Apartment Rear Exit Door Replacement — Steel Back and Service Doors
The back door to the lot is rusted through at the bottom, the frame is swollen with rust, and the closer slams it.
Reply within one business day. Or call / text 763-204-2099.
Apartment rear exit door replacement covers the back and side doors to the parking lot, dumpster and laundry, and the service doors to boiler and storage rooms. JMB Builders replaces rusted steel doors and frames, rotted sills and thresholds, and worn closers, with exit hardware where the building official requires it. Twin Cities metro to St. Cloud, priced per door, each door locked the day it is replaced.
- Priced per door
- Rusted frames replaced, not painted over
- Sill pan and threshold on every exterior door
Rear and side doors on apartment buildings are usually plain steel doors in steel frames, and they fail from the bottom up. Snow and salt sit against the door, the bottom rail rusts open, the frame rusts at the floor where it is anchored, and the threshold lifts. Then the door drags, the latch misses, and someone props it with a brick.
We look at the frame first. A frame with surface rust gets a new door; a frame rusted through at the base is replaced, because a new door in a rotten frame will not latch for long. The new door and frame go in over a sill pan with a new threshold, sweep and weatherstrip, with a closer sized for an exterior door. Doors that serve as exits may need panic hardware, and some service doors, such as boiler rooms, are often rated. The labels and the building official decide which, and we confirm before we order.
Every door is closed and locked the day it is replaced. Before we bid a building of five or more units, we check the city's contractor licensing and permit rules for that building.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough: a reply within one business day, or ask for a free in-home estimate. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
What you supply
- Photos of each door, inside and out, the bottom of the frame and the threshold
- Which doors are exits and which are service or storage doors
- Lock and key standard
- Notice to tenants about the door being worked on
What JMB supplies
- Door, frame and label check at each opening
- Steel doors and frames ordered to the opening; rated where required
- Rusted frame cut out and the floor and wall at the jamb repaired
- Sill pan, threshold, sweep and weatherstrip
- Closer and lockset, or exit hardware where the building requires it
- Old doors and frames hauled away
- Doors and frames painted as a separate line, or left primed
- COI and W-9 on request
How it is priced: per door
Quoted in writing from your photos, with a reply within one business day. What moves the number:
- New door only vs. door and frame
- Frame set in masonry vs. a stud wall
- Exit hardware vs. a lever lockset
- Rated doors on boiler, storage or corridor openings
- Concrete or slab damage at the threshold
- Painting as its own line
Photos of the bottom of the door and frame tell us door-only or door-and-frame. Reply within one business day, or book a free walkthrough.
How long it takes
Typically half a day for a door in a sound frame, about a day with a new frame. Doors are ordered first; lead time is written on the quote.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized reply within one business day. Prefer a look in person? A free in-home estimate is always an option.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Back door to the lot or dumpster
Insulated steel door, new frame where the old one is rusted, sill pan, threshold and a closer that will not slam. The most-used door after the front.
Service and storage doors
Boiler, laundry and storage room doors. Some are rated and must be replaced with labelled doors; the label tells us before we order.
Exit doors with panic hardware
Where the building official requires exit hardware, the door is ordered prepped for it and installed with a closer, so it opens with a push and latches behind.
Apartment Rear Exit Door Replacement — Steel Back and Service Doors: questions, answered
Why do steel back doors rust out at the bottom?
Snow, salt and mop water sit at the bottom of the door and the base of the frame, and the steel rusts from the inside where the paint cannot reach. Once it is through, patching does not last. A new door, and often a new frame, set over a sill pan is the fix.
Can you replace just the steel door and keep the frame?
If the frame is solid at the floor, square and not bent at the strike, yes. A new door is ordered to the frame's size and hinge layout. If the frame is rusted through at the base, it is replaced with the door.
Does an apartment back door need a panic bar?
It depends on the building and which doors serve as exits. The building official decides where exit hardware is required, and we confirm that before ordering, so the door comes prepped for the right hardware.
Is a boiler room door in an apartment building fire rated?
Often, yes. Mechanical and storage rooms in apartment buildings are frequently separated with rated doors. The label on the door edge and frame tells us what is there, and the replacement is ordered to the rating required.
How long does it take to replace an apartment building back door?
A new door in a good frame is typically half a day; a new door and frame about a day. The door is locked by the end of the day, so the building is never left open.
Do you fix the concrete at the threshold?
Minor patching where the old frame was anchored is part of the install. A broken or settled stoop or slab is concrete work and is quoted separately when it is needed for the door to sit right.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners and the builders we work with. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
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Read morePage reviewed October 9, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All apartment buildings pages
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