Most in-stock entry doors you will find off of the shelf at big box stores are not made to fit a lot of entry door openings in residential homes. If you have a newer home it might be achievable. The problem besides the net frame dimension being larger is also that the door frame dimension is usually too small. Stock size entry doors are usually a 4 9/16“ frame size while an average wall condition in a home will be approximately 5 1/4” to 5 1/2” frame size. If you want to try to use a stock size entry door the benefit is you will not have to wait for special orders that could sometimes take up to 4 to 6 weeks or more depending on the manufacturer.
Your current entry door opening will more than likely need to be modified to accommodate a stock-size entry door. At Top of the Trades, we would usually be able to make these doors work on practically 90% of most openings. It is a more difficult installation, but it actually will end up saving you more time and money compared to ordering a special size entry door order.
We have a lot of entry doors that are pre-finished or unfinished in stock that we can install without the long lead times. Most of the in-stock entry door selections you will find at Home Depot or Lowe’s are only going to be single doors but also will not have a lot of styles to choose from. These in-stock entry doors might work for a lot of your back doors or side doors. For the main entry door, they do have some selection that can potentially be a good fit for your entry door or the style you’re looking for. Most big box stores are not usually willing to sell you an in-stock entry door because they will not allow their installers to install stock doors they would rather sell you a special order entry door. There is usually no or little profit for them when people buy a stock size entry door. They usually use their in-stock entry doors for contractors to just come in and grab them, not normally intended for the consumer directly. You will have to find your entry door installer that is willing to take care of your door installation independent from Home Depot or Lowe’s. A lot of door and window companies will only install what they sell. We do not have any issue with our customers that have already purchased their entry door and we would just provide installations. Whenever you buy a stock entry door you will need to make sure you get all of the locks, accessories, including the interior and exterior door moldings. Call Top of The Trades today to discuss your current entry door opening and whether a stock door will work or not. We would be happy to help! Hopefully, this could be useful information to guide you and make decisions for your new home improvement.
