The before photo shows a beige steel door with an ornate, leaded-glass insert, ornamental in its own right decades ago but dated against the clean brick alcove surrounding it. The during photo shows the real scope of this project: the door and its entire frame removed, exposing the rough opening down to the structure. This wasn't a slab swap. It was a fully rebuilt entrance door system, from the frame out.
Why the whole frame came out, not just the door
A steel entry door is only as good as the frame it's hung on. Reusing an old frame that's shifted, settled, or never sealed properly to begin with means a new door slab still inherits the old frame's problems, regardless of how well the door itself is built. Removing the entire assembly down to the rough opening, visible clearly in the during photo, let the opening be verified and properly prepared before the new door and frame went in together as one system.
From ornate to clean: the design change
The new door is navy blue with a four-panel design, and the glass changed just as much as the colour did. Where the original door carried a decorative multi-pattern leaded-glass insert, the new door uses a single rectangular frosted glass panel near the top. That's a deliberate simplification: frosted glass still lets daylight into the entryway while keeping the view obscured for privacy, without the visual complexity of a multi-piece decorative pattern that reads as dated against a clean, contemporary door.
The hardware: a Ferco Roma multipoint lock
Security on this door comes from a Ferco Roma multipoint locking system, finished in brushed nickel to match the door's handle set. A multipoint system like this engages the door at several points along its height from a single turn of the handle, distributing security across the full frame rather than relying on a single strike point the way a standard deadbolt does. For homeowners weighing steel against fiberglass for an entry door, hardware like this is available on either material, so the security decision and the material decision aren't the same choice.
Finishing the details: threshold and trim
A matching silver aluminum threshold replaced the original, tying the base of the door to the brushed nickel hardware above it rather than leaving a mismatched finish at the sill. Small details like this are part of what separates a fully rebuilt entrance door system from a door that was simply swapped into an untouched frame: every visible surface, not just the slab, gets addressed as one coordinated project.
Rebate note: Entry door replacements like this one may qualify for up to $100 per rough opening under the Home Renovation Savings™ program when you bundle two or more eligible upgrades. ENERGY STAR® certified products are required, and eligibility and approval depend on the current program requirements and administrator, with an energy assessment needed before work begins. For a full breakdown of what steel and fiberglass entry doors actually cost installed, see our entry door cost guide for Ontario.
