It’s going to take most of a day to do that “right” because they will need to remove a huge chunk and replaced all the material. Don’t believe these people saying a new door will be the same… A decent exterior door costs $500 alone and install will cost at least that again.
That being said, I’d just replace the door. I recently replaced my front and garage doors myself. It’s not as hard as you’d think. I spent like 4-6 hours on each. I did run into some leveling compound (cement type stuff) that leaked in from my flooring that I had to chip out on the front door.
I bought a “cheap” prehung exterior door recently it was like $300 I think. There’s absolutely no way it would be cheaper to just replace the whole door. Especially if you want a decent looking door.
Watch a few YouTube videos on replacing these pieces. Maybe it will build some confidence in trying it yourself. It isn't a complicated repair and I've stopped calling contractors to do small jobs anymore. In the last year I've permanently wired in a backup generator to my house and installed a 220 receptacle for a new induction stove. I've always been afraid of electrical work but it was so easy and saved me $1000
Is the handyman actually saying he’s going to do what you’re suggesting? Or is he saying he’s going to do it right and ignore your bogus suggestion to fill the rot with putty?
He’s the one who suggested using putty in the first place. I had another person who quoted me $675 for cutting and replacing wood in the affected areas with PVC. Does that sound better? That does not include caulking or painting the whole door though.
That’s what I assumed was going to happen and is probably what I’d try to do on my own. Caulk and paint is easily done. PVC will last forever
$675 seems steep for that, but for them there’s also some opportunity cost – if they weren’t doing your job, they could be doing a different job for more money. So instead of saying no outright, they price it up to make it more worth their time.
Probably if the cost includes materials, his work looks good, and the labor is warrantied for at least a year. I'd probably opt to try to change out the wood on that frame in general though. You might want to see what your dealing with behind that wood, as it already looks like repairs have been attempted, and you want to make sure that this stops any issues back there more than superficially. If you go with the initial plan, make sure that the materials being used are of stronger quality/longer lifetime and rated for outdoor application. Get the warranty in writing somewhere if its not included on the invoice.
It’s probably a fair price given the amount of manual labor involved. I didn’t think it would be much until I did the job on my own French doors earlier this year.
