Cost of wooden front doors - why so high?

[SwedishEdith]

I'm getting quotes for a wooden 1920s/1930s style front door plus surround at the moment. It's within a porch so is not exposed so doesn't need to be the hardest of hardwood and we'll paint it. The whole frame is not that wide. But the quotes are ranging from £4.5k to £7k.

I presume it's the cost the making of the door that's making it so expensive so am I better off just buying an off-the-shelf hardwood door and getting a joiner to build the surround/add the glass etc? Has anyone done that and was it significantly cheaper?

@youngestisapsycho

We have a hardwood door, it cost less than £400 with the frame. DH painted and fitted it... he is a carpenter. Where are these high prices coming from? Is it the labour costs?

Nice door! Do you mind sharing where you got it please?

We got a new front door and frame fitted it cost about 3k

Which I thought was ridiculous!
My neighbour found a local glazing window company to do hers and I was a lot cheaper and looks lovely so it can be done you just have to find someone to do it. They had to paint it though

@notanorthadontist
It is from doorsuperstore.co.uk

My front door was £220 and the joiner charged £600 for the frame, side windows and fitting. The proper window people quoted £2,400

Ps that was unfinished, I oiled it myself

Wooden doors are fine if they are in a porch away from the worst of the elements , Some of the quotes do sound crazy.... I’d think an off the shelf door/ frame fitting and furniture should be anywhere between 1-2k. Made to measure a bit more.

@youngestisapsycho thank you!

for some reason the link given above doesn't work for me, but this one does www.doorsuperstore.co.uk

the links appear to be identical, to my uneducated eye; probably some html black magic.

@movingonup20

My front door was £220 and the joiner charged £600 for the frame, side windows and fitting. The proper window people quoted £2,400

That's more like it. I think we're just going to have to make lots of calls.

try to get a personal recommendation from someone you know and trust. Advertising websites are not a good source.

Good builders and good plumbers tend to know good carpenters. They will not recommend anyone they fear will damage their reputation. Bad tradesmen also hang around together.

Their seem to be differences in regional nomenclature, but to me, a joiner makes a door, and a carpenter hangs it. Many people overlap the two skills.