A badly fitted door does not fail on the day. It fails over the next two winters, and by then the trade is gone. Here are the seven things that go wrong with cheap door fitting, why each one happens, and how to see it coming in the quote before anyone picks up a saw.
1. The door drops and catches on the frame
Why it happens. Two hinges on a heavy door, or hinge screws with nothing solid to bite into. The top hinge takes the weight, the screws work loose, the door sags.
How to spot it in the quote. No mention of the number of hinges, or the words “hollow core”. Ask. The answer should be three hinges and a solid door.
2. The door rattles or will not stay shut
Why it happens. The latch and the keep were not lined up properly, or the door was hung to the opening rather than adjusted to close cleanly. Fitting a door is mostly adjustment, and adjustment is what gets skipped when the price is low.
How to spot it. A very short fitting time. A door fitted, hung and adjusted properly is a couple of hours, not forty minutes.
3. Gaps you can see daylight through
Why it happens. The frame is out of square and the door was trimmed to a straight line anyway. Or the door is the wrong size for the opening and was packed out.
How to spot it. A price from a photo. Nobody can tell whether a frame is square from a picture, which is why we visit first and why a quote that skips the visit is a guess.
4. The edges look rough under the paint
Why it happens. The planed edges were left as they came off the saw, or worse, coated in preserver as if the door were a fence post. Internal doors are sanded smooth with the sharp edges eased so the paint goes on cleanly.
How to spot it. The quote does not say the door will be ready for decorating. Ask what “finished” means.
5. The frame was the real problem and nobody said
Why it happens. A loose, split or out-of-square lining will not hold a new door well however good the door is. A cheap fit hangs the new door in the old frame and hopes.
How to spot it. No mention of the frame at all. A good quote will say either that the frame is sound or that it needs replacing and what that costs.
6. Dust and damage everywhere else
Why it happens. Doors are trimmed and recesses are cut in your hallway. Without sheeting and dust protection the whole landing gets it, and a dropped door marks a floor.
How to spot it. Nothing in the quote about protecting the room or cleaning up. It is not free, so if it is not priced it is not planned.
7. Extras on the day
Why it happens. The cheap headline price left out the handles, the latch, the rubbish, or the second coat of primer, and each one turns up as an extra once the old door is off.
How to spot it. A price with no description under it. Our quotes list the door, the hinges, the latch and handles, the fitting, the adjustment and the finishing, so the number means something. Taking the old door away is a separate priced line, never hidden inside the total and never added on the day.
What a proper door fitting looks like
A visit first. A solid core door, three hinges, new latch and lever handles. Trimmed to the opening, recesses cut cleanly, hung, and adjusted until it closes without rattling and stays where you leave it. Edges sanded ready for paint. The room sheeted before and cleaned after. One fixed price in writing, around £205 to £225 supplied and fitted into a sound existing frame. Full breakdown in our internal door cost guide.
Want a proper price?
Book a visit at mendwell.co.uk/book. About half an hour, and you get a fixed price in writing.
Mendwell is a property maintenance service based in Nuneaton, working across Warwickshire. If you are outside the towns you see us mention, ask anyway.
Prices reviewed September 2026.
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