Free in-home measure and quote - PGT, CGI and CWS impact lines compared on your actual openings, style by style
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Before
AfterTrusted Door Installation for Little Gables Homeowners
Door installation in Little Gables runs $450 to $3,800 for most residential projects, with entry doors at the lower end ($450-$1,500) and hurricane-rated front entry systems at the higher end ($1,800-$3,800+). Most standard installations take one day from removal to final trim, and we answer the phone live around the clock at (727) 291-4678. Ed Winslow has been putting his name on door work since 2011, and in Little Gables we see the same thing on nearly every street: beautiful 1940s and 1950s homes with original doors that no longer close square, no longer seal against the humidity, and no longer stand up to the wind codes that now govern this area.
That is exactly where we come in. Winslow Windows & Doors is the locally owned, owner-operated alternative to the faceless national chains that hand you a ticket number and hope you go away. Ed’s name is on the door – and on every job we do. When you call about Door Installation in Little Gables, a live person picks up. Not a call center. Not a voicemail loop. A real human being who knows this neighborhood, understands Coral Way and the surrounding blocks, and can tell you what a new Therma-Tru entry door, a PGT hurricane-rated front door, or a set of French doors will actually cost before we ever step onto your porch.
We’ve been serving Little Gables and the surrounding communities for over 15 years. Our technicians are background-checked and arrive in uniform. The pricing is upfront. The work carries the Done Right Promise: if it’s not done right, we make it right. Period. That’s a standard of accountability written into every job.
What Our Door Installation Service Includes
Door installation is not a one-size-fits-all trade. A front door on a 1950s Little Gables bungalow has different requirements than a hurricane-rated entry system on a newer construction, and a French & Double Doors opening onto a patio is a different animal from a storm door facing the afternoon heat. We approach every job with an eye to the specific house, the specific exposure, and the specific demands of South Florida weather and building code. Here is what we do, broken down by the type of door you need.
Entry Doors
Your entry door is the first thing a visitor touches and the first failure point a burglar checks. In Little Gables, where many homes still have their original wood doors, we commonly find sagging slabs, worn hinges, and weatherstripping that stopped doing its job years ago. We install new entry doors with full-frame or slab replacement depending on what the rough opening will support, and we shim, level, and square every unit so it closes with one finger. Ed Winslow personally walks the job before the crew packs up, verifying the reveal lines are consistent and the latch actually hits the strike plate dead center.
Hurricane-Proof Front & Entry Doors
South Florida building code changed dramatically after Hurricane Andrew, and many older Little Gables homes have front doors that would not pass a wind-load test today. Hurricane-Proof Front & Entry Doors are not just heavier versions of standard doors; they are engineered systems with reinforced frames, impact-rated glazing where applicable, and tested hardware that holds the door closed during both positive and negative wind pressure. We install PGT and CGI hurricane-rated entry doors that carry Miami-Dade County product approval, and we pull permits on every job that requires one. Inspections are not something we fear; they are something we expect to pass.
French & Double Doors
French doors are beautiful until they are not, and in Little Gables humidity, they fail in predictable ways: the stiles warp, the astragal loosens, and water finds its way under the sill. We replace French and double door units with modern Therma-Tru systems that include true multipoint locking hardware, meaning the top and bottom of the door stay engaged with the frame, not just the center latch. We pay particular attention to the threshold and sub-sill flashing, because a French door that leaks at the bottom will destroy your flooring long before you notice the stain. Every installation is flashed and sealed so water has nowhere to go but away from the house.
Replacement Doors
Sometimes the frame is fine and the door is not. In those cases, a full tear-out is wasteful and unnecessarily destructive for replacement doors. We offer slab replacement for many Little Gables homes, where we remove the existing door from its hinges, machine the new slab for the existing hardware locations, and hang it in the current frame with new hinges and a fresh sweep. This keeps the stucco, trim, and interior casing untouched. When the frame itself is compromised, cracked, or so out of square it cannot be saved, we do a full-frame replacement, pulling the old jamb and installing a new pre-hung unit that is insulated, leveled, and sealed correctly.
Storm & Exterior Doors
A storm door is the second line of defense: it lets the breeze in while keeping the rain, bugs, and direct sun off your primary entry door. In Little Gables, where summer thunderstorms hit hard and fast every afternoon, a properly installed storm door also reduces the thermal shock your main door absorbs. We install storm doors with self-storing glass, interchanging screens, and wind-rated hardware that keeps the door from being ripped off its closer during a sudden gust. The closer itself is adjusted so the door closes every time, even after a year of use. Many of the storm doors we install also add a layer of security, as the outer door gives you a way to speak to a stranger at your door without fully opening the main one.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Brands We Service for Door Installation
We are an authorized installer for eight premium door and window brands, but the three names that matter most for Little Gables door work are Therma-Tru, PGT, and CGI. Therma-Tru is the standard for fiberglass entry doors in this region, and we have installed hundreds of their Classic-Craft and Smooth-Star lines in Coral Gables-adjacent neighborhoods like Little Gables. Because fiberglass does not warp, swell, or wick moisture the way wood does, it handles the South Florida humidity without binding or rotting. We order every Therma-Tru unit with the exact swing, hinge, and hardware prep the home requires, and we field-verify rough opening measurements before the order goes in, because an eighth-inch mistake in a pre-hung order means a two-week delay.
PGT and CGI are the two names that matter when hurricane protection is the priority. Both brands carry heavy Miami-Dade and Florida Building Code product approvals, and we regularly spec them for front doors, patio doors, and double-door systems in the Little Gables area. We know their hinge preparations, their threshold requirements, and their hardware compatibility, which means we do not arrive on install day and discover a mismatch. The installation is never the moment to learn a new brand. We do the homework before we ever cut the shrink wrap.
Whether you have a Therma-Tru, PGT, CGI, or any other quality brand, we can help. If you inherited an unknown brand from the previous owner, we will identify it, assess its condition, and give you an honest answer about whether repair or replacement makes more sense.
Signs You Need Door Installation Right Now
Some door problems announce themselves. Others whisper for years until the water stain on your floor becomes unavoidable. Here are the signs we see most often in Little Gables homes, and why they mean a new door should be on your list sooner rather than later.
- The door sticks or binds when the humidity spikes. If your door opens fine in January and scrapes against the jamb in August, the slab or the frame has absorbed moisture and lost its shape. Once swelling starts, it compounds every rainy season. A properly installed fiberglass door does not do this, which is why we push Therma-Tru so heavily in Little Gables.
- Daylight is visible around the door when it’s closed. Stand inside at dusk and look at the perimeter of your closed front door. If you can see light, you are also losing conditioned air, letting in humidity, and providing an entry point for palmetto bugs. Gaps like these also mean your lock may not be fully engaging, which is a security issue, not just an energy issue.
- The door no longer closes on its own, or it slams shut. Hinges sag over time, and when they do, the slab moves off-center in the frame. The door then swings open by itself or accelerates closed with a bang. This puts stress on the hinges, the strike plate, and eventually the frame itself. A replacement installed with proper shims and a level does neither.
- You see bubbling, peeling, or softness at the bottom of the door or frame. In Little Gables, this is almost always water intrusion. The sun bakes the exterior finish, rain runs down the face, and the bottom of the door wicks up water from a failed sweep or a threshold with no cap. If the frame feels soft when you push with a thumbnail, the structural integrity is already compromised.
- Your front door is original to a home built before 1994. This is the biggest one. Andrew changed everything, and a pre-Andrew door was never tested for the wind loads we now design for. Even if the door looks fine, it may not have the frame anchoring, the impact rating, or the hardware reinforcement current code requires. If you are planning any permitted renovation, this is the moment to bring the door up to code.
If you recognize one or two of these signs, call (727) 291-4678. We will send a background-checked technician in a marked truck to look at what you have, explain your options in plain language, and give you a written line-item quote. There is no trip charge inside our home county, and the estimate is free.
Our Door Installation Process - Step by Step
A clean installation is not luck. It is sequence, attention to detail, and the discipline to stop and verify before closing up a wall. Here is how we install a door in a Little Gables home, from first call to final walkthrough.
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Site visit and measurements. Before we quote a door, we look at it. We measure the rough opening in three places: top, middle, and bottom for width, and both sides plus center for height. We check the floor for level, the wall for plumb, and the existing frame for signs of rot or termite damage. We also confirm the local wind-load requirements for your exact address, because code requirements can shift block by block.
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Written line-item quote. You get a document you can read, not a number scrawled on a business card. The quote breaks out the door, the slab, the hardware, the installation labor, the permit (if required), and any flashing or trim work. We honor that price. No change orders. No surprises on the invoice. If the double doors you picked are no longer on promotion, we already knew that before we wrote the quote.
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Order and preparation. Once you approve the quote, we order the door from the manufacturer and track it until it reaches our shop. Before install day, we call you to confirm the time and the name of the technician who will be on site. Every technician is background-checked and will arrive in a branded uniform with photo identification. You will know exactly who is at your door before the truck pulls up.
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Installation day. The old door comes out, and we inspect the rough opening before the new unit goes in. We repair any hidden damage, install proper flashing at the sill and head, set the new door square and plumb, and insulate the perimeter with low-expansion foam. Hardware is installed and adjusted: the deadbolt throws clean, the sweep seals evenly across the threshold, and the door closes with one finger and stays exactly where you leave it. If the door is hurricane-rated, we use the exact anchoring fasteners specified in the product approval, not whatever screws were in the truck.
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Final walkthrough and warranty. Ed Winslow or a senior lead walks the finished install with you before we leave. You see the work, you test the door, you get your questions answered. Then the job is logged under the Done Right Promise: if it’s not done right, we make it right. That promise does not expire when the warranty period ends. It is the standard we work under, every day, on every door.
How Much Does Door Installation Cost in Little Gables?
A standard replacement entry door in Little Gables typically runs $450 to $1,500 installed, depending on whether we are hanging a slab in your existing frame or setting a new pre-hung unit. A hurricane-rated front door from PGT or CGI usually falls between $1,800 and $3,800, with custom sizing, decorative glass, and specialty hardware pushing the number toward the high end. French or double door installations range from $2,200 to $5,500, since they involve two slabs, a new threshold, and often significant rough-opening adjustment. Storm doors run $700 to $1,600, including installation and hardware adjustment.
What moves the number: the condition of the rough opening, whether the door needs hurricane product approval, whether a permit and inspection are required, the brand and series you select, and whether the frame can be reused or must be completely torn out. You should be wary of any quote that seems dramatically lower than these ranges without an explanation, because cheap door work in Little Gables usually means skimping on flashing, skipping the permit, or using an unapproved door that will fail an inspection or a storm.
Every free estimate from Winslow Windows & Doors includes the same things: a measured assessment of your current door, an honest discussion of what needs replacing versus what can be kept, and a written line-item quote that we stand behind. We also offer a free second opinion on any written estimate you have from another contractor, so you can compare numbers without pressure. Call (727) 291-4678 and tell us what you are working with. We will take it from there.
Door Installation Near Little Gables - Our Service Area
Little Gables is home base for much of our door work, but we regularly install doors throughout the surrounding area: Door Installation in Miami, Door Installation in Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Doral, Hialeah, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, Kendall, Olympia Heights, Medley, and Miami Springs. Because our crews are local and our shop is close, we can schedule most Little Gables installations within one to two weeks of quote approval, and our response time on urgent issues is measured in hours, not days. Home to Winslow Windows & Doors is right here in South Florida, not a call center three states away.
Serving Little Gables, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Little Gables area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
Frequently Asked Questions - Door Installation in Little Gables
Door installation is the removal of an existing door (and often its frame) and the precise setting of a new door unit so it opens, closes, seals, and locks correctly. It includes measuring the rough opening, checking for hidden damage, flashing and sealing to prevent water intrusion, and adjusting the hardware. In Little Gables, installation often also means bringing the door up to current Miami-Dade wind code, which is a specialized skill set we have been performing since 2011.
Most single entry door installations take one full day, from removal of the old unit to final hardware adjustment and walkthrough, provided the rough opening is in good condition. Double doors or installation that reveals rotted framing can take two days. Larger projects, like a full home with multiple openings, may extend to a week. We confirm a timeline in writing before the job starts, and we stick to it. Call (727) 291-4678 to get an estimated timeline for your specific doors.
A standard entry door installation in Little Gables typically costs $450 to $1,500 for a basic replacement, while hurricane-rated systems from PGT or CGI run $1,800 to $3,800 installed depending on the options selected. French and double door projects fall between $2,200 and $5,500. The installed price includes the door, slab, hardware, flashing, sealing, labor, and permit when required. Everything is line-itemed. Call (727) 291-4678 for an exact quote; estimates are free.
Yes, we are authorized Therma-Tru installers and order their products directly for homes throughout Little Gables. We use their factory-specified hinge and hardware drill patterns so every unit is installed exactly as the manufacturer engineered it. If you have a Therma-Tru door that is failing or needs replacement, we know the line inside and out. We also install PGT, CGI products for clients who need something different.
For true emergency situations, such as a door that will not close or secure, we answer the phone live around the clock and can schedule priority attention for Little Gables homeowners. We never promise rushed work that compromises the installation; a hurricane door only performs when it is anchored and flashed correctly. The best time to schedule a hurricane-rated door is before you need it, but if you have an urgent situation, call (727) 291-4678 and we will find the fastest safe path.
Every door we install carries the manufacturer’s warranty on the product and the Winslow Windows & Doors Done Right Promise on the workmanship. That means if something is not done right, we come back and make it right, no matter how much time has passed. It is a standard of accountability written into every job. We also pass along any manufacturer paint or finish warranty without fine print.
Clear the interior and exterior areas around the door so our crew has roughly four feet of working space on each side. Move any furniture, planters, or decorations that could be damaged by dust or foot traffic. Plan for your pets to be in a separate room during the installation. And if you have a security system, arm it only after our technician has finished the final walkthrough and the door is fully functional. We handle everything else, from the old door disposal to the final sweep of the work area.
Schedule Your Door Installation Service in Little Gables Today
A sagging, binding, or leaky door does not fix itself, and every hurricane season that passes without a rated door is a gamble you don’t need to take. Call (727) 291-4678 and talk to a live person, any hour of any day. We will answer your questions, schedule your free estimate, and give you a written line-item quote with no change orders and no trip charge inside our home county. Ed’s name is on the door – and on every job we do. The one down the road.
Written by Ed Winslow, Owner at Winslow Windows & Doors, serving Little Gables since 2011.
Six Reasons Homeowners Choose Winslow Windows & Doors
Impact systems engineered to design pressures up to +/-100, matched to your wind zone - your openings hold when the storm arrives.
Low-E insulated impact glass from our manufacturer lines commonly cuts monthly cooling bills 20-30%.
Laminated impact glass shuts out up to 40% of outside noise - traffic, neighbors, weather.
Monitoring services run $30-90 a month. Laminated impact glass resists forced entry around the clock, with no subscription.
Florida homeowners average around 25% savings on the windstorm portion of their policy after protecting every opening - some homes qualify for more.
A full impact package upgrades curb appeal, buyer confidence and appraised value in one project.