Every Door in the House: A Realistic 2026 Budget for Swapping Internal Doors
Replacing every internal door in a UK home is one of those jobs that looks tidy on paper and messy in reality. You count eight doors, multiply by the price of a door, add a bit for handles and assume you are done. Then the joiner arrives, tells you the linings are shot, the architrave is discontinued and two of the openings are not standard sizes. The budget quietly doubles.
None of that means you should not do it. A coordinated set of doors is one of the quickest ways to make a house feel finished, and doing it in one go usually costs less than replacing them one at a time. It just needs a realistic plan. Prices below are indicative for 2026 and vary by region, with London and the South East at the upper end.
What doors actually cost in 2026
Supply prices for a standard 1981 x 762mm leaf, before ironmongery or fitting:
| Door type | Typical supply price |
|---|---|
| Hollow-core flush | £45-£75 |
| Moulded panel | £70-£130 |
| Solid-core flush | £90-£180 |
| Oak veneer | £150-£300 |
| Glazed, clear or frosted | £180-£450 |
| FD30 fire door | £120-£350 |
| Premium oak or period-style | £300-£700+ |
A whole house of eight doors might therefore cost £400 at the budget end for leaves alone, or £2,500-plus for oak veneer and glazed doors. That is before anybody has lifted a hinge.
Fitting, linings and labour
Fitting labour is usually the largest single line in the budget. A straightforward swap - new leaf into a sound existing lining - typically runs £90-£160 per door. Fire doors take longer because of the seals, closers and tighter tolerances: expect £150-£250 per door. If the lining needs replacing, add £120-£250 per opening, and if the plaster around the frame needs making good, add another £40-£100.
A realistic whole-house figure for eight doors, including fitting but not doors or ironmongery, is £900-£1,600 for standard work. Add £400-£800 if several linings need attention.
The small stuff that is not small
Ironmongery adds up fast. A basic pair of handles, hinges and a latch might cost £25-£40 per door. Mid-range handles push that to £50-£90. Period-style or designer ironmongery can easily exceed £120 per door. Across eight doors, the difference between budget and premium hardware can be £500 or more.
Architrave is another line people forget. At £8-£20 per metre, a typical door opening needs around 5 metres, so £40-£100 per door. If you want to match existing mouldings, custom profiles cost more.
Finishing is the final hidden cost. Painting a door properly takes time and materials: £50-£90 per door is common for a brush finish, £70-£120 for staining and sealing oak, and £150-plus for a spray finish. Do it yourself and you save the labour, but not the weekends.
Realistic totals for a whole house
For eight internal doors, including supply, fitting, standard ironmongery, architrave and a basic paint finish:
- Budget tier: £1,800-£2,800
- Mid-range tier: £3,000-£4,500
- Premium tier: £5,500-£9,000
For ten doors, add roughly 20-25 per cent. For a smaller terrace with five doors, scale down accordingly, but keep a contingency because small jobs rarely stay small.
Fire doors are the expensive surprise
Fire doors are the line item that catches homeowners out. An FD30 door costs more than a standard door, and the compliant ironmongery - intumescent strips, smoke seals, hinges and sometimes a closer - adds £30-£80 per door. Fitting is slower and less forgiving. If your loft conversion, integral garage or rental property requires fire doors, budget £250-£400 per opening fitted, not £150.
Supply-only versus fitted
Supply-only can look cheaper, but it shifts the risk to you. You need to measure accurately, check handing, arrange delivery, find a joiner and deal with any defects. A fitted package from a door supplier or independent fitter usually costs 20-30 per cent more than supply-only, but it bundles the measuring and the comeback if something is wrong. For a whole-house swap, that certainty is often worth paying for.
A practical planning checklist
- Count every door, including cupboards and any door you intend to remove.
- Measure height, width and thickness of each opening, and note any that are not standard.
- Check which doors need to be fire doors before you fall in love with a style.
- Decide on handing for each door and write it down.
- Confirm whether linings and architraves are being reused, repaired or replaced.
- Choose ironmongery early so the backset and latch type match the doors.
- Decide who finishes the doors and when - before hanging is usually easier.
- Get three quotes and ask what is excluded.
- Add a 10-15 per cent contingency for surprises behind the frame.
- Plan the order of work so wet trades and decorating do not undo fresh doors.
A whole-house door swap is rarely cheap, but it is one of the most visible upgrades you can make. Budget properly, ask awkward questions early and the finished result will feel deliberate rather than patched together.
