How we chose
We started from the thirty-three door fitters Google Maps shows across Telford. Scheme memberships were sourced from the FENSA and TrustMark registers, each firm's own website and the platforms we could open [1] [2] [4]. Each business must first meet our basic checks: it is who it says it is, it is trading today and can be reached, and anything it must hold by law is in place. Eight firms met all three. We looked first at what customers say, then qualifications, then whether the firm has traded for years and whether its cover is stated, then pricing clarity and website detail. All evidence is dated early September.
How to hire
Match the firm to the job first. A door fitter owns full external door replacement, internal doors, patio and French doors, garage doors and repairs to locks, hinges and misted units — not the brickwork around a brand-new opening, which may need building control approval on its own [6]. Say which door, which material and whether the frame stays or goes when you first enquire.
Know which jobs need a certificate. Replacing a glazed external door or window must comply with the building regulations, and a FENSA or CERTASS registered installer self-certifies the work and registers it with your council, giving you a certificate to keep [1] [2] [3]. Pure repairs, internal doors and like-for-like garage doors sit outside that scheme, as do new porches, extensions and new builds [2]. If your job is a glazed replacement, say so in your enquiry and ask who will certify it.
Telford adds its own planning layer on some streets. In the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site an Article 4 direction in place since 1998 removes permitted development rights, so replacing external doors or windows that front a highway, waterway or open space needs planning permission [12]. The Severn Gorge is the one conservation area in the borough with that direction in force, while others such as Wellington carry conservation controls of their own, and listed buildings need listed building consent as a rule [11]. Flats and commercial premises play by different rules: replacements differing in material, opening method or design need permission [11]. The council publishes door and window guidance for the Gorge, so check its pages before you instruct a fitter [11] [12].
Check the registration before you book. Search the FENSA register by company name or registration number and confirm the listing yourself rather than taking a logo at face value [2]. CERTASS runs the equivalent competent-person scheme with its own searchable list [3]. TrustMark points to a firm that has passed checks on trading practices and customer service as well as competence [4]. For limited companies, the Companies House record confirms the business exists and is active. Ask for public liability insurance details in writing, and for larger jobs a recent local reference you could verify.
Get two or three itemised written quotes that separate labour, materials and VAT on the same written scope, so you compare like with like [9]. Each quote should name the door and frame specification, glazing, locks and hardware, the start date, how the old door is taken away, and payment stages — a deposit for materials is normal, while full payment before completion is not. Treat an outlier, far above or below the rest, as a question rather than a bargain, and ask what is included or excluded.
Insist on a survey before the price is fixed. Most Telford firms offer a free visit or site survey, and an accurate measure of the opening decides whether the frame can stay or must go. Ask who measures, who fits, and what happens if the survey finds rotten timber or a lintel that needs work. On the day, check the fitter tests the locks, hinges and seals before leaving, and walks you through the adjustment and guarantee terms.
Judge the quotes on paper, not on charm. Each written quote should name the door and frame, the glazing and the locks and hardware by brand or standard, with labour, materials and VAT shown as separate lines [9]. It should carry a start date and a realistic finish date, say how the old door and packaging leave the site, set out payment stages, and promise the certificate you will receive by name — FENSA, CERTASS or a council completion certificate [2] [13]. Where the survey found suspect timber or a tired lintel, the quote should say what happens to the price if opening up reveals worse. Anything offered only by voice or text message is not a quote yet.
A typical job runs through the same stages whatever the door. You describe the door, the material and whether the frame stays, with photos and your postcode, and the firm replies with a visit date. The survey measures the opening and names the certifier. The written quote follows, you compare two or three on the same scope, and you agree dates, access and parking for the van before the fitting day. On the day the fitter removes the old door, fits and seals the new one, and tests the locks, hinges and seals with you watching. You pay the balance once the door operates cleanly and the certificate and guarantee papers are in your hands.
Collect the paperwork at the end and file it with your house papers. For a glazed replacement that means the FENSA or CERTASS certificate, or a building-control completion certificate where that route was used — you will need one of them when you sell, and putting it right later costs several hundred pounds [2]. Keep the written guarantee with its insurance backing, every quote and invoice, and the door specification, so any future claim names exactly what was fitted. Where the council's building control route was used, its completion certificate plays the same role at resale, and the council recommends holding it before you make the final payment [13]. Work with neither certificate nor approval can be regularised afterwards, for extra fees and a retrospective inspection [10].
Pricing
As of winter 2026, a Checkatrade guide puts internal doors at £125–£400 supplied and fitted, with softwood at £125–£350 and hardwood at £200–£400 per door [7]. Like-for-like swaps inside existing frames sit at the lower end. These are national ballpark averages, so weigh your Telford quotes against each other rather than treating any figure as fixed.
Front doors cost more once you specify. The same publisher's front-door table, updated September 2024, puts a basic uPVC front door at £825–£1,200, a composite door at £1,100–£1,400 without glass, and a wooden front door at £550–£1,800, with fitting labour alone averaging £500–£1,000 [7]. External uPVC doors more broadly run £400–£1,000 or more including glazing and architrave [7]. Glazing, security hardware, bespoke colours and side panels each add their share [7].
A pair of uPVC French or patio doors sits near £2,000 including glazing and architrave [7]. Cutting or widening the opening adds the structural lines: a single brick cut-out near £700, a French-door opening near £900–£1,100, and a new lintel near £400 [7]. New openings need an approval route, so agree who handles it before the price is fixed [10].
Garage doors cost more: the same publisher's garage-door guide, updated last summer, puts a replacement door at £895–£2,500 depending on type, or £1,245–£4,000 with installation included [8]. A single electric door runs £1,500–£2,500, one damaged panel near £200–£750, and installation labour alone is put at £350–£650 [8].
Small repairs price as parts plus time rather than a supply-and-fit figure. The door guide puts labour-only costs at £75–£600 depending on complexity, with internal work at the lower end [7]. A multipoint lock or anti-snap barrel, a hinge set or a replacement misted unit each adds parts on top, so ask whether a call-out charge applies and whether it falls away if you proceed. Where the frame is sound, price the repair alongside replacement to see whether the bigger job earns its keep.
Material moves the price most: composite and hardwood cost more than softwood or uPVC, and automation, insulation upgrades and disposal add further lines [7]. Ask whether VAT sits inside or on top of every figure, with labour, materials and VAT separated [9]. Firms in this round publish almost no example rates, so treat any single fixed price with no breakdown as a question, not an answer.
Red flags
Quotes a full external door replacement without visiting or asking for photos and measurements.
Cannot give a FENSA registration number or CERTASS details you can check yourself on the scheme register [2] [3].
Finishes a glazed external door with no certificate and no mention of council registration [2].
Asks for full payment in cash before starting, with no written quote or terms [9].
Gives one fixed price for a large job with no breakdown of door, labour, extras and VAT [9].
Will not put the door specification, frame, hardware and start date in writing before lifting a tool.
Pushes full replacement when you asked for a repair, without explaining why the parts cannot be fixed.
Starts work on a Gorge or conservation-area home without asking whether planning permission or listed consent is needed [11] [12].
Pressures you to sign on the first visit, with the price valid only if you agree before they leave.
Leaves the old door, frame and packaging behind after the quote promised removal.
Corrections and business responses
Tell us what needs checking, or ask to claim a listing and reply to an assessment.