Doctor Door & Window

Doctor Door restored our battered 1920s over-​sized front door and fixed a broken modern window. The end results are great — the door had been badly aged, and it now looks like the well-​restored antique it is. The fixed window is simply gratifying in that it now works. Steve takes his time & takes pride in his work. He is thoughtful and steady. It took a lot of patience to schedule the 2 visits that comprised the 2 sub-​projects, and you are definitely paying for a craftsman, but we are happy with the end product.

I recently bought a fixer-​upper that had a sliding patio door that wouldn’t open. a GC and a separate structural engineer said this was due to the upstairs level settling onto the frame, and it would cost $ 5k to open the wall and fix the problem. Dr. Door was at my house to fix some other various window issues, took one look at the aforementioned slider and said that was not the case, just the frame needed an adjustment and was able to fix it for $ 1200! I have since had him doctor several doors in our home, and not only is he is a very trustworthy and interesting fellow, but has really gone the extra miles make sure our projects were completed to our satisfaction.

Wow, this guy is lame, lame, lame… I left a message on his website as his voicemail directs you to (should have been a red flag right there); then I left a voice-​mail since he never called, to no avail. F… this guy…

He worked on my house about 7 years ago and it was an awful experience. Mis-​measured windows and then blamed Taylor Brothers for it. Doing the french door install, his employee made shortcuts that thankfully my contractor observed and made him correct. And now today, I have found extensive damage to my subfloor due to a Doctor-​Door-​badly installed door. Doctor Door even tried to gouge me on the stucco patching. .. just shady all around.

I found this company via Unilocal search and when I requested an online quote and told him I need two doors repaired, he writes back that he «can’t afford to come out for only two doors… If I had additional work it would work but can’t afford to come for two doors». He’s only 13 miles from my house. Maybe if he didn’t turn down jobs he would have the money to make money. Beyond LAME!

My home was built in 1924 and has all the old double hung windows and original interior doors. The ropes in the double hung windows had rotted away years ago and many of the windows simply didn’t work. I nick-​named one the «guillotine window» since it would slam down unexpectedly if you took the latch off. I found Dr Door and Window and he did a fabulous, meticulous job replacing the ropes and fixing the windows and doors. He even re-​stained a section of my floor that had been scraped up. There were some additional costs I wasn’t quite expecting such as the cost to repaint (a different vendor) the window frames and a few other extras, but overall I found Dr Door and his crew to be polite, capable, trustworthy and I will have them come back in the future. The estimate process was a bit lengthy, but in the end his work was worth it.

It takes quite a lot for me to write a bad review. I am a small business owner and I like to support small business owners — but unfortunately, I, too, have been stiffed by Dr. Door. We paid a lot of money for a solution that did not work back in July (it’s October). He said he stands by his work and that he will continue to work on it until we are satisfied. After numerous attempts at reaching him without any return communication, it is clear that he does NOT stand by his work. Avoid this ‘business.’

Just avoid. I used Doctor Door years ago on a rental. I have to say it was one of the two worst «repairman» experiences I’ve ever had. (The other was a Russian who barely spoke English and waved his arms around and rolled his eyes a lot. it was really skippy, that day.) Anyway, for some reason Dr. Door popped into my mind (probably because I have three doorknobs that need to be replaced), and I thought I’d look him up on Unilocal.Yeah. He’s still a train wreck. He’s got a touch of the ADHD, methinks. He was replacing a door for me – a pretty simple task, for someone named Doctor Door. His helper, OMG. The whole «measure twice, cut once» was beyond him. And they ended up leaving in the middle of the job to go to the Emergency Room. Which is fine – (I couldn’t stand to watch them work, and WHUP! YEP! THERE IT IS!!) Days went by and I heard no word and I got someone else to finish the job. Wow. Just. Wow.

Dr. Door and associates worked on doors, windows and weather stripping at our home last spring. Weather stripping and functionality of front and side entrances were our priorities, though we added several extras that were within our budget.
For the most part, the job they did was fine. The stripping has held up well through the year and the side entrance works well. (3 stars)
One workman sanded the paint off our living room window sills without consulting us, though we had no plans to repaint. That was pretty lame. (2 stars)
Our front door gave them the most trouble. Neither the original (1920s) latch or bolt was functional, and the job was to reclaim those and remove 2 additional deadbolts that had been added. One of Dr. Door’s colleagues spent a whole day on it without noticeable progress. Steve (Dr. Door) took over after that and the results were/​are not satisfying; the latch worked only briefly, but we have to open it carefully or the doorknob pulls out (which happens all the time). The original bolt works from the outside with a key, but can’t be locked or unlocked from within. Finally, he installed a new, «antiquey» looking deadbolt that looks like it came from Home Depot. To summarize, the door is less functional now than it was before work began.
The original estimate for the front door work was $ 525. Without consultation, that went up to $ 925 on the final invoice (extra time spent + extra materials). We agreed to split the difference, which nobody was happy about. This is our front door so we’re reminded daily of this pricey disappointment. (1 star)
Dr. Door called me soon after completion of the work, saying he’d actually forgotten to do one of the jobs we’d paid him for, and that he’d drop by in a few weeks to finish it. I’m not sure what he was talking about but we never heard from him again. He’ll probably call after I post this poor review, although I really hope he doesn’t.

I called Dr. Door and Window regarding fixing a pane broken in our 1950s/​60s apartment. I got no response for weeks.
Weeks later, I get a call apologizing profusely for the lack of return call. They’ve had «upheaval» in their office, and if I haven’t had my window fixed, please call, they want to help. And I should send pictures via email. So I set about taking photos of my window, sending off two and forgiveness. Alas, my faith was misplaced. For another several weeks, complete radio silence.
I called a few days ago to follow up. I got a call back just now explaining that Steve — Dr. Door and Window– had realized he was simply too busy with jobs that were already on the calendar to fix my window. However, they decided to call with a referral to someone else. The vibe was that they were doing me a favor.
The kicker? She asked me to mention that I was referred by Dr. Door and Window because they get «points.» So here’s my question. Why call me and ask for my business if you are too busy to take it? And then ask me to do you a favor? There’s something wrong with this picture window.
post script — Atwater Screen & Glass picked up immediately and is coming tomorrow morning to look at my window.

After posting the review about Doctor Door’s no show, no call, he called me the next day and apologized & came to my house to give me an estimate. Ahhhhhh, the power of Unilocal

We called Steve when our cleaning lady lost our house key and we needed to replace the locks, but once we realized the breadth of his skill set we also had him help with weather stripping some windows, fixing the front door so it would close right (we used to have to slam our shoulder into it to get it to lock), and replacing an unusually sized window pane in our dining room (which our son cracked with his head). Steve was very professional, and his prices were totally fair. I plan to call him again soon to deal with our troublesome back door.

Today we received a note from Dr. Door in the mail asking why we would give him one star on Unilocal?!Evidentally, Dr. Door doesn’t understand that we never received a phone call from him stating why he stood us up! Sorry, but those are just the facts.

I used Dr. Door & Window many, many years ago. So I am going by my experience some time ago, if he’s improved I have no idea. He was recommended by a neighbor who thought he was good but I found his work to be just ok.
He didn’t install windows properly and than had to cut extra molding to make them work and it ended up looking very rigged and not seamless. So in all he got the job done but I know it could have looked much better in the end if I went with someone else who was better at woodworking and molding.

We have a 1924 home in the Hancock Park area with all original windows and doors. Steve and his team did a wonderful job restoring them! The windows are now waterproof (not the case before) and windproof, and the doors open and shut properly. Steve is a true craftsman. He and his team are professional, clean, prompt and friendly. I recommend them highly.

I could not be more impressed with the good Doctor. We had an odd-​sized smashed window, a gaping hole where a doorknob used to live, and an office door lock that was functional but painted over. Steve replaced the window (including matching the previous tinting), did a double-​switch on the doorknob, replaced its lock with an authentic antique, and instead of charging me more, advised me to try and «unstick» the office door myself. He even threw in a key for free!
If you live in Hollywood, Silver Lake, Los Feliz, etc., and you care about quality work — don’t even think about using anyone else.

I can’t tell you how much angst and annoyance our condo building’s front doors have given us over the almost 10 years we have lived there. They are wooden French doors which swell and contract with the weather and while lovely, they are aged. It looked and acted like an old door. We were having continued problems getting it to shut properly which left our security building, un-​secure. Our locksmith said there was nothing he could do, that we needed a «door guy». He reiterated, not to hire just anybody because someone could really screw up and make the door not fit. Sigh. Where would I find a door specialist for a beautiful but old wooden door in this world of metal doors and handymen? Unilocal to the rescue! (Again!)
Steve, Dr. Door, was personable, polite and punctual. He fixed our door and replaced all our rusty hinges. He stayed in touch regarding times and estimates via phone calls and even gave a call after the job to be sure I got my key back and that we were happy with the work! The door looks great and we’re calling him back to replace the lock guard and spruce up the door even more.
Steve is worth every penny and considering he is a specialist in wooden doors, we got a great deal. He resuscitated our tired, old door and I’ll call him again in a heartbeat!

We had Doctor Door and Window repair several windows on our old house and he did a wonderful job. He was punctual and made sure everything was cleaned up afterwards. I would use him again and highly recommend him.
Paula P.

We had Dr. Door and Window replace and repair doors for us. He was great. He showed up when he said he would, preformed excellent work, and charged fair prices. One other plus, he cleaned up after himself and his assistant.
He is one of those craftman who take pride in the work that he does. He is my go-​to guy whenever I need door or window repair or replacement.

Just a short note about Steve Byroads aka Doctor Door and Window — I have been having problems with the doors throughout my newly, totally renovated house in Silverlake since my contractor sent his Framer to Supervise the renovation, doh! I know! Don’t remind me!
First of let me dispel a myth — Steve is not really a Doctor, although he acts more like one than most that I trust my physical health to. His is pleasant, smart, reliable, experienced, a problem solver and a true professional. What the hell else could you ask for? Oh, yeah he’s honest too — more than I can say about that old contractor. Use him, you won’t regret it.