Door Insert or Full Door Replacement? How to Choose the Right Upgrade for Your Southwest Florida Home
We hear this question in our Fort Myers and Naples showrooms every week. The honest answer is that it depends on your door, your plans for the house, and the look you're after. Sometimes a decorative glass insert is all it takes to completely transform your entry. Other times, putting new glass in an old door is like putting lipstick on a pig, and we'll tell you so.
Here's how our design consultants and install team think it through, so you can walk in already knowing which direction makes sense for your home.
Author: Bonnie Doughty (CEO)
Contributors: Erica Vickers (VP of Operations), Mia Aviles (Sales Manager), and Scott Berger (Production Manager).
Same door, completely new entry. We cut into this existing six-panel door and added our Chelsea decorative glass design. The sidelight glass was swapped out with new impact rated Chelsea sidelights. The door kept its white finish, with no repainting needed.
In This Article
The Short Answer
A glass insert is usually the right choice when your door is in good shape, operates properly, is less than about 15 years old, and has a panel layout that accepts standard size glass. A full door replacement is usually the better investment when your door is older, isn't working properly, is damaged, is made of steel, or when you want a fully impact rated, permitted system or want a completely different look.
Glass insert
Full door replacement
Typical cost
$1,000 to $3,000 per door for standard designs and $2,000 to $7,000 per door for custom designs, depending on the design, the size, and whether you choose impact or non impact glass. For double doors, plan on twice the cost. Matching sidelights or a transom window are priced separately.
$7,000 to $12,000 for a single door and $10,000 to $28,000 for a double door, depending on the size of the opening, your glass options, and the material (fiberglass, aluminum, iron, and more). Premium materials like stainless steel and bronze can run higher.
Impact rating
The glass we install is rated; the door itself is not certified
The entire door system is tested and rated and inspected
Permit
Not pulled for insert only work
Pulled by our team and kept on record with the county
Install time
About an hour per door
6 to 8 hours, done in one day
Typical lead time
1 to 2 weeks (Express), 4 to 6 weeks (standard), 8 to 16 weeks (custom)
About 8 to 12 weeks for fiberglass and aluminum; 20-30 weeks for iron
Painting
In most cases no painting is needed, though some minor touchup may be. The glass frame usually comes white or tan and can be painted or left as is.
Fiberglass doors are installed primed and ready to paint (provided by others), Aluminum and Iron come pre-finished from the factory
Change material or entry layout
No
Yes (in most cases)
Start Here: How Old Is Your Door?
The first question we ask is how old your door is. Once a door reaches 15 years or more, it usually starts to show its age: warping, decay, and wear that no adjustment will fix for long.
Age matters, and not for the reason most people assume. A door doesn’t become illegal when the code changes. Florida only requires current standards at replacement.
What changed is the engineering. In March 2012 Florida adopted a new wind design standard, and design pressures for every opening are calculated differently before and after that date. The code has been updated twice since. The most recent version took effect December 31, 2023 and adopted a new wind standard. For Fort Myers and Naples, the design wind speeds didn’t change. We’ve been inside Florida’s Wind Borne Debris Region since 2002, and impact rated openings have been the standard on new work here the entire time. If anyone tells you a recent code change forces you to replace your door, that isn’t accurate.
Here’s what most homeowners don’t know: an impact rating isn’t a glass rating. The door is tested as a complete assembly, frame and hardware and glass and weatherstripping together, and the approval covers the unit. Impact glass set into a 15 year old frame isn’t an impact rated door.
If you have a steel door, we almost always recommend replacing it. Steel doors will rust at some point, usually from the inside out, and once rust starts, you can’t stop it.
What Else We Look at Before Recommending an Insert
How the door works
Does it open, close, and lock correctly? Do you see light around the edges? Are bugs getting in and cold air leaking out?
The door slab
Is it delaminating, warping, or rusting (steel doors)?
The frame and trim
The finish
How many times has it been painted? Some doors we see have too many coats of paint, and new glass won’t hide that.
Past damage
Your hardware and weatherstripping
If a door was installed incorrectly to begin with, no adjustment is going to last. When we tear out old doors, we regularly find surprises: doors held in with only a few screws, improper bucking, or no insulation around the frame. When we install a new door, it's built and installed properly, insulated with spray foam, and fitted with all composite materials and new hardware. It's a genuinely fresh start.
How Impact Ratings Work With an Insert
When we add an insert to your existing door, the glass we install is hurricane impact rated, but we can't certify the door as a whole.
That’s because we didn’t build or install the entire system, and we don’t know if your existing door is rated or how it was installed.
Insert
Replacement
Entire system tested, rated, permitted, and inspected.
What Does Each Option Cost?
For most of our standard designs, depending on the design, size, and impact or non impact glass
For most custom designs, depending on the design, size, and impact or non impact glass
Depending on the size of the opening, the number of doors, glass options, and material: fiberglass, aluminum, iron. Premium materials like stainless steel and bronze can run higher. Premium materials like stainless steel and bronze can run higher.
Some projects come in below these ranges and some come in above, but this is where most land. Because the glass is a large part of the cost either way, the real question is whether your existing door is worth investing in.
There’s one situation where that math flips: oversized panels. Most solid doors have raised panels, and sometimes those panels are larger than a standard size piece of glass. Once we get into custom size glass for an existing door, two things happen. The price goes up significantly, because it’s now a custom made piece of glass with a longer lead time. And while we can use impact rated components, we can’t say the finished unit has been tested and rated.
At that point, a custom insert in an older door, which can sometimes reach up to $7,000 or more, overlaps with the cost of a new door with standard glass, which starts around $7,000. When that’s the case, we’ll tell you. If you love our designs but your door needs it in a custom size, a new door can often be the smarter investment.
One more thing to know: once an impact insert is in a door, you’re committed to that door for a while. Moving hurricane impact glass into a different door later is very difficult, and the glass will very likely break in the process.
When a Glass Insert Makes Sense
Your door is in good shape
You want a big change for less
Going from a solid door to a door with glass completely changes your entry, inside and out, at a lower cost. We can also pair an insert with new hardware to update the whole entry with minimal work.
You want it done fast
Lead times are shorter, and installation takes only about an hour per door.
You're selling or may move soon
Realtors bring clients to us for exactly this. In neighborhoods where every house looks the same, adding glass to a solid door or refreshing an existing design, helps a listing stand out. If you’re staying less than five years, an insert is often the better fit.
You want to keep your paint
Your HOA moves slowly
HOAs can be quicker to approve inserts over a full door replacement, especially if you are changing the layout or door material.
From builder standard to showpiece. These six panel doors kept their paint, their hardware, and their frame. The only thing that changed is the custom glass which added beauty and light that wasn’t there before.
This homeowner was already renovating, so we added decorative glass to the existing doors. Same doors, and an entry that finally matches the rest of the house.
When a Full Door Replacement Is the Better Investment
- Your door is 15 years or older, is wood or steel, not operating well, or showing damage.
- You're staying five years or more. Do it once and be done.
- You want a fully rated, permitted system, which also adds to resale value.
- You want a different material. Going from fiberglass to iron or aluminum is only possible with a new door. Many of our clients are upgrading to iron, and when every home on the street has a basic fiberglass door, an iron door makes a real statement.
- You want a different finish. A new door lets you choose smooth, textured, or a wood grain look.
- You want to change the layout. Going from a double door to a single door with two sidelights (or the reverse), upgrading an older home to an oversized modern door, or switching from inswing to outswing all require a new prehung door.
- You want a specific glass shape your door can’t accept. If you want a three quarter light (glass above, panel below) and your door isn’t laid out for it, we can order a new door with the right panel configuration.
Same opening, entirely new entry. We replaced these warped and cracked wood doors with these beautiful mediterranean iron doors, prefinished and installed in one day by our own crew.
Same opening, entirely new entry. We replaced these standard fiberglass doors with our Roma iron doors, prefinished and installed in one day by our own crew. Drive down this street now and you’ll know exactly which house it is.
A Bonus Worth Knowing: What Impact Glass Does Beyond Storms
No shutters
Security
Impact glass is extremely difficult for an intruder to get through.
Quiet
Questions Homeowners Often Ask
Will adding glass make my door sag?
I already have glass in my door. Can you just swap it?
Usually, yes. If your existing glass is set in a frame, we can take it out and replace it. Some doors have glass set directly into the door, though, and in that case a swap may not be possible and a door replacement is the way to go.
My builder put clear impact rated glass in my door. Can I make it more private without starting over?
Yes. We have decorative options, like etched, leaded, stained, and bubble glass, that can be added behind your existing clear glass. You keep the glass you have already paid for and gain design and privacy, without paying for impact glass all over again.
Do I have to do a full cutout?
No. In most cases we can add an insert to the top 1/2 or 3/4 part of your door, but it will be dependent on your panel layout and size.
If my impact glass breaks, is that covered by warranty?
Not in most cases. Impact glass can break. It isn’t break-proof or bulletproof. When something hits it hard enough, the glass may crack but holds together, thanks to its strong inner layer. It keeps your home sealed and safe. Think of it like your car’s front windshield, or a surge protector that sacrifices itself to protect everything else. Replacing glass that has done its job is typically a homeowners insurance matter, depending on your policy.
Can I choose non-impact glass to save money?
Will my HOA approve it?
HOAs rarely reject inserts, and our team provides the documentation they need: photos of your chosen design, business licenses, and anything else needed. We also keep a log of the communities we’ve worked in, so we can often show your HOA that the same design is already installed in your neighborhood. Some communities now require a permit before approving a door replacement, which can add time, but we handle that too.
Will I need to paint my new door?
With an insert, usually not, though some minor touchup may be needed. The glass frame usually comes white or tan, and you can paint it or leave it as is. With a full replacement, most of our doors arrive primed and ready to paint, so painting is an additional step to plan for. Iron doors and aluminum options come prefinished.
Do you need to come out to measure?
For inserts, most of the time we can order from a good, clear photo of your door. If there’s any doubt, we’ll come out and measure. For full door replacements, we always come measure in person.
Lead Times and Install Day
Standard designs ordered from one of our top manufacturers.
Could be longer for some of our highly custom work.
For fiberglass and aluminum. Iron doors will usually run closer to 20-30 weeks.
Install day for an insert
We never cut your door inside your home, so you don’t have fiberglass dust drifting through the house. Our installers take the doors off the hinges, one at a time, and cover the opening with a drop cloth to keep bugs and dust out and your air conditioning in. They measure and cut the opening, install the glass, and rehang the door. With double doors, they repeat the process, then make final adjustments once everything is back together. Plan on about an hour per door.
Install day for a full replacement
A full replacement takes approximately 6 to 8 hours with 2 to 6 of our installers (depending on how heavy the doors are), and is done in one day. Inspection, performed by the permitting department, is typically able to be scheduled the following day. We pull the permit, coordinate with the municipality, schedule the inspection around you, and keep you updated if anything changes.
What You Can Expect From Our Team Either Way
Our own installers
Care for your home
Communication
Warranty support
Thirty years of being here
Come see it in person
Glass changes with the light, and a photo can’t tell you how a design will feel in your entry. Our Fort Myers and Naples showrooms hold a large selection of impact doors and door glass, with full doors and glass designs on display so you can see them at full size, touch them, and judge the privacy and light for yourself. Sit down with a Design Consultant who will walk you through the options and help you find what’s right for your home, your heart, and your budget. Bring a photo of your entry and we’ll tell you honestly whether you need a new door or just new glass. We recommend scheduling an appointment. It lets us set aside the right amount of time for you, so nothing about your visit feels rushed.
