Interior Door Installation Costs

Last Updated on September 12, 2023
Written by CPA Alec Pow | Content Reviewed by CFA Alexander Popinker

Give your rooms a new look by buying new interior doors. When setting up living spaces, interior doors are often omitted. When, in fact, they play an important role. In this article, we offer you lots of information and advice about interior doors.

How much does an interior door installation cost?

One of the main factors that affect the cost of an interior door installation is the material the door is made of as there are fiberglass doors, hollow core doors that are made of cheap materials, and many more. Also, the costs will increase if you want to stain or paint a door. In case the door jamb or frame has to be reinforced or repaired, you will have to pay more.

The costs will be even higher if you have special mounting requirements like a trendy barn door with its overhead, large mount. Also, doors with glass panels, pocket doors, or folding doors are more expensive.

If there is already installed a pre-existing frame, the installation of a new interior door will not require a large amount of labor. And the price will be reasonable even if you want to upgrade the door.

That being said, you should expect to pay anywhere between $520 and $2,180 for installing an interior door. If you don’t install the door yourself and hire a professional, you should be prepared to pay anywhere between $110 and $320 for labor.

As we already mentioned above, the cost of an interior door depends on the material it is made of. For example, wooden doors cost $90 to $130, while aluminum doors are more expensive, with a price of $310 to $460. The cheapest option is the slab doors, with a cost of $35 to $110 per door.

You might also like our articles on the cost of door installation at Home Depot, electric gate installation, or accordion-style folding patio door installation.

Also, you need to put aside money for some extra work and improvements such as:

repairing and constructing the door frame, which costs anywhere between $310 and $720;
painting the door, which costs around $110;
door trimming (decorative), which costs around $185;
lockset, which costs anywhere between $45 and $60;
kickplates, which cost anywhere between $55 and $135.

Types of interior doors

Depending on the opening system, interior doors can be of the following types:

Classic doors – classic doors can be wooden, cellular, or structured.
Sliding doors – sliding doors are made of glass, wood, stainless steel, PVC, or aluminum panels and can be recessed or left visible.
Swing doors – swing doors open in both directions, being suitable for use in spaces with constant intense traffic. Hinged doors can be made of aluminum, stainless steel, laminated HPL, or glass.

What are the extra costs?

In general, slab doors are around $100. They are usually cheaper than pre-hung doors, but for a proper installation, the frame must be in excellent shape.

How to install an interior door?

To install the door, you must follow the following steps:

Join the elements of the door frame, with a lock and screws, making sure that the overlap of the joining areas is perfect. Any wrong millimeter at the corner turns into centimeters for the rest of the door and will create problems when opening and closing.
Check the fit of the door leaf in the frame, while the frame is still placed horizontally, determine the places for the hinges, and install them. You can opt for a manual screwdriver, but if you use an electric screwdriver, you will finish the job faster. You will then create the necessary holes for mounting the lock if it is not already installed.
Remove the door from the hinges, place the frame in the door gap, fix it with wedges and check its position without the door leaf, using a level and/or a laser, to be sure that all the sides are at the right angle. Then put the door back on the hinges and check if it opens and closes easily. In general, with the MDF versions, it is not possible to adjust the hinges, as with the double-glazed door, so make sure you mount them well from the start.
Cover the door frame with protective tape, to avoid contamination with foam, but do not leave the tape in place for more than an hour and a half, as it will be more difficult to remove.
Apply the polyurethane foam in the gap between the door frame and the hinges, making sure you fill the available space only in a proportion of ⅓ because the foam will expand. With this action, you have completed the process of installing a door frame. Close the door and leave it closed for the entire time required for the foam to harden (you can find the time indicated on the packaging).
Remove the adhesive tape and clean the excess foam using a cutter.

When are the interior doors installed?

Specialists recommend starting the installation process on the interior door after you have finished all the finishes in the house (tiles, parquet, paint, whitewash, etc.), in order to prevent the door leaf from being scratched or stained. It is equally important that the plaster is dry, in order not to cause swelling of the frame, which can further lead to problems with tilting and opening the door.

Although metal alternatives are less sensitive to humidity, it is good to follow the same rule when planning a metal door installation, especially in the case of finishes, to prevent the need for a subsequent cleaning step.

How can I save money?

Most of the repair professionals and contractors offer discounts if you need to install more than one interior door. Also, they offer a discount when you buy the door through their service.