2,200 depending on how much framing correction the opening needs. Every Kensington quote includes a written line item before you approve anything, and the price we give is the price you pay. Call (682) 281-2168 for an exact quote, and we’ll schedule the free in-home measurement.
We Also Serve Cities Near Kensington
Our crews work throughout the Bay Area and beyond. In addition to Kensington, we handle Door Replacement projects in San Francisco, San Jose, and down the peninsula, plus Los Angeles and San Diego for customers with properties in multiple markets. The same written pricing and 365-Day Done Right Promise apply, no matter which city the door is in.
Serving Kensington, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Kensington 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 About Door Replacement in Kensington
For a like-for-like door replacement in Kensington, where the opening size doesn’t change and no structural framing is altered, a permit is generally not required by Contra Costa County. When the opening is widened, a header is modified, or a door is added where one didn’t exist, a permit and inspection enter the conversation. We’ll tell you during the estimate which category your project falls into, and we’ll pull the permit when one is needed so the inspection is passed before we call the job done. Call (682) 281-2168 and we’ll scope it for your specific opening.
Most Kensington door replacements take two to four weeks from signed quote to completed install. The door itself is ordered to your exact rough opening measurement, which typically takes one to three weeks. Onsite work runs one to two days: day one for demolition, framing correction, and hanging the new prehung unit, day two for trim, hardware, threshold adjustment, and haul-away. Custom sidelight assemblies or impact-rated units on backorder can extend the lead time, and we’ll tell you the real calendar date before you sign anything.
Summer sticking in Kensington is almost always thermal expansion, not a failing hinge. The afternoon sun that beats on west-facing doors along the Arlingon spine heats the wood or fiberglass enough to change its dimension, and a door that clears fine in March binds in July. A properly shimmed jamb with an appropriate reveal absorbs most of it, but some homes need the door planed or the hinge mortises adjusted a fraction. We can evaluate whether the fix is a service call or a material issue. Call (682) 281-2168 and we’ll take a look.
In a handful of Kensington homes with perfectly plumb jambs and modern framing, a slab replacement works. In our experience, most openings on hillside lots have enough drift, rot, or racking that a slab into the old jamb starts misbehaving within a season, dragging at the threshold or sealing unevenly. We’ll measure the jamb in three places and be straight with you: if a slab will work, we’ll quote it. If the frame needs attention, we’ll say so and price the repair. The goal isn’t to sell more work; it’s to keep the door working.
Three things move the number on a Kensington door job. First, framing surprises once the casing comes off: a rotted sill plate, termite damage, or a jamb so far out of plumb that sistering is required. Second, the finish level: a door that lands on raw concrete and needs a custom oak threshold with a flush transition costs more than one that drops onto existing flooring. Third, material upgrades made after the quote: switching hardware, adding a storm door, or bumping glass from standard to impact-rated. We give a written quote that covers the work as scoped, and any change order gets its own written line before you approve it. Nothing changes at the door unannounced. Call (682) 281-2168 to get your Kensington door priced, scoped, and scheduled.
Kensington’s hillside blocks, canyon wind, and older framing turn a simple door swap into a project that rewards local knowledge. A prehung unit dropped into a racked jamb on a downslope lot will leak air and drag within months. A properly measured, reinforced, and flashed opening holds for decades. That’s the difference between a door contractor who sends a crew anywhere and a team that knows the Arlington, the Kensington Circle, and the canyon exposures by name. We quote it in writing, we install it to last, and we stand behind it for 365 days, parts and labor, in writing.
Written by Sean Mackey, Owner at Juniper Windows & Doors, serving Kensington door replacement needs with written pricing and the 365-Day Done Right Promise.