The opening
Start from a common job, then replace every figure with your takeoff. Changing configuration, material, hang style, or stories never overwrites a rate you already typed. This prices a pedestrian entry unit — not a garage door, and not a window replacement.
Your crew rates
A $42/h installer loaded at 32% is $55.44. Quoting the raw wage on a published $1,200-installed special is how a sidelight unit with rot that looked fine turns into a two-day loss after the first out-of-square shim.
Your bid
- Unit and access
- Opening and extras
- Crew hours
- Loaded labor
- Door + extras
- Travel + equipment
- Overhead
- Total cost
- Profit at this price
- Effective hourly rate
- Walk-away price
Where the hours go
Where the cost goes
Transparent arithmetic from your own inputs. Starting hours and material rates are common ballpark figures, not an industry standard or a door design — replace them with your own takeoff.
Hand the customer a proposal
The price above is for you. This is the page you print or save as a PDF and give to the customer — your details, their details, the scope, the deposit split, and a line for them to sign. Your business details are saved on this device so you only type them once; the customer’s details are never saved.
Everything on the printed page is text you typed or a number this calculator worked out. It contains no warranty, lien, or cancellation wording — those depend on your jurisdiction and your contract, and this tool is not the place to invent them.
Common questions
Why can a competitor advertise “$1,200 installed”?
Usually because the special is written around one specific job, and that job is a preset here: a 36-inch steel prehung unit in a square, rot-free, one-story opening. It really does price low. What the flat number cannot see is sidelights, a transom, rot feet, an out-of-square opening, brickmold, a storm door, and second-story access. Price your actual opening beside the special and the gap becomes a list of line items instead of an argument about who is honest.
Why do sidelights cost more than just a wider door?
Because each sidelight is its own sash and glazing unit that has to be set plumb and sealed alongside the main door, not just a bigger single unit. A configuration with two sidelights and a transom is three separate framed openings working as one, and the hang time reflects that — it does not scale the way a single wider slab would.
Why does rot at the sill change the price so much?
Because rotted framing has to be cut out and rebuilt before the new unit can be set plumb and square, and that carpentry is billed by the linear foot of rot rather than folded into the door price. An opening with 8 feet of sill and jamb rot is a framing repair with a door hung afterward, not a door hang with a little extra caulk.
Is this the same as a garage door or a window replacement?
No. This prices a pedestrian entry unit — the door, sidelights, the opening, and the extras. It is distinct from garage-door replacement (springs, torsion hardware, an opener) and from window replacement (united inches, flashing, interior stops, no full-height framing repair).
Is my data uploaded anywhere?
No account and no network requests — the calculator runs entirely in your browser. A share link encodes only the inputs you choose into the address bar and is never sent to us, and the optional usage counter records only which features were used and the day, never your opening size, wages, or prices.
What’s the difference between the bid price and the walk-away price?
The bid price already includes your target margin on top of labor, materials, and overhead. The walk-away price is the total cost underneath it — the unit, sidelights, rot repair, hardware, and finish — the point below which the job stops being profitable at all. Typing a price you are considering shows you the margin or the loss before you send it.