Nine-Lite Back Door Replacement
The back door to the deck or the garage is dark and tired. A nine-lite puts a grid of glass up top, lets you see who is there, and keeps a solid panel below.
Reply within one business day. Or call / text 763-250-3621.
Nine lite back door replacement is a prehung steel or fiberglass door with a grid of nine glass panes in the top half, frame included, often in stock in common sizes. JMB Builders measures, pulls the old door and frame, repairs sill rot, sets the new door on a sill pan and trims it. One door is a welcome job across the Twin Cities metro, priced per door. Photo reply within one business day, or a free in-home estimate.
- Nine panes up top, panel below; often in stock
- Priced per door, prehung frame included
- Steel or fiberglass, clear or obscure glass
The nine-lite is the classic back door. Three rows of three panes in the upper half, a flat or raised panel below, in steel or smooth fiberglass. It fits a kitchen door to the deck, a mudroom door to the yard and a door into the garage, and it reads right on a rambler, a split-level or a farmhouse. The grid is usually a one-piece frame over a single pane of insulated glass, so it cleans like one window.
A nine-lite in a common size, white primed steel, is a shelf item at our supplier, so one back door can often be measured, picked up and installed without a factory order. Fiberglass, a factory color, obscure glass for privacy or a size between the stock sizes is custom ordered with the lead time written on the quote.
Back doors are where sill rot lives, because they sit near grade with no roof over them. The old door and frame come out together, the soft sill framing or subfloor is replaced, a sill pan and flashing go in, and the new unit is set square and sealed. Brickmould and casing go on primed and caulked; painting is quoted as a separate line, or paint it yourself. Lockset and deadbolt are fitted and adjusted.
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 763-250-3621.
What you supply
- Photos of the back door from inside and outside, with a close-up of the sill and the floor inside the door
- Which side the hinges are on from inside, and a rough slab width
- Steel or fiberglass, clear or obscure glass, and your paint color or primed
- Your choice of lockset and deadbolt finish, or your own hardware
What JMB supplies
- A check of the shelf at ABC Supply for a nine-lite in your size and swing
- A measure of the opening before the door is picked up or ordered
- The prehung nine-lite door with frame, in stock or custom ordered, in options such as Therma-Tru or Masonite
- Removal of the old door, frame and trim with haul-away
- Repair of rotted sill framing or subfloor, quoted as its own line
- Sill pan, flashing tape, foam, sealant and shims, threshold set to drain toward the stoop or deck
- Exterior brickmould and interior casing, primed and caulked; painting quoted as a separate line
- Lockset and deadbolt installed, strike and weatherstrip adjusted
- 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:
- In-stock steel in white vs. custom ordered fiberglass, color or obscure glass
- Rot at the sill, jamb feet and subfloor, common at back doors
- What the door opens onto: deck, stoop or grade
- Siding, stucco or brick around the opening
- Interior casing kept, matched or replaced
- Hardware: a basic lockset vs. a handleset or smart lock
- A storm door kept, remounted or added
A close-up of the floor just inside the door tells us about the subfloor. Send it with the hinge side and slab width.
How long it takes
About a day on site, more if the subfloor is rotted. An in-stock steel nine-lite is picked up for the install soon after the measure; fiberglass, a color or obscure glass is ordered with the lead time 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
Steel nine-lite, in stock
Primed white insulated steel with clear glass in a nine-pane grid. The shelf door for a back entry, painted on site as a separate line or by you.
Fiberglass nine-lite
Smooth fiberglass that does not dent or rust, for a back door with no overhang. Often custom ordered, with the lead time on the quote.
Nine-lite with obscure glass
Light in, no view in, for a door off a bedroom hall or a side yard. Glass is chosen on the order, so this is a custom order.
Nine-Lite Back Door Replacement: questions, answered
Is a nine-lite back door in stock?
A primed white steel nine-lite in a common size usually is, at our supplier, so one back door can be measured, picked up and installed soon after the quote is signed. Fiberglass, a color, obscure glass or an odd size is custom ordered with the lead time written on the quote. Send photos and we reply within one business day, or book a free in-home estimate.
Is the glass in a nine-lite door nine separate panes?
Usually not. Most nine-lite doors have one insulated glass unit with a grid frame over it that makes nine panes, so you clean one piece of glass. True divided lites exist in some lines but are a custom order.
Is a nine-lite door secure for a back door?
The glass is tempered and the panel below is solid, so it is a normal exterior door with a deadbolt. If someone could reach the lock through broken glass worries you, a half-lite with the glass higher, or a nine-lite with laminated glass as a custom order, puts the glass farther from the deadbolt.
Does the price include the frame?
Yes. The nine-lite comes as a prehung unit with frame, sill and weatherstrip, which is one line on the quote. Sill rot repair, trim, hardware and painting are their own lines.
Can a nine-lite door go between the house and the garage?
A door between the house and an attached garage has to be a fire-rated door, and glass changes that. A nine-lite works on the garage's exterior service door to the yard; for the house-to-garage opening we quote the rated door instead.
Is one nine-lite back door too small a job?
No. One door is a welcome job for JMB Builders, priced per door with the frame included. A back door is one of the most common single-door jobs there is.
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 25, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All doors pages
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