Every client who calls us about a custom entry door asks two questions. The first — what will it cost? — depends on size, design, and hardware, and it’s answered with a quote. The second — how long will it take? — has a much more predictable answer than most people expect. Here is the honest, step-by-step version of what happens between the day you request a quote and the day your door is standing in its opening, including the parts of the timeline you control and the parts we do.
Step 1: The Quote
Everything starts with a Request for Quote on our website, or a call to our sales team. The single biggest thing you can do to speed up your own timeline happens right here: send complete information. An accurate quote needs the door design you like (or an inspiration image), the width and height of the opening, whether the top is straight, arched, or elliptical, the swing direction — and for double doors, which leaf is active — plus your hardware preferences, glass options, trim details, and the jobsite address or at least the zip code, so shipping can be calculated correctly. A photo of the opening helps enormously. Quotes with complete information move to the front of the line; our team prioritizes active construction projects and time-sensitive requests.
Step 2: Signing and the Deposit
When you’re ready to proceed, you sign the quotation and return it by email. In most cases we require a 65 percent deposit to begin processing and production. If you want to get moving before committing the full amount, we can start the engineering paperwork — CAD drawings and documentation — with a smaller initial deposit of 10, 20, or 30 percent; the balance of the 65 percent is collected before production begins. We accept wire transfers and checks, with one practical note: checks must clear before an order officially moves forward, so a wire is the faster path.
Step 3: The CAD Drawing — the Most Important Step You’ll Take
Before anything is built, you receive a detailed AutoCAD drawing of your exact door: dimensions, swing, hardware placement, glass, trim — everything. This is the moment to slow down. Review it against your opening, ask questions, request modifications, and only then sign and return it. Once you approve the drawing, it becomes the blueprint your door is built to, line for line. Ten minutes of careful review here prevents the only kind of delay that really hurts: discovering a discrepancy after production has started.
Step 4: When the Clock Actually Starts
Here is the misconception we correct most often: the production countdown does not start when you send your first deposit. Production begins — and the lead time starts — only when three things are complete: the CAD drawings are approved and signed, all required documents are in, and the full 65 percent deposit is received. From that point, the estimated lead time is typically 9 to 12 weeks, depending on design complexity and current factory workload. Once your order enters production, you receive a confirmation by email summarizing the order, its status, and the estimated timeframe.
Step 5: Production — 9 to 12 Weeks
Your door is built to order in Miami, to the approved drawings. For hurricane-impact doors, this is also where code compliance is physically built in: impact-rated doors are approved as complete tested assemblies, so the door, frame, and hardware are produced exactly as certified under the applicable Florida Product Approval — our pivot line under FL#28370 and our classical outswing line under FL#16326, both rated +65/−65 PSF. That “installed as tested” discipline is what your inspector will be looking for later.
Step 6: Shipping and Delivery
After completion, your door is packed into a solid, secure crating system designed specifically to protect it in transit, and shipped through our national freight logistics partner. We currently ship to any address in North America, with charges based on the weight and dimensions of the order and the destination. One planning detail worth knowing in advance: lift-gate delivery service is available for orders up to 85 inches wide. Anything wider is delivered without a lift gate, so for oversized doors you’ll want a forklift with extension prongs on site on delivery day — your sales representative will flag this when your order qualifies.
Ordering Ahead: Yes, You Can Buy Now and Install Later
Construction schedules slip; door pricing and production slots don’t have to. Many clients order early to lock in pricing and a place in the schedule. If your door is finished before your project is ready for it, we’ll store it in our warehouse at no charge until you’re ready for delivery, within a reasonable time frame. On a new build or major renovation, ordering the entry door early is one of the cheapest forms of schedule insurance available.
The Realistic Total
Add it up and the honest answer looks like this: a few days to a couple of weeks for quoting and paperwork (mostly driven by how quickly information and signatures come back), the CAD review at your pace, then 9 to 12 weeks of production once everything is approved, plus transit. For planning purposes, treat a custom entry door as a roughly three-to-four-month line item from signed quote to door on site — and start it earlier in your construction schedule than you think you need to.
The Bottom Line
A custom door timeline isn’t mysterious — it’s a sequence, and the fastest projects are the ones where the client and the workshop each do their part promptly. If you’re ready to start yours, request a quote with your opening’s dimensions and a design you love, and we’ll take it from there. For the full checklist of what to have ready, see our Ordering & Shipping page; for questions on certifications, permits, and warranties, our FAQ has you covered.
