Replacement of room doors

The professional DIY enthusiasts speak from within us *irony*: >We are currently in the learning phase that everything always turns out to be much more expensive than expected and that online research does not necessarily provide realistic prices - or maybe it does?

"Problem": We probably underestimated the costs for interior doors, at least if we want to order them locally in stores and not online. The dimensions are unspectacular, 3 times 198.5x86 and 2 times 198.5x73, so probably standard.

The current doors are 22 years old, apart from the door handles quite well preserved, but in that orange-tinged tone that we do not like visually at all. The current laminate floor (also brownish-orange) matches the doors, but probably no longer fits our idea of a new floor.

The owner once suggested to us as an idea to maybe only replace the door panels, but then the frames wouldn't match the doors in color anymore, right? We want white door panels or ones in a light wood look.

Anyway, based on some online research, we thought you can certainly get good door panels for about 120 euros when you can get at least seemingly appealing door panels online for 70 euros at first glance?

In a local specialized store, we nearly had a heart attack as even the simplest white doors including frame and handle were hardly available for under 500 euros.

Or did we just look in a store that was too expensive?

We cannot replace the frames ourselves. We have a trained carpenter in our circle of acquaintances who once agreed that he can help us with that. At first, we thought replacing 5 frames and door panels + handles would be a matter of 2 hours? Probably miscalculated as well?

If we had a professional install all the doors completely, what would you estimate the cost would be for 5 doors based on your experience?

We actually did not want to order online because we thought: in the end it might not fit, complaints then possibly much more difficult than locally, partly extremely high shipping costs, etc. But since these are actually standard sizes, we have now become unsure given the local prices and our miscalculation whether we should not order doors, frames, etc. on the internet after all?

Do you want CPL doors or painted doors? That is the first major price difference.

For doors with frames (CPL) in new buildings, you can expect about 180-250 euros* including installation and handles.

*In old buildings with dismantling and disposal significantly more expensive.

So first of all, it should be clarified exactly what you want. A door is not just a door...

Hollow core door with ribbing?
Hollow core?
Solid core?
Solid wood?
Two hinges?
Three hinges?
Frame width?
Concealed hinges?
Grooved/raised panels?

Prices start at 100 euros and are open-ended...

With a material budget of 200 euros/door, you should actually be able to find and get decent doors (CPL).

The door frames should be salvageable. Paint them white on a rainy weekend. Remove the door leaf.
You sand the frame with a random orbital sander and not too coarse paper, 240 grit. Corners by hand. You dust them off with a Swiffer. You degrease them with, for example, painter's spirit.
Then possibly tape off. Then apply two to three coats with a paint roller and semi-matte white paint. Better thin three than thick two. Done.
Please buy good paint. Whether the 2.5 l costs 45 or 35 is not important, the result has to be right. Good paint, available to amateurs as well, is offered by Herbol or Brillux.

I'll be honest: We have (so far, you inevitably become a DIYer little by little with a house...) no real knowledge about materials for doors. I mean, which type has which quality and which durability.

To my knowledge, CPL is a wood imitation and therefore rather inexpensive?

We have asked the current owner again about the frame width.

Our thought about the doors was: It's about the doors on the upper floor, so not about "representative" rooms. The children are small, and I remember my own childhood with doors where my siblings and I were not gentle and Lego, stickers, tape... left quite a few marks on the doors. That's why it would be okay for us to consciously buy something cheap for the doors at first, instead of investing several hundred euros in the upper range per door, when you still can't teach the children how expensive a door actually is.

I have now, you’re not allowed to link anything, right?, found such CPL doors at several online door stores where we would stay under 200 euros. Apparently, it goes even cheaper with "low budget doors," but well, we don't have to fuss over 20 euros now.

How is it with these CPL doors in terms of harmful substances? Can one assume that even cheaper CPL doors are okay or are CPL doors in the 150-200 euro range "toxic"?

It’s not a new building, so old frames and doors have to be removed and disposed of. Disposal is a good point. That will be more expensive special waste, right?

The door frames should be salvageable. Paint them white on a rainy weekend. Take the door leaf off.
You sand the frame with an orbital sander and not too coarse paper, 240 grit. Sand the corners by hand. You dust them off with a Swiffer. You degrease them, for example with painter's spirit.
Then tape off if necessary. Then apply two to three coats of satin white paint with a painter’s roller. Better three thin coats than two thick ones. Done.
Please buy good paint. Whether the 2.5 liters costs 45 or 35 euros is not important, the result has to be right. Good paint, which is also available to laymen, is offered by Herbol or Brillux.

That sounds good at first. I admire people who can do all that. Will I ever belong to that group??

So, if I calculate that average CPL doors cost around 80 euros and up and we need 5 frames, we will have to budget 400-500 euros or maybe more.

For that, even if the paint costs 60 euros, it’s nothing. But we don’t have an orbital sander or a painter’s roller, and whether the result will be so good with my skills is the question... But maybe I should trust myself more in that area. In itself, the frames still look really good, and not having to rip them all out alone would be great...

The current doors are 22 years old, fairly well preserved except for the door handle sets, but in this orange-tinged tone that we do not like visually at all.

I see absolutely no need for new doors, only for new door handle sets. For purely aesthetic renovations, there are special door makeover services like Meister Portas & Co. Nowadays, so many things are laminated that are not quite right, even brand-new windows.