The 2026 Numbers, By Door Type
These are installed prices we quote across the Treasure Valley, including tear-out, threshold flashing, trim, and haul-away. A firm written number for your opening comes from a free in-home measure — but for planning, this is the honest landscape:
| Door type | Installed price (2026) | Typical opening | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quality vinyl slider (Milgard) | $1,800–$3,200 | 5–8 ft | Budget-conscious upgrades, rentals, most subdivision homes |
| Fiberglass / clad-wood slider | $3,000–$6,000 | 5–9 ft | Sun-baked west exposures, dark colors, longer ownership |
| Hinged French door | $3,000–$6,000 | 5–6 ft | Traditional homes, formal rooms, best air-seal |
| Multi-slide / bi-fold wall | From ~$8,000 | 9–20+ ft | Patio-wall remodels — see our big doors cost guide |
Four Levers That Move Your Price
Size and configuration. An 8-foot slider carries more glass, a heavier panel, and a stouter frame than a 6-footer. Three-panel configurations, transoms above, and sidelites each step the number up.
Glass package. Tempered safety glass is code at door height and already in our base numbers. What adds cost: low-SHGC sun-control coatings for west-facing glass (worth every dollar in July), laminated security glass, and sound-control packages near arterials.
Structural widening. The most common upgrade conversation we have. Going wider means a new engineered header sized for the load above — roof, second story, or both. That's carpentry, engineering, and a permit, and it's why widening projects belong with a company whose own employees do structural work rather than a door dealer who subs it out.
Threshold and subfloor condition. Builder-grade doors from the '90s and 2000s were routinely set without pan flashing. Fifteen or twenty years of Idaho snowmelt later, we open thresholds and find soft subfloor more often than you'd hope. Minor rot repair is quick for our carpenters; extensive damage is quoted honestly before work starts, never discovered as a change order.
Same Opening or New Opening?
A same-size swap is a one-day job: old door out in the morning, new door sealed and trimmed by evening, opening never left open overnight. A new or widened opening is a small remodel — typically two to four days with engineering and permit lead time up front. The cost gap is real, but so is the payoff: the widened patio connection is the single most-requested remodel we see in valley homes built before 2010.
What the Money Buys Back
Realtors in Ada and Canyon counties will tell you the same thing we see at our showroom: an indoor-outdoor connection sells. A dragging, fogged builder slider quietly downgrades the best room in the house; a smooth, tight, well-glassed door upgrades it every day you live there — and again the day you list. Add the comfort math (the patio door is the largest glass area and often the leakiest opening in the house) and this is the rare project that earns its keep twice.
Wood Windows has replaced patio doors across the valley for 46 years, always with our own employee carpenters. Prices are set annually and quoted firm in writing after a free in-home measure — no in-home sales theater, no expiring discount. Call (208) 376-2200 or send the form on this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to replace a sliding glass door?
In the Treasure Valley in 2026, a quality vinyl slider runs $1,800–$3,200 installed; fiberglass or clad-wood sliders run $3,000–$6,000. Those numbers include tear-out of the old door, threshold pan flashing, interior and exterior trim, and haul-away — the line items some quotes conveniently leave off.
Does converting a slider to a French door cost more?
Usually modestly more within the same material tier, since hinged doors carry more hardware. Budget $3,000–$6,000 installed for a fiberglass or clad-wood French door in a same-size opening. If the rough opening needs resizing for the hinged configuration, framing labor adds to that.
What does it cost to make the opening bigger?
Turning a 6-foot slider into a 9–12 foot opening means a new engineered header, and that structural work typically adds $2,500–$7,500 on top of the door itself, depending on what's bearing on the wall above. Our carpenters handle the engineering, framing, and permit in one scope — no general contractor to hire separately.
Is a new patio door worth it for energy savings?
A patio door is the single largest piece of glass in most homes, so a failed one leaks more heat than any window. Expect real comfort gains and a meaningful dent in the draft near the door, but count the payback in livability and resale, not utility bills alone. NFRC ratings on the quote tell you exactly what you're buying.
Sources & Testing Data
Last reviewed 2026-07-05 by Wood Windows Inc — (208) 376-2200