Door installation: internal, front and period doors
Most door jobs go into openings the house already has. A licensed carpenter quotes from the number of doors, the type, whether the frames stay and the handles and locks you want.
Internal doors in existing frames
The new door is trimmed to fit the old frame, the hinge and latch recesses are cut, and the handle is fitted. Hollow-core doors are the low-cost choice; solid timber doors are heavier and quieter between rooms.
Pre-hung doors and new jambs
A pre-hung door comes already hung in its own jamb. The old jamb comes out, the new one is packed plumb in the opening, and the architraves go back around it, or new ones to match the skirting.
Front doors
A new entry door in the same opening, hung on heavier hinges with its lock fitted and the threshold sealed against the weather.
Period four-panel doors
Villas and cottages have tall four-panel timber doors. Where one is missing or past saving, a matching four-panel door is hung in its place rather than a flush door that looks out of place.
Door installation costs in Adelaide
Door installation and repair prices
| What’s charged | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hollow-core internal door, supply and install | $150 – $320 | The Quote Yard (SA guide) |
| Solid timber internal door | $300 – $650 | The Quote Yard (SA guide) |
| External entry door (standard) | $600 – $1,800 | The Quote Yard (SA guide) |
| Heritage replica entry door | $1,800 – $5,500+ | The Quote Yard (SA guide) |
| Internal door installed (door bought from Bunnings) | From $210 | Bunnings |
| External door installed (door bought from Bunnings) | From $318 | Bunnings |
| Door repair or rehang, per job (typical $180) | $100 – $300 | What’s The Damage (national) |
Checked 28 October 2026. The Quote Yard is a quote-comparison marketplace; its South Australian guide (4 May 2026) doesn’t state GST. Bunnings’ service fits like-for-like doors bought from Bunnings only. What’s The Damage’s national figure (October 2026) includes GST.
A licensed carpenter prices your doors after seeing them or photos of them: how many, the type, and whether the frames and architraves are replaced too. The door installation cost guide has more on each price, including what Bunnings’ installation service includes.
Door repairs for sticking, dragging and unlatching doors
Doors that stick or drag
Loose hinge screws let a door drop and catch the frame or floor. The hinges are re-fixed with longer screws or replaced, and the edge is planed only where it still binds.
Doors that won’t latch
When the latch no longer lines up with the strike plate, the plate is moved or the door rehung so it closes with a click instead of a shove.
Doors after new floors
New boards, tiles or carpet raise the floor, and doors then scrape. They’re taken off and trimmed at the bottom to clear the new floor.
Split jambs and damaged doors
A jamb split by a forced lock is repaired or replaced, and a door with a broken stile or panel is repaired where the timber is sound, or replaced.
New door openings, wider doors and older homes
Fitting a door into an existing opening is carpentry. Making an opening wider or higher, or cutting a new one, changes the wall itself: Consumer and Business Services’ licence scope for window and door installation covers existing openings and “does not allow increasing the height or width of openings”. In a load-bearing wall that’s structural work, outside the door jobs quoted here.
Hanging doors for someone else is licensed building work in SA: CBS lists the installation of doors, door hardware and locks in its second-fix carpentry scope, and the Building Work Contractors Act 1995 has no dollar threshold. See how to check a licence.
Older homes: check for asbestos first
asbestos.sa.gov.au says to check for asbestos before repairs or renovation in a house built before the mid-1980s. That matters when old jambs, linings or architraves come off around a door, so mention when the house was built. See asbestos before renovating in SA.
What to send us
- How many doors, and which rooms
- The type: hollow-core, solid timber, period four-panel or front door
- One door’s height and width, and whether the frames stay
- Whether you’ve bought the doors already, and where from
- For repairs, what the door does: sticks, drags or won’t latch
Related guides
- Door installation cost in Adelaide South Australian prices for hanging internal, solid timber, front and heritage replica doors, Bunnings’ installation service and door repairs.
Questions about door installation and repairs in Adelaide
Can a carpenter hang doors I’ve already bought?
Yes. Say where the doors came from and their sizes, so the quote covers hanging and hardware only. Check the doors fit the openings before you buy, as a door that’s too big can only be trimmed so far.
How much can a hollow-core door be cut down?
Only a little. A hollow-core door has a solid timber frame around its edges with a hollow middle, so trimming more than that frame allows opens up the core. A solid timber door can be trimmed further.
Why does my door only stick in winter?
Timber takes up moisture and swells in damp weather, then shrinks back as it dries. A door that sticks only in winter often needs a light plane at the tight spot, with the bare edge sealed afterwards so it doesn’t swell again.
Can an old villa door be repaired instead of replaced?
Often, if the stiles and rails are sound: loose joints are re-glued and clamped, split panels repaired and the door rehung on new hinges. Keeping the original door keeps it matched to the rest of the house.
Can a cavity sliding door replace a swing door?
A cavity slider runs inside the wall, so the wall lining comes off and a new cavity frame goes in beside the opening. In a load-bearing wall that’s structural work. Send photos of both sides of the wall and say what’s in it, such as a light switch.
Where this information comes from
The rules and figures on this page come from these published pages, checked on 28 October 2026.
- The Quote Yard: door installation SA 2026 · Quote-comparison marketplace, South Australian price guide, published 4 May 2026
- Bunnings: door installation service · National hardware retailer, installation service page, undated
- What’s The Damage: carpenter cost Australia 2026 · National cost guide (paid by tradespeople for enquiries), updated October 2026, prices include GST
- asbestos.sa.gov.au: homeowners · SA Government asbestos information site (SafeWork SA, EPA SA, SA Health and others)
- CBS: building work supervisor standard registration conditions · SA Government, Consumer and Business Services: the licence categories (carpentry, decks, fencing, windows and doors)
- Building Work Contractors Act 1995 (SA) · South Australian legislation: ss 3, 6, 28–36, 47A–47D, 49 and 50
