Before you replace a front door, find out whether it actually needs replacing. Many common complaints, such as daylight around the edges, a draft at the floor, a door that sticks or won't latch, are fixed by tightening hinges, moving the strike plate and putting in new weatherstripping and a sweep. Replacement makes sense when the door or frame is rotted, split or warped past adjusting, or when you want better security, glass or insulation. In Philadelphia, swapping a door in a one- or two-family house for one of the same size, with no change to the opening, generally doesn't need an L&I permit. Making the opening bigger or smaller does, a house on the historic register needs Historical Commission review first, and in a home built before 1978 a paid contractor has to follow federal lead-safe rules.
This is general information. For permits and code questions, the City's Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I), or your township or borough in the suburbs, has the final word.
Step 1: Find out what's actually wrong
Close the door on a cold, windy evening and look at it from the inside with the lights off. The U.S. Department of Energy's installer guide for weatherstripping an exterior door names the two things to look for: visible daylight and a loose-fitting door. Then check:
- The gap at the top corner on the latch side. If it's wide at the top and tight at the bottom, the door is sagging on its hinges.
- The latch. Does it catch without you leaning on the door? If you have to push or lift, the strike plate and the latch no longer line up.
- The bottom. Can you feel air or see light under the door? Is the sweep torn or missing, and is the threshold worn down?
- The wood. Push a screwdriver into the bottom of the door, the bottom of the frame and the sill. Soft wood that gives way over a wide area is rot, not just weathering.
- The panels and glass. Look for splits in the panels, a door that has bowed so it touches the stop only at the corners, and fogged or cracked glass.
Step 2: Fixes to try first
DOE's guide says to adjust loose hinges, knobs and strike plates before adding weatherstripping, because new seals can't make up for a door that doesn't sit right in its frame. In practice that means:
- Tighten the hinges. If the screws spin in stripped holes, longer screws that reach the framing behind the jamb often pull a sagging door back into line.
- Move the strike plate so the latch and deadbolt catch without force.
- Replace the weatherstripping along the sides and top, and add a door sweep or a new door bottom. Many thresholds have adjustment screws that raise the top so it meets the sweep. DOE's goal for this work is less air leakage without making the door harder to open and close, so check that the door still closes easily afterward.
- Seal the outside of the frame. Gaps between the frame and the brick or siding let in air and water. Caulk where nothing moves.
If the door is old wood, remember the paint. EPA warns that lead paint on surfaces that rub, like doors and window sills, wears into dust and chips. In a pre-1978 house, don't dry-sand or plane the edges of an old door without lead-safe precautions.
When replacement is the better answer
- The bottom of the door, the frame or the sill is rotted, or water is getting into the wall around the door.
- The door is warped or split so badly that adjustment and weatherstripping can't close the gaps.
- The lock side has been damaged, for example after a break-in, and the frame no longer holds a deadbolt solidly.
- The glass is cracked or fogged and the door isn't worth reglazing.
- You want an insulated door, different glass or a different look, and the existing one is near the end of its life anyway.
Slab or prehung?
You'll hear two options:
- A slab is just the door. It's hung in your existing frame, so the frame must be square and solid, and the new door must be fitted and drilled for the hinges and locks you have.
- A prehung door comes already hung in its own frame with hinges, a threshold and weatherstripping. The old frame comes out, and the new unit goes into the opening. It costs more and is more work to install, but it also replaces a worn frame, sill and seals.
Older Philadelphia homes often have openings that don't match today's standard sizes, especially in brick rowhomes, so the installer should measure the opening itself, not just the old door. Don't solve a size problem by shrinking the opening. The City Planning Commission's Philadelphia Rowhouse Manual advises homeowners not to reduce the size of original door and window openings, and in Philadelphia a change in the size of the opening also moves the job into permit territory (see below). If a stock size won't fit, ask about a custom-sized door instead.
Choosing the door
Material
- Wood looks right on most older facades and can be repaired and repainted, but it needs regular painting or finishing, and it moves with humidity. On a house in a historic district, it may be the material the Historical Commission expects.
- Fiberglass resists dents and doesn't rot, and many fiberglass doors are made to look like painted or stained wood.
- Steel is usually insulated with foam and is strong, but it dents, and a deep scratch can rust if it isn't touched up.
Ask for the door's energy rating. L&I's EZ permit standard for windows and doors (revised June 2026) requires replacement door assemblies that go through that permit route to have a U-factor of 0.32 or lower. That's a useful benchmark for any door: lower means it holds heat better, and the number should be on the product label or spec sheet.
Glass
Glass in a door is treated as a hazardous location under the building code. The same L&I standard requires safety glazing in the fixed and operable panels of swinging doors, and in a sidelight whose nearest edge is within 24 inches of the door edge and whose bottom edge is less than 60 inches above the floor, with exceptions for decorative glass and very small openings. Safety glazing is usually tempered or laminated glass; make sure the quote says the door and any sidelights have it.
The vestibule and the storm door
Many rowhomes have a vestibule: an outer door, a small entry and an inner door. The Rowhouse Manual is direct about it: in a climate with winters like ours, a two-door entry is very desirable, and you'll regret removing it when you feel the drafts and pay the heating bills. If only the outer door is failing, replace that one and keep the inner door.
A storm door can add protection for an older wood door. On a historic property, though, storm doors and security doors also need Historical Commission review.
Security doors and locks
Security doors and gates are common in the city. The Rowhouse Manual's rule applies: any bars or gates on windows and doors must open from the inside without a key, in case of fire. Before you install a lock that needs a key on the inside, think about how everyone in the house gets out in an emergency, and ask your installer what the code allows on your exit door.
Permits and approvals in Philadelphia
L&I permits
According to the EZ permit standard, no permit is required to replace non-fire-rated doors without a structural change in a one- or two-family dwelling, meaning no change in the location, shape or size of the opening. Changing the size of the opening, moving it or cutting a new one is a different project: it can't use the EZ route and needs a permit. The standard also notes that facade changes in certain areas, including some conservation overlays such as Powelton Village, Overbrook Farms and the Wissahickon overlay, must be approved by the City Planning Commission.
In Bucks, Montgomery and Delaware counties and in South Jersey, each township or borough sets its own rules, so call the code office before you order a door.
Historic properties
If your home is on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, on its own or in a historic district, the Historical Commission's page on approval for work to a historic property lists doors, storm doors, security doors and garage doors among the features that need review before they're replaced, altered or removed. Routine maintenance such as scraping and painting wood trim doesn't. The review is free; contact staff at preservation@phila.gov or (215) 686-7660 before you sign a contract. Our guide to Philadelphia historic district rules explains the process.
Lead-safe work in pre-1978 homes
EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule covers any paid activity that disturbs paint in a home built before 1978, and it applies to all firms, even one-person businesses. Small jobs are exempt only if they disturb no more than 6 square feet of paint per room inside or 20 square feet outside, and demolition of painted surfaces is always covered. Pulling out an old painted frame, trim and threshold can easily qualify, so ask whether the company is EPA lead-safe certified and how it will contain and clean up dust.
The federal tax credit is gone
Exterior doors used to qualify for the federal Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit. The IRS says that credit (section 25C) isn't allowed for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, so a door installed in 2026 doesn't qualify. Be skeptical of a sales pitch built on it.
Checklist before you get estimates
- On a cold, windy day, look for daylight around the door and feel for air at the bottom and the latch side.
- Check whether the door sags, whether the latch catches cleanly and whether the bottom, frame or sill is soft.
- Try the simple fixes: tighten or lengthen hinge screws, move the strike plate, replace weatherstripping and the sweep.
- If you replace, decide between a slab and a prehung unit, and have the opening measured, not just the door.
- Keep the opening the same size, or plan for a permit if it has to change.
- Check whether the house is on the historic register before choosing a style or material.
- For any glass in or next to the door, confirm safety glazing on the quote.
- In a pre-1978 home, ask for the contractor's EPA lead-safe firm certification.
- Make sure everyone can get out through the door, and any security gate, without a key.
When to call a pro
A handy homeowner can usually replace weatherstripping and a sweep or tighten hinges. Bring in a door or carpentry pro when the frame or sill is rotted, the door needs to be planed or rehung, you're replacing a door in a brick opening, the house is historic, or the work means disturbing old paint. Call sooner if water is getting into the wall around the door or the lock no longer holds after damage.
When you contact pros, include photos of the door from both sides, the frame and the threshold, the approximate width and height of the opening, whether there's a vestibule or storm door, whether the house is on the historic register and roughly when it was built. Ask each one to say whether they'd repair, replace the slab or install a prehung unit, and why; what U-factor and glass the new door has; and who handles any Historical Commission review. Our guide on how to check a contractor in Philadelphia covers the state registration and the written contract, and if your windows are drafty too, see drafty windows: fix, add storms or replace.
On HomeKept you can describe the door job once and compare up to three estimates from local window and door pros in Philadelphia. It's free for homeowners, and the service area covers Philadelphia, Bucks and Montgomery counties.
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