Dutch Door Installation — Prehung Dutch Doors and Split Slabs
Kitchen to mudroom, nursery, pantry, or the back door to the yard. Top open, bottom shut, and both halves still meeting flat when you close them together.
JMB Builders does Dutch door installation across the Twin Cities metro — a prehung Dutch unit you bought, or an existing slab cut into two halves with a shelf on the lower half and a slide bolt that joins them. We hang both halves so they line up flat, set the shelf level, and adjust the latch and bolt so the top and bottom close as one door or separately. Priced per door, quoted from photos within one business day.
- Priced per door
- Prehung Dutch units or a slab we split on site
- Shelf, slide bolt and weatherstrip set and adjusted
- Quote from photos in 1 business day
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
A Dutch door is one door cut into two, each half on its own hinges. The lower half has a shelf on top of it, the upper half has a lip or weatherstrip that lands on the shelf, and a slide bolt on the inside joins them so the whole thing swings as one door when you want it to. The whole point is that the top opens on its own — to let air through, keep a dog or toddler on one side, or talk to somebody without opening up the kitchen.
What makes a Dutch door work or not is alignment. Four hinges on one jamb, two doors that have to hang in the same plane, and a shelf that has to be dead level or the top half will not seat on it. A prehung Dutch unit arrives with all of that done at the factory and just needs to be set plumb; cutting an existing slab means we mortise the extra hinges, cut the door square, add the shelf and the bolt, and true it all up on the jamb. Both ways work. The slab route is how you get a Dutch door in a style or size that nobody sells prehung.
Outside, a Dutch door needs the shelf to shed water and the joint between the halves weatherstripped, because that seam faces the weather. We set the shelf with a slight pitch out and a drip on the underside so rain runs off instead of into the house. Doors go in primed, filled and caulked. Painting is quoted as a separate line — or leave it primed and caulked and paint it yourself.
What you supply
- The prehung Dutch unit, or the slab you want split — solid core or solid wood works best
- Hardware: hinges, handle set for the lower half, and the Dutch door bolt if the unit does not include it
- Photos of the opening from both sides and the current door if there is one
- Paint or stain color if you want us to finish it — painting is quoted as a separate line
What JMB supplies
- Removal of the old door and jamb when a prehung unit is going in
- Prehung Dutch unit set plumb, shimmed at every hinge, foamed and cased
- Splitting an existing slab square, mortising the extra hinges, and fitting the shelf and bolt
- Shelf set level, pitched to shed water on an exterior door, with weatherstrip at the joint
- Latch, strike and bolt adjusted so both halves close together and the top holds open
- Exterior sill pan, flashing tape and sweep when the door faces the weather
- Painting or staining of the door and casing when you want it done, 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 within one business day. What moves the number:
- Prehung Dutch unit vs. cutting and hanging an existing slab, which is more fitting work
- Interior vs. exterior — an exterior Dutch door gets a sill pan, flashing, weatherstrip at the split and a sweep
- Solid-core or solid-wood slab vs. hollow-core, which needs a filler block glued in at the cut before the shelf goes on
- Whether the existing jamb is straight enough to hang four hinges on, or needs a new jamb
- Shelf material and profile, and whether you want a shelf on the inside, outside or both
- Painting or staining, quoted as a separate line
Send the door label or a link to the unit, and photos of the opening from both sides. For a slab we are splitting, tell us if it is hollow or solid core — knock on it and listen.
How long it takes
A prehung interior Dutch unit: about half a day. Splitting an existing slab and fitting the shelf and bolt: a full day. Exterior units add time for the pan and flashing.
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 quote within one business day. We only come out to measure first when the job needs a tape measure — no pressure, no games.
- 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
Prehung interior Dutch door
The unit comes with both halves hung on one jamb, the shelf fitted and the bolt installed. We pull the old door and jamb, set the new one plumb and shimmed at all four hinges, foam it and case both sides. Nursery, kitchen and pantry doors are usually this.
Prehung exterior Dutch door
Same idea facing the weather. It goes in on a sill pan with flashing at the sides and head, the shelf is pitched to drain, the split joint gets its weatherstrip checked, and the sweep and threshold are adjusted so the bottom half seals.
Cutting an existing door into a Dutch door
Your solid door comes off, gets cut square at shelf height, the extra hinges get mortised into door and jamb, the shelf goes on the lower half with the lip on the upper, and the bolt joins them. The way to get a Dutch door in a style nobody sells prehung.
Half door or swinging gate
Just the lower half, hung on the jamb as a half-height door with a latch. Keeps a dog out of the laundry room or a toddler out of the kitchen while leaving the doorway open above. Same hinges and strike work, no shelf needed.
Dutch Door Installation — Prehung Dutch Doors and Split Slabs: questions, answered
Can you cut my existing door into a Dutch door?
Yes, if it is a solid-core or solid-wood door. We take it off, cut it square at the shelf height, mortise two more hinges into the door and the jamb, put the shelf on the lower half with a lip on the upper half, and add the slide bolt. A hollow-core door can be done too but needs a solid block glued into the cut edge first, and the result is lighter and less durable, so we usually suggest a solid slab or a prehung unit instead.
Is a prehung Dutch door better than cutting a slab?
It is faster and the alignment is done at the factory, so it goes in like any prehung door and both halves meet flat from the start. Cutting a slab is more work but lets you use any door style, match the other doors in the house, or keep a jamb and casing you like. If the door you want is sold prehung as a Dutch unit, buy that; if not, send us a link to the slab and we will tell you if it will split well.
Does a Dutch door work as an exterior door in Minnesota?
Yes, with the right details. The split between the halves faces the weather, so it needs a weatherstrip at that joint and a shelf pitched to shed water with a drip on the underside. The unit goes in on a sill pan with flashing like any exterior door, and the sweep on the lower half has to seal. An insulated fiberglass or steel prehung Dutch unit does best through a Minnesota winter; a solid wood slab works but wants a storm door in front of it.
How does the shelf on a Dutch door work?
The shelf is a board fastened to the top of the lower half that sticks out past the door face, usually on the inside. The upper half closes down onto it, and a lip or weatherstrip on the bottom of the upper half seats against it so the joint is closed. On an exterior door the shelf is pitched slightly outward so water runs off, and the underside gets a drip kerf so it cannot run back to the door.
What keeps the top and bottom halves of a Dutch door lined up?
Four hinges on one jamb, all mortised in the same plane, and a slide bolt on the inside that locks the two halves together. When the bolt is thrown the door swings as one piece; when it is open the top swings free. If the halves do not meet flat, it is almost always a hinge out of plane or a jamb that is not plumb, and that is what we adjust before we leave.
Can a Dutch door be used as a pet gate or child gate?
That is one of the main reasons people want one. With the bolt open, the lower half latches shut and the upper half stays open, so a dog or a toddler stays on one side while the room stays connected. If you only need the gate part, we can hang just a lower half as a swinging half door with a latch, which is cheaper than a full Dutch unit.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough. You hear back within one business day. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
Related jobs we do
Labor-Only Door Installation — We Install the Door You Bought
You buy the door, we install it right — entry doors, house-to-garage doors, and interior doors hung plumb, sealed tight, and trimmed out by a licensed Minnesota contractor.
Read moreFit a Slab Door Into an Existing Jamb
The jamb and casing are fine, the door is not. A bare slab from the store fitted to the frame you have — hinge mortises cut to match, lock bored, edges planed until it swings clean.
Read moreMenards Door Installation — Labor Only, You Buy the Door
The door is sitting in the Menards lumberyard, or already in your garage, and you need someone who will hang it square, seal it and make it latch — not a store referral list.
Read moreDoor Won't Latch — Strike, Hinge and Hardware Fixes
The bedroom door drifts open, the bathroom door needs a shoulder, the front door latches only if you lift it. Small fixes, done right, before anyone talks about replacing the door.
Read morePet Door Installation — Dog Door in an Exterior Door or Wall
You bought the pet door. Now someone has to cut a hole in a perfectly good exterior door or wall and make it seal in January. That is us.
Read moreCloset Door Installation — Bifold, Bypass and Mirrored Doors
Closet doors that fall off the track, drag on the carpet or never quite meet in the middle. Replaced with new hardware on a track that is level, by a crew that hangs doors for a living.
Read morePage reviewed September 24, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All doors pages
Where we work
Doors near you
Based in Zimmerman, scheduling across the Twin Cities metro. Closest first: