Craftsman Style Front Door Replacement — Lites Up Top, Dentil Shelf
The bungalow has its original wide flat trim and tapered porch columns, and the front door is a flat 1970s replacement that never looked right.
Reply within one business day. Or call / text 763-204-2099.
A craftsman style front door replacement is a new prehung door with flat panels below and three or four small lites across the top, often with a dentil shelf under the glass. JMB Builders supplies and installs them across the Twin Cities metro in fiberglass or wood, sized to the old opening and trimmed to match the wide flat casing on a bungalow. Priced per door, quoted from photos, and we reply within one business day.
- Priced per door, door supplied
- Fiberglass woodgrain or real wood units
- Trim matched to flat bungalow casing
A craftsman door is defined by its top. Three or four square or tall lites in a row, a dentil shelf or a plain rail under them, and one or two flat recessed panels below. The look belongs on 1910s and 1920s bungalows in Minneapolis, St. Paul and the older river towns, and it is also the most ordered style on new homes built to look like them. Most of the doors we replace on these houses are flush steel or six-panel units someone put in decades ago, and the request is simple: put a door on the house that matches the house.
The choosing is where the page earns its keep. A woodgrain fiberglass door with a craftsman top, from options such as Therma-Tru, ProVia, Masonite or JELD-WEN, is the common pick because it holds a stain finish with less upkeep than wood and does not swell on a wet spring. A fir or oak door is the right pick when the porch roof shades the door and the owner wants real wood grain to match the original interior. Lites are ordered with clear, seeded or privacy glass, and the dentil shelf is an option on most lines. If the entry has a sidelite, we order it with the same lite layout so the two read as one piece.
The install is the same careful job as any entry door in this climate. Old door and frame out, sill checked once it is open, sill pan and flashing tape lapped to the housewrap, frame set plumb with the margins even, low-expansion foam, exterior sealant. Bungalow trim is the one thing we never cut down to a stock profile: the outside gets flat stock with a head cap to match the windows, and the inside gets the wide flat casing the house already has. Painting or staining is quoted as a separate line — or leave it primed and caulked and finish it yourself.
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 the door from the street and the inside, plus one of a nearby window with its trim
- The lite layout you want: three or four lites, square or tall, and clear, seeded or privacy glass
- Material and finish: woodgrain fiberglass or real wood, stained or painted
- Hardware finish if you have a preference, such as oil-rubbed bronze or matte black
- Whether there is a sidelite or transom to match
What JMB supplies
- Measurement of the opening and the order for a prehung craftsman door, with sidelite if there is one
- Removal and haul-away of the old door, frame and trim
- Check of the sill, subfloor and jamb bottoms once the old door is out, quoted from the photos
- Sill pan, flashing tape, low-expansion foam and exterior sealant
- Flat stock exterior trim with a head cap, and interior casing to match the existing bungalow trim
- Lockset and deadbolt installed, from the door order or the set you bought
- Painting or staining of the door and trim, quoted as its own line
- Photos of the finished door in your job folder
How it is priced: per door
Quoted in writing from your photos, with a reply within one business day. What moves the number:
- Woodgrain fiberglass vs. a fir or oak door
- Three or four lites, and the glass: clear, seeded or privacy
- Dentil shelf and other applied details on the exterior face
- A matching sidelite or transom ordered with the door
- Condition of the sill and jamb bottoms on a 100-year-old opening
- Wide flat casing and head cap inside and out vs. stock brickmould
- Painting or staining, quoted as a separate line
Send a photo of the door from the sidewalk, one from the inside, and one of a window with its trim so we match the casing width.
How long it takes
One prehung craftsman door in a sound opening: most of a day on site. Add time for a sidelite, custom trim or sill repair. The door is ordered after you approve 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
Three-lite over two flat panels
The most common craftsman layout. Three square lites across the top, a dentil shelf below them, two recessed flat panels under that. Reads right on nearly every bungalow and most new homes built in the style.
Four-lite or six-lite top
Tall narrow lites in a row of four, or two rows of three. More glass and a lighter foyer, with the same flat panels below. Common on wider doors and on homes with a deeper porch.
Fir or oak wood door
Real wood with a clear or stained finish, for a shaded porch where the owner wants the grain to match the original interior. Edges sealed top and bottom, and the finish kept up every few years.
Door with matching sidelite
A single sidelite on one side with the same lite pattern and panel lines as the door, ordered as one unit so the mull and the trim line up.
Craftsman Style Front Door Replacement — Lites Up Top, Dentil Shelf: questions, answered
What makes a front door craftsman style?
The top of the door. Craftsman doors have three or four small lites in a row near the top, usually with a shelf or rail under the glass, and flat recessed panels below. The lines are straight and the panels are plain, with no raised molding. On a bungalow it matches the wide flat window casing and the tapered porch columns.
Should a craftsman front door be wood or fiberglass?
Woodgrain fiberglass is the common pick in Minnesota because it takes a stain finish, does not swell in a wet spring and needs less upkeep. Real fir or oak is the right call when a porch roof shades the door and you want the grain to match the original interior. Both come as prehung units with the craftsman lite layout.
Can you match the door trim to my bungalow's window trim?
Yes. Bungalow trim is flat stock, often wide, with a head cap over the top. We trim the outside of the new door the same way instead of using stock brickmould, and the inside gets casing that matches the width and profile already in the house. Send a photo of a window with its trim and we size from it.
What is the dentil shelf on a craftsman door?
A small shelf with a row of square blocks under it, set just below the lites. It is a decorative piece from the Arts and Crafts era and most door lines offer it as an option on the exterior face. It adds a little cost and a place for snow to sit, so some owners skip it on a door with no overhang.
Will a new craftsman door fit my 1920s opening?
Usually. Many 1920s bungalows have a standard-width door in a frame that is close to today's sizes, and a prehung unit goes in after the old frame comes out. Some have taller or narrower doors, and those are ordered as a custom size or the opening is reframed. We measure before anything is ordered.
Can I get a sidelite with the same craftsman lites?
Yes. Most lines offer a sidelite with the same lite pattern and panel lines as the door, ordered as one unit so the pieces line up. If your entry has a sidelite now, send a photo and we will order the pair to match.
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 10, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All doors pages
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