Elje / Guides

Buying doors and hardware from China

Internal doors are a good import; fire-rated and external doors usually are not. Buy pre-hung or pre-bored to your schedule, and match the hardware.

What to spec

  • A door schedule: every door's size, swing, type (hinged, pivot, cavity slider, barn), core, finish and hardware.
  • Pre-hung in frames, or slabs pre-bored to your hardware.
  • Cavity slider frames: often not included. On the house we fitted out they were excluded and bought locally.
  • Glass in doors: safety glass, named.

What it costs landed

On the house we fitted out, slim-frame aluminium pocket doors were $436 to $530 each at the factory gate, slim-frame glazed casement doors $519 to $1,043, and a fluted double-glazed front entry door $1,115.

Elje estimate, October 2026. Not yet from a delivered job; replaced with real landed numbers as jobs land.

ItemFactory gateLanded estimate
Slim-frame pocket door, no cavity frame$436 to $530 (real quotes)$570 to $770
Slim-frame glazed casement door$519 to $1,043 (real quotes)$680 to $1,500
Aluminium front entry door, fluted double glazing$1,115 (real quote)$1,450 to $1,650

What to check

  • Safety glass to AS 1288 in any glazed door.
  • External glazed doors are windows under the rules: AS 2047 and the window evidence apply (see /guides/windows/).
  • Fire-rated doors need Australian certification. Elje does not cover them.
  • Timber doors are regulated timber products: illegal logging due diligence.

Mistakes we have seen

  • Buying slabs without frames, or frames without the cavity kit.
  • An external door bought as if it were internal.
  • An exchange-rate clause in the quote that passes the loss to you. Read it.

Questions

Can I import a front door?

Yes, if it carries AS 2047 evidence as an external glazed door, or is solid and suits your wind and bushfire rating. Ask your certifier first.

Sources