Door Hanging Costs UK — What to Charge for Fitting Doors and How to Price the Job in 2026

Door Hanging Labour Rates by Door Type — UK 2026

These are labour-only rates. Unless stated, the door, frame, and ironmongery are supplied separately by the client or builder. The ranges reflect regional variation, frame condition, and complexity — a standard interior door in a well-built new frame at the lower end, a tricky non-standard installation into a knocked-about existing frame at the upper end.

Rates reflect 2026 UK market conditions for self-employed joiners and carpenters. London and South East at upper end of each range. Day rate for joiners doing door hanging: £200–£400/day depending on region and specialism.

An experienced joiner can hang 4–6 standard interior doors in a day, or 2–3 external doors. Fire doors, bifolds, and French doors typically take longer per unit due to the alignment precision and compliance requirements involved. Quoting per door rather than per day is almost always the right approach — it avoids the inevitable customer comment about why you "only" managed four doors, and it means your price holds if a frame turns out to be awkward.

What Moves the Price — Variables Every Joiner Should Assess Before Quoting

Door hanging looks like a simple line item until you are on site. The variables below are the ones most likely to take a job from the lower end of the range to the upper end — or to justify a supplementary charge once work is underway. Identify them at the survey stage rather than discovering them on the day.

Frame condition

The most significant variable. A plumb, square, undamaged lining in a new build or recently renovated property is a clean job. A Victorian terrace where the frame has racked over decades, the head has bowed, and previous tenants have painted over the hinges four times is a different proposition entirely. Always check for square with a long spirit level or diagonal measurement before quoting. A frame more than 6mm out of square will require either significant planing on the door or packing and adjustment of the frame — both add time. Be explicit in your quote that the price assumes the frame is within tolerances, and that any remedial work to the frame is charged additionally.

Floor type and clearance

The gap between the bottom of the door and the floor matters. Hard floors — tile, engineered wood, laminate — require a tighter clearance (typically 3–5mm) than carpet (8–12mm). If there is carpet in place and the customer plans to replace it with tiles, the door will need to be rehung or cut down after the floor goes in. Check what flooring is present and planned, and make clear in your quote what clearance you are cutting to. A door hung for carpet that then drags on new porcelain tile is a callback you will not want to handle.

Door size — standard vs non-standard

Standard UK internal door: 1981mm × 762mm or 838mm (78"×30" or 33"). Standard external door: 2032mm × 813mm. Non-standard sizes — particularly older properties where door openings do not conform to modern sizing, or where a customer has bought a door from a reclamation yard — require more planing, packing, or in some cases a new frame made to size. Non-standard always costs more, always takes longer, and should always be identified at the survey stage. Measure the opening, not just the old door.

Ironmongery complexity

A basic door hanging job means three hinges, a latch, and a handle set. Fitting a multipoint lock into an external door is a different scale of work. A mortice sashlock with a cylinder requires marking out, chiselling, routing, boring the cylinder hole, and fitting the furniture on both sides — typically 45–90 minutes of additional work on top of the hanging itself. Fire doors require an approved self-closing mechanism. Bifolds need track alignment, pivot adjustment, and often a floor guide. Price ironmongery fitting separately from the door hanging — it makes your quote transparent and protects you if the client changes the hardware after you quote.

New vs existing frame

Hanging into an existing frame that is sound is fastest. Fitting a new lining set adds significant time — the lining must be set plumb in the opening, packed out, secured through the plaster, and trimmed flush before the door can be hung. On a brick or blockwork opening, the plugging and screwing into solid plaster walls is slow work. Budget an additional 1.5–2 hours per door when fitting new linings compared to using an existing frame in good condition.

Fire certification requirements

Fire doors carry additional requirements that fall outside standard door hanging — correct gap tolerances, tested intumescent strips, certificated closers, and in some cases third-party certification of the installer. These are not optional extras to be fitted quickly and moved on. See the fire door section below for full detail on what is required and why it affects price.

Fire Doors — When They Are Required, What FD30 and FD60 Mean, and Why Fitting Them Correctly Matters

Fire doors are one area where cutting corners carries legal and safety consequences beyond a simple callback. Understanding when they are required, what the specifications mean, and what correct installation involves is essential for any joiner who encounters them on residential or commercial work.

When fire doors are required

• Flats and maisonettes: all doors opening onto a common escape route — flat entrance doors, lobby doors, stairwell doors — must be fire-rated. This is Approved Document B of the Building Regulations. For new builds and conversions, this is a building control requirement with inspection and sign-off.
• HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation): HMO licensing conditions almost universally require fire doors throughout — to all bedroom doors, kitchen doors, and escape routes. Landlords are legally required to have fire doors in place and maintained. A joiner working on HMO maintenance work will encounter fire door requirements as standard.
• Between integral garage and house: the door between an attached garage and the habitable house must be a minimum FD30 fire door. This is one of the most commonly missed requirements on residential properties — homeowners frequently replace this door with a standard internal door without realising it requires fire rating.
• New builds and extensions: where a new build or extension creates an escape route that passes through a room, Building Regulations require fire doors at the boundaries. Always check with building control on an extension or conversion if a fire door is required at any point in the design.

FD30 vs FD60

The FD rating refers to the number of minutes the door assembly must resist fire. FD30 provides 30 minutes of fire resistance; FD60 provides 60 minutes. In standard domestic properties, FD30 is the most common requirement. FD60 is typically required in higher-risk situations — stairwells in larger HMOs, some commercial premises, plant rooms, and lift shafts. The door itself must be tested and certificated to the relevant standard. A plain solid-core door is not a fire door simply because it is heavy.

Intumescent strips and smoke seals

Intumescent strips are fitted into the rebate of the door or frame. In a fire, they expand to seal the gap between door and frame, preventing the passage of hot gases and flame. They must be the correct type for the door rating — a strip tested for FD30 cannot be substituted for an FD60 application. Cold smoke seals (brush seals or foam seals) are often required in addition to intumescent strips, particularly on HMO and commercial installations, to prevent smoke passage in the early stages of a fire before temperatures rise enough to activate the intumescent. Always check whether the specification calls for intumescent only or intumescent plus smoke seal.

Gap tolerances are critical. The gap between the door leaf and the frame on the latch and hinge sides must be between 2mm and 4mm. The gap at the bottom of the door (to the threshold or floor) must be no more than 8mm for FD30, 3mm for FD60 (or a threshold seal must be fitted). These tolerances are non-negotiable — a fire door with a 6mm gap on the hinge side will not achieve its rated performance regardless of how good the strips are.

Self-closing mechanism

All fire doors in escape routes and HMOs must be self-closing. The closer must be strong enough to pull the door fully closed from any position — a closer that leaves the door ajar by 50mm is not compliant. Overhead door closers (EN 1154 compliant) are standard; concealed closers in the hinge are used where an overhead closer would be obtrusive. The cost of a compliant overhead closer ranges from £40–£120 supplied; fitting adds 30–45 minutes to the door hanging time. Include it as a separate line on the quote.

Certification and liability

Fire doors in new builds and notifiable conversions must be signed off by building control as part of the completion certificate. In HMO licensing, the landlord is responsible for maintaining fire doors in compliance but the joiner who fits them carries responsibility for the quality of the installation. Fitting fire doors incorrectly — wrong gap tolerances, missing smoke seals, inadequate closer — is a liability issue. Always photograph the completed installation showing strips, gaps, and closer operation. Keep records. If a customer asks you to fit a fire door quickly without following correct procedure, decline or charge for doing it properly.

Ironmongery Add-Ons — Pricing Reference for Common Door Hardware in 2026

Joiners typically do not supply doors — the client or builder sources those. Ironmongery is different: most joiners either supply it themselves at a 15–20% markup on trade price, or they fit customer-supplied ironmongery at a labour rate that accounts for the additional fitting time. Either way, it should always be a separate line item on the quote, not bundled into the door hanging price.

When you supply ironmongery, apply a 15–20% markup on your trade cost before invoicing. This is standard practice — it covers sourcing time, managing returns if items are wrong, and carrying the cost before the customer pays. A full door ironmongery package for an external door — mortice lock, handle set, hinges, letter plate, and threshold bar — can easily total £200–£400 supplied at trade, with your markup adding £30–£80 on top. That is a meaningful commercial contribution to the job, not an optional extra.

When customers supply their own ironmongery, check it before starting. Customer-supplied hardware that is the wrong size, poorly made, or incompatible with the door specification wastes your time and creates a dispute. If you spot a problem, flag it in writing before starting rather than discovering it mid-fitting.

Common Issues That Add Cost — What to Flag at Survey Stage

The four most common causes of a door hanging job running over time and budget are all identifiable at the survey stage. Build these checks into every site visit before you quote.

Off-square frames

Check diagonal measurements in the opening (corner to corner). If the diagonals differ by more than 6mm, the frame is racked and the door will need to be wedge-cut on one stile to follow the frame, or the frame will need packing and adjustment before the door is hung. Either adds 30–60 minutes to the job. Note it on your quote: "Price assumes frame within 5mm square. Any frame correction charged at £X/hour."

Solid plaster walls

Fixing new linings into solid brick or blockwork walls behind sand-and-cement plaster is slow work. You cannot nail into it — every fixing requires a pilot hole drilled through the plaster into the masonry, a wall plug, and a screw. On a standard door opening with four or five fixings per side, that adds 45–60 minutes compared to fixing into a stud wall. Factor this into your price on older properties and always carry the right SDS bits and plugs for the wall type.

Oversized or non-standard doors

A door wider than 838mm or taller than 1981mm (standard UK sizing) is non-standard. Reclamation yard doors, imported doors, bespoke oversized doors for older properties, and any door that does not match the opening it is going into require additional planing, ripping on a table saw, or in some cases making a new frame. Identify the door dimensions before quoting — never assume a customer-supplied door is the right size for the opening until you have measured both.

Warped or bowed doors

Solid timber doors warp. A door stored upright and unsupported in a damp garage for several months before fitting will likely have a bow or twist that makes it difficult to hang correctly without rebating or surface-planning the face. Check any customer-supplied door before starting — lay it flat and sight along both faces and across both diagonals. A badly warped door may not be salvageable and should be flagged before you attempt to hang it and take responsibility for a poor result through no fault of your own.

Quoting Door Hanging Jobs — Per-Door vs Per-Day, and How to Structure Your Quote

The single most important quoting decision on door hanging work is to quote per door, not per day. A customer who sees a day rate of £300 and then watches you hang four doors will immediately calculate £75 per door in their head — and query whether that is right. A quote that says "Hang 4 × internal doors: £480" frames the price correctly from the outset and avoids the mental arithmetic entirely.

Per-day quoting also creates a perverse incentive: the customer has a mental interest in you working slowly. Per-door quoting means your efficiency is your own reward, not a point of friction. Hang six doors in a day cleanly and correctly — that is a good day commercially and for the customer. They get more done; you get paid fairly for it.

Quote structure that works

Break the quote into three sections: door hanging labour per unit, ironmongery (if you are supplying), and any additional works identified at survey. This structure is transparent, easy for the customer to follow, and protects you if scope changes.

Always include a clause covering conditions not visible at the time of survey: "If concealed frame damage or structural issues are found on commencement of work, these will be reported before proceeding. Additional works charged at £X/hour." This protects you without alarming the customer — it is professional, not adversarial.

On fire door work, note explicitly in the quote what specification you are fitting to (FD30, intumescent strips, smoke seals, EN 1154 compliant closer) and that the installation will comply with Approved Document B tolerances. This protects you if anyone questions the specification later, and it communicates to the customer that they are getting a properly compliant installation, not a door hung by someone who does not know the requirements.

Carpentry and Joinery Work Often Comes Through Word-of-Mouth — Track Which Referrers Generate the Most Jobs

Most door hanging and general carpentry work does not come from lead generation platforms. It comes from builders who call you back for every second fix package, from homeowners who pass your number to a neighbour after you hung their kitchen doors cleanly, and from estate agents who know you as the person to call when a property needs a quick door overhaul before a viewing. That referral network is worth far more than any paid lead source — but most joiners have no systematic way of knowing which referrers are generating their work.

Without tracking, you cannot answer simple questions: which builder sends you the most work? Which of your past customers has referred the most new jobs? Is your Google Business Profile generating calls from homeowners or from builders — and which type of customer converts and pays better? These questions matter because the answer tells you where to invest your time for relationship-building, and where to point your marketing spend if you use any.

Trade2Base lets carpentry and joinery businesses log the source of every new enquiry — whether it came in via the website, a builder referral, a customer recommendation, Google, or a lead platform — and track it through to job completion and payment. Over six months of data, patterns emerge: you discover that a particular building contractor sends you three jobs a month worth an average of £800 each, while a Checkatrade listing costs £600/year and generates two jobs worth £200 each. That is the kind of information that changes where you focus.

Referral tracking is particularly useful for joiners because the work tends to cluster. A customer who has a new kitchen fitted and asks you to hang all the internal doors across the rest of the house is a high-value referral. A builder running a loft conversion who wants you for all the second fix across six units a year is a relationship worth identifying and nurturing. Knowing which of your existing relationships are generating this kind of work — and which are not — is the starting point for growing the joinery business deliberately rather than reactively.