I think everybody has seen a lot of rusty metal doors in their day. If you walk behind any given Shopping Center you’ll probably find quite a few of them. The question is when do they need to be replaced? Normally a little rust will not hurt the security of the door. In most cases you can simply just sand the door down and have a good skilled painter cover the door with a preventative. Eventually all hollow metal doors will need to be replaced. If you’re lucky it will just be the door and not the frame and in most cases that’s exactly the case. When it comes to commercial door replacement the less you can replace the better off you are.

How can I keep a commercial metal door from rusting?

Obviously, if you’re on the coast replacing rusty metal doors is going to be something that you’re going to need to work on continually. It will certainly be a constant battle against the elements but not an impossible one. You can if you catch it early prevent a door from rusting for a long time. Here are three things that will help you tremendously.

What are drip caps ? Drip caps are placed at the top of a door and prevent water from traveling down a face of a wall and then pooling in the top of a door. In other words drip caps are very important.

Kick plates and caped door sweeps

Regular application of quality exterior heat and rust resistant paint.

If you maintain your doors and install just a couple pieces of hardware it will be the difference in a door lasting 2 years and 20 years.

How much does it cost to replace a rusty metal door or weathered wood door?

I wish it was as easy as wooden doors are x amount and steel doors are this amount. For example hollow metal door without a frame, depending on the size you’re normally looking somewhere around $1100 to $1,600. This includes delivery and installation. To replace hollow metal frame commercial wood doors you’re looking somewhere around $700 to $1000. However when there is a specialty veneer, wood type or the door is fire-rated prices increase.

Please give Marietta Door a call for any of your commercial door installation or repair needs.