Free in-home measure and quote - PGT, CGI and CWS impact lines compared on your actual openings, style by style
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AfterStorm & Exterior Doors in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Storm and exterior door installation in Fort Lauderdale means one specific thing: a door that can stand up to a Category 4 hurricane, hold back wind-driven rain, and still look good doing it every day in between storms. At Winslow Windows & Doors, we install impact-rated storm doors and exterior entry doors from manufacturers like CGI and CWS – brands built specifically for South Florida’s wind-load requirements, not adapted for them after the fact. If you’re replacing a failing door or upgrading before the next hurricane season, call us at (904) 747-8989 – a live person answers every call, around the clock.
Fort Lauderdale sits squarely in the Miami-Dade High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, which means doors here must meet stricter impact and pressure ratings than virtually anywhere else in the country. A door that passes code in Jacksonville might fail the permit inspection in Broward County before the inspector even touches it. We’ve been navigating those local requirements since 2011, and Ed Winslow has personally overseen installs in neighborhoods from Victoria Park to Coral Ridge to Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. This is not a market where you want to figure things out on the job.
Our full scope of door work lives under our Door Installation in Fort Lauderdale services – storm and exterior doors are one piece of that, but a critical one. Below is everything you need to know before making a decision.
When You Need Storm & Exterior Doors
- Your current door fails the knock test. If you press your palm flat against the center panel and it flexes noticeably, that door has no meaningful impact resistance. Single-panel wood doors in older Fort Lauderdale homes – especially the ranch-style builds in Riverland Isles and Edgewood – were never designed for modern hurricane codes and typically won’t pass a Broward County permit inspection as-is.
- Water is getting in at the threshold or frame. South Florida’s wind-driven rain is relentless. During Tropical Storm Nicole in 2022, we fielded calls from homeowners in the Colee Hammock area whose front doors had been leaking for years at the threshold – gaps that look cosmetic in dry weather but flood a foyer when wind speeds hit 60 mph.
- You’re seeing daylight around the frame. Light gaps mean air gaps, and air gaps in Fort Lauderdale mean humidity, mold risk, and a door that will bow or warp further every summer. Once the frame itself is compromised, weatherstripping alone won’t fix it.
- Your homeowner’s insurance carrier is asking questions. Several Broward County insurers now request documentation of impact-rated doors and windows before issuing or renewing policies. A CGI or CWS impact door with a valid Notice of Acceptance (NOA) number solves that problem in a single afternoon.
- You’re remodeling or adding a new entry. If you’re opening a wall for a new front entry in Tarpon River or the Rio Vista area, the permit will require a door that meets current Florida Building Code – and that means impact-rated by default in Fort Lauderdale’s wind zone.
- Your existing door is more than 15 years old. Florida’s UV exposure, salt air, and humidity accelerate the degradation of door seals, frames, and hardware faster than almost any other climate in the country. A door installed in 2008 has likely lost meaningful structural integrity even if it still opens and closes fine on a calm day.
Our Storm & Exterior Doors Process
- Free on-site measurement and consultation. We come to your Fort Lauderdale home, measure the rough opening precisely, and assess the existing frame and sill condition. Ed Winslow built this company on upfront pricing, so you’ll get a written quote before we leave – no vague “starting at” language and no surprise additions on installation day. There’s no trip charge for homes inside our home county.
- Product selection and permit filing. We’ll walk you through door options that fit your opening size, design preferences, and budget – narrowing it to products that carry a valid Miami-Dade or Florida Product Approval NOA for Fort Lauderdale’s wind zone. Then we pull the Broward County building permit on your behalf. Every legitimate exterior door installation in Fort Lauderdale requires one; if a contractor tells you otherwise, that’s a red flag worth taking seriously.
- Old door removal and frame preparation. We remove the existing door and assess the rough opening and sill plate for rot, moisture damage, or structural issues before a single new piece goes in. In Fort Lauderdale’s climate, hidden rot at the sill is more common than most homeowners expect – particularly in concrete-block homes built in the 1970s and 1980s in areas like Nurmi Isles. Any damage we find gets addressed before the new frame is set, not patched after.
- Installation to Florida Building Code. Our background-checked, uniformed installers set the new door frame, shim to level, apply the specified sealant and flashing per manufacturer guidelines, and torque hardware to the values required for the NOA. Impact door installation is not like hanging an interior door – the fastener schedule, foam fill, and buck attachment all affect whether the door will perform under hurricane-level pressure. We do it by the spec, not by feel.
- Inspection coordination and sign-off. We schedule and attend the Broward County inspection. If the inspector notes anything, we address it the same day where possible. You get the green-tagged permit card for your records – which matters for resale and insurance documentation.
- Final walkthrough and the 36500-Day Done Right Promise. Before we pack up, we run the door through its full range of motion with you present, confirm the lock set and deadbolt are aligned and smooth, and make sure you understand the maintenance routine for your specific door. Our 36500-Day Done Right Promise applies from the moment we leave: if it’s not right, we come back. No ticket numbers, no call centers – Ed’s word, in writing.
Storm & Exterior Doors Pricing in Fort Lauderdale
Storm and exterior door pricing in Fort Lauderdale ranges from roughly $1,200 to $4,500 installed, depending on door size, configuration, glass content, and frame material. That range is wide because a single impact-rated fiberglass entry door in a standard 3-0 x 6-8 opening costs significantly less than a double-door unit with sidelites and decorative impact glass in a 6-0 x 8-0 custom opening. Below is an honest breakdown of what drives cost in our local market.
| Door Type / Configuration | Installed Price Range (Fort Lauderdale) |
|---|---|
| Single impact steel or fiberglass entry door (standard size) | $1,200 – $2,100 |
| Single impact door with one sidelite | $1,800 – $2,800 |
| Double (French) impact entry door | $2,400 – $3,600 |
| Double door with sidelites or transom | $3,000 – $4,500+ |
| Frame or sill rot repair (if discovered) | $150 – $600 additional |
| Broward County permit fee (pass-through) | Varies by valuation; typically $75 – $200 |
A few Fort Lauderdale-specific cost factors worth knowing:
- NOA-compliant hardware adds cost, but skipping it voids coverage. CGI and CWS doors require specific multipoint lock systems and hinge specifications to maintain their impact rating. A cheaper lockset installed in the field can technically void the product’s NOA – which means your insurance documentation is worthless.
- Concrete-block construction changes the buck detail. Most Fort Lauderdale homes are CBS (concrete block and stucco) construction. Setting a door into CBS requires a pressure-treated wood or aluminum buck fastened to the masonry – labor that wood-frame installs don’t need. If a quote doesn’t account for this, it’s not apples-to-apples.
- High-impact glass content raises the price. A full-lite impact door – glass from top to bottom – uses significantly more laminated glass than a panel door with small lites. The glass itself is the expensive part of any impact product.
Call us at (904) 747-8989 for a free, no-obligation estimate. Estimates are written and specific – not ballpark guesses that double by install day. If you have a written estimate from another contractor, we’ll give you a free second opinion on it. Seniors and veterans receive a permanent 10% discount, and any repair over $200 qualifies for $40 off.
FAQs – Storm & Exterior Doors in Fort Lauderdale
Do I need a permit to replace an exterior door in Fort Lauderdale?
Yes – any exterior door replacement in Fort Lauderdale requires a Broward County building permit, and the door must carry a Florida Product Approval or Miami-Dade NOA number for your local wind zone. This applies even if you’re replacing a door with the same size and configuration. Skipping the permit creates problems at resale and can complicate insurance claims after storm damage. We pull the permit for every job we do – it’s part of the price, not an add-on.
What’s the difference between a “storm door” and an “impact door” in South Florida?
An impact door – sometimes called a Hurricane-Proof Front & Entry Doors – is the primary exterior door itself, built with reinforced frames and laminated glass designed to withstand hurricane-force wind and debris. A storm door is a secondary screen-and-glass door added in front of the main entry, common in northern climates. In Fort Lauderdale, storm doors in the traditional sense offer almost no hurricane protection and don’t satisfy building code requirements for the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. When Fort Lauderdale homeowners say “storm door,” they almost always mean an impact-rated primary entry door – and that’s what we install.
How long does a storm door installation take in Fort Lauderdale?
A single-door replacement typically takes our crew three to five hours on-site, including removal of the old door and frame prep. Double-door configurations with sidelites usually run a full day. The Broward County inspection is a separate appointment, typically scheduled within a few business days of installation. We coordinate and attend the inspection – you don’t need to take time off work to manage it. From the time you approve the written quote, most Door Installation services are completed within one to two weeks, depending on product lead times for the specific door and configuration you select.
Can I get an impact door that still looks like a traditional wood front door?
Yes. Fiberglass impact doors from manufacturers like CWS are available with deeply textured wood-grain finishes that are visually indistinguishable from solid wood at normal viewing distance – and they won’t rot, warp, or crack the way wood does in Fort Lauderdale’s salt-air humidity. Several of our installs in the Victoria Park and Colee Hammock neighborhoods use fiberglass doors finished in mahogany or walnut grain to match the architectural character of older homes in those areas. If you want to see samples before committing, we bring them to you. Call (904) 747-8989 and we’ll set up a no-pressure consultation at your home.
Why Fort Lauderdale Homeowners Call Winslow
There are national chains that will install a door in Fort Lauderdale. Some of them do acceptable work. But when the frame shifts six months later or the hardware binds up after the first real rainstorm, you’ll be on hold with a regional call center trying to explain which ticket number applies to your warranty claim.
Ed Winslow has been in this business since 2011. His name is on every truck, every invoice, and every permit we pull in Broward County. If a job isn’t right, Ed hears about it – directly – and it gets made right under the 36500-Day Done Right Promise. That’s not a marketing line. It’s the standard we’ve held for over 15 years in this market.
Our technicians are background-checked and arrive in uniform. You’ll know who’s coming before the truck pulls into your driveway. We carry full installation credentials for CGI, CWS, and other authorized brands, and every product we install comes with its manufacturer warranty intact – because we install to spec, every time.
Fort Lauderdale’s hurricane season starts June 1 and the window for comfortable exterior work narrows fast once the daily afternoon storms set in. If your door needs replacing, sooner is genuinely better than later – not because we’re pushing urgency, but because a door that leaks in a July squall was always going to leak, and a permit takes time to process.
Call (904) 747-8989 today for a free on-site estimate. Someone will answer. We’ll schedule at your convenience, come to your Fort Lauderdale home, give you a written number, and let you decide from there – no pressure, no trip charge inside our home county, and no surprises when the invoice arrives.
We’re the one down the road. And we pick up when you call.
Written by Ed Winslow, Owner at Winslow Windows & Doors, serving Fort Lauderdale since 2011.
Six Reasons Homeowners Choose Winslow Windows & Doors
Impact systems engineered to design pressures up to +/-100, matched to your wind zone - your openings hold when the storm arrives.
Low-E insulated impact glass from our manufacturer lines commonly cuts monthly cooling bills 20-30%.
Laminated impact glass shuts out up to 40% of outside noise - traffic, neighbors, weather.
Monitoring services run $30-90 a month. Laminated impact glass resists forced entry around the clock, with no subscription.
Florida homeowners average around 25% savings on the windstorm portion of their policy after protecting every opening - some homes qualify for more.
A full impact package upgrades curb appeal, buyer confidence and appraised value in one project.