Used or Salvaged Door Installation — ReStore and Reclaimed Doors
The five-panel fir door from the ReStore is the one you want, and it is an inch too wide with hinge mortises on the wrong side. We make it fit and make it swing.
JMB Builders will install a used door, a salvaged door or a Habitat ReStore door across the Twin Cities metro. A reclaimed slab rarely fits the opening as found, so we size it: cut it to height, plane it to width, mortise new hinges, bore for your lockset, and hang it in your existing jamb or build a new jamb around it. Old exterior doors get weatherstrip and a new sill. Priced per door, quoted from photos.
- Priced per door, labor only
- Slab sized, hinges mortised, lock bored
- New jamb built around the door when needed
- Photos of the door before you buy it, checked free
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
New doors come prehung, sized and bored. A used door comes as it is: a slab from a Habitat ReStore, a salvage yard, an estate sale or the neighbor's garage, with hinge mortises for a different jamb, a lock bore for a mortise lock nobody makes, a bottom rail that was cut once already, and paint from a house that came down. People buy them because they are solid wood, because they match the rest of an older house, or because they cost less than new. All fair reasons. None of them make the door fit.
Fitting a used door is carpentry that most door installers will not take on. We measure the opening and the slab, decide whether the door can be cut to fit or the opening should be rebuilt around it, and then do the work: rip and plane to width, cut to height without cutting through a tenon, fill and re-mortise the hinges to your jamb or to a new one, bore for a modern lockset or fit the antique mortise lock you found with it, and hang it so the margins are even and it latches. When the slab is worth it, we build a new jamb to the door instead of the door to the jamb.
Before you buy: send us a photo of the door face, the hinge edge and the lock edge, with the height, width and thickness, and a photo of your opening. We tell you whether it can be made to fit and what that will take, at no charge, so you are not carrying home a door that cannot work.
What you supply
- The door, with its height, width and thickness, and photos of both edges before you buy it if you want us to check it
- Hinges, lockset or the antique hardware you want on it; we can supply standard hinges and a lockset if you would rather
- A photo of the opening you want it in, including the existing jamb and casing
- Your paint or stain choice for the door and any new jamb and casing; finishing is quoted as its own line
What JMB supplies
- A check of the door against your opening from photos and measurements, before you buy, no charge
- Cutting and planing the slab to size, with the cuts placed where the door's construction allows
- Hinge mortises filled and re-cut to match your jamb, or new mortises for new hinges
- Lock bore and latch mortise for a modern lockset, or fitting of an antique mortise lock and its strike
- A new jamb built to the door from jamb stock, with stops and casing, when the existing jamb will not work
- For exterior use: weatherstrip, a new sill or threshold, a sweep, and a sill pan when the jamb is new
- Shims, fasteners, foam and sealant, and the door adjusted so it latches with even margins
- Photos of the finished door in your job folder
- Painting or staining of the door and trim as its own line, or finish it yourself
How it is priced: per door
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- How far the slab is from the opening size: a small trim vs. a rip and re-cut on all four edges
- Hanging in the existing jamb vs. building a new jamb to the door
- Hinge mortises that have to be filled and re-cut, or moved to the other edge for the handing you need
- Antique mortise lock fitted vs. a bore for a modern lockset
- Exterior door: weatherstrip, sill, sweep and pan, and the condition of the bottom rail
- Old paint that has to be left intact rather than sanded, and any finishing on our line
Send the door's height, width and thickness, photos of the face and both edges, and a photo of the opening. If you have not bought it yet, send those first and we tell you whether to.
How long it takes
A used slab fitted into an existing jamb: half a day. A slab that needs a new jamb, re-mortised hinges and a lock bore: most of a day. Exterior doors with a new sill and weatherstrip: a full day.
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
Used slab into your existing jamb
The door is cut and planed to the opening, the hinges are mortised to line up with the mortises on your jamb, the lock is bored to match the strike, and the door is hung and adjusted. The cheapest way to use a salvaged door when your jamb is sound.
New jamb built to the door
When the slab is worth keeping at its size, or your old jamb is racked, we build a jamb from jamb stock to fit the door, hang the door in it on the bench, and set the assembled unit in the opening like a prehung. Stops and casing follow.
Antique doors with mortise locks
An old door with a mortise lock pocket gets either the original lock cleaned and fitted with a new strike, a reproduction mortise lock in the same pocket, or the pocket filled and the door bored for a modern lockset. We tell you which makes sense from a photo of the lock edge.
Salvaged exterior doors
Old exterior doors were not built with weatherstrip or a sweep. We add kerf-in weatherstrip to the jamb, a sweep to the door, a new sill or threshold, and a sill pan, so the door seals like a new one. Rot in the bottom rail is checked before you buy.
Used or Salvaged Door Installation — ReStore and Reclaimed Doors: questions, answered
Will you install a door I bought at the Habitat ReStore?
Yes. JMB Builders installs used, salvaged and Habitat ReStore doors across the Twin Cities metro, priced per door. A used slab almost never matches the opening as found, so we size it, mortise the hinges to your jamb or build a new jamb to the door, bore for your lock, and hang it so it latches with even margins. Send photos of the door and your opening and we quote it within one business day, or check the door before you buy it at no charge.
What should I check before buying a used door?
Measure the height, width and thickness and compare them to your opening; a door can be cut smaller within limits but not made bigger. Sight down each edge for twist and warp, which cannot be fixed. Look at the hinge edge to see which side the mortises are on and whether they will match your jamb or have to be moved. Check the bottom rail for rot and the panels for splits. Then send us photos of the face and both edges with the measurements, and we tell you whether it will work.
Can a used door be cut down to fit my opening?
Usually, within limits. A solid wood panel door can lose some height at the bottom rail and some width at the stiles, as long as the cuts stay short of the joints that hold it together. A hollow-core or veneered door has very little to give before the cut runs into the core. A door that needs to come down more than its rails allow is the wrong door, and we say so from the photos before you buy it.
What if the hinges are on the wrong side for my opening?
Hinge mortises can be filled with glued wood and re-cut on the other edge, and the lock bore can be plugged and re-bored, so a door can be rehanded. It is more work than hanging it as found, and on a door with a beveled lock edge the bevel ends up on the hinge side, which we plane out. The other option is to reverse the swing of the opening instead, if the room allows it.
Can you use a salvaged door as an exterior door?
Yes, if the door is solid and the bottom rail is sound. Old exterior doors have no weatherstrip, sweep or thermal break, so we add kerf-in weatherstrip to the jamb, a sweep, a new sill or threshold and a sill pan, and seal the exterior casing. It will not insulate like a new fiberglass unit and it needs paint or finish kept up, which is quoted as its own line. Storm doors help a lot on an old wood entry door.
Is the old paint on a salvaged door a problem?
It can be. Doors from older houses may carry lead paint, and sanding or scraping it makes dust nobody should breathe. We do not strip old paint on site: sound paint is left in place and painted over, and a door you want bare goes to a stripping shop before we fit it. We keep our cutting and planing to the edges and clean up after it. Finishing the door once it is hung is quoted as its own line.
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 for the builders and dealers we sub for. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
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.
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Read morePage reviewed September 26, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All install what you bought pages
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Based in Zimmerman, scheduling across the Twin Cities metro. Closest first: