What it costs
| Job | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Most door frame repairs | $150–$700 |
| Door jamb repair | $200–$450 |
| Simple patch and realignment | $150–$450 |
| Kicked-in door frame | $300–$700 |
| Partial replacement or larger frame repair | $600–$1,200 |
Split jamb: the most common repair
A door forced at the lock splits the jamb along the grain at the strike plate. It looks alarming and it is one of the more satisfying repairs: the split is glued and clamped, a reinforced strike plate is anchored with three-inch screws into the framing stud behind the jamb, and the repair is filled and painted.
The result is stronger than the original frame, because the original almost certainly relied on two short screws biting into soft pine. That is the real security weakness in most exterior doors — not the lock.
Rot in an exterior frame
Exterior jambs rot from the bottom up, where water sits against the threshold. Probe the bottom six inches with a screwdriver — soft means rot, and rot spreads. A bottom-of-jamb splice repair is often possible and much cheaper than full replacement, but only while the rot is confined to the lower portion.
On the coast, exterior jambs take years of wind-driven rain at the threshold, so bottom-of-jamb rot is especially common on older Vancouver homes.
Frames out of square
When a house settles, frames rack out of square and doors bind at a top or bottom corner. Planing the door to fit is the quick fix and a poor one — it leaves an uneven gap and the problem returns as settlement continues. The right repair is resetting the frame with shims back to plumb and square.
How we handle it
Door and trim work prices better in groups than one at a time — the labour of setting up is much the same whether you do one door or four. Our door and trim package covers three to five doors at $1,400–$2,400, including frames, hardware and paint.
Related: interior door repair · cost to replace an interior door · exterior door installation.
Common questions
Can a split door frame be repaired, or does it need replacing?
Most splits repair well. A jamb that has cracked at the strike plate — the classic forced-door failure — is fixed by gluing and clamping the split, reinforcing behind it with a long strike plate anchored into the stud, and filling and repainting. That is a stronger frame than it was originally.
Replacement is the answer when the jamb is rotted through, when the split runs most of the length, or when the frame is badly out of square.
Why does my door suddenly stick?
Usually one of three things. Seasonal humidity swelling the door — it will ease off and is not worth fixing. Hinge screws that have stripped out of the jamb, letting the door drop — a genuinely quick fix with longer screws into the stud. Or the house has settled and the frame is no longer square, which is the real repair.
Check the hinges first. If the top hinge is loose, that is your answer and it is a cheap one.
Is repairing the frame enough for security?
Done properly, yes — and it is often better than the original. The weakness in most exterior doors is not the lock, it is that the strike plate is held by two short screws into soft jamb material. A reinforced strike plate with three-inch screws driven into the framing stud behind is what actually resists a kick.
Do I need to replace the door too?
Not usually. Frame and door are separate. If the door itself is sound, a frame repair leaves you with a working door at a fraction of replacement cost. If you are replacing both, a pre-hung unit — door and frame together — is often cheaper and faster than fitting a new slab to an old frame.
Compiled from published 2026 Canadian cost data (Novin Doors and Canadian door and remodeling contractors), in CAD. Updated from our completed jobs quarterly.