Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Therma-Tru Home Additions & ADU: The Fort Lauderdale Owner’s Guide
We install Therma-Tru-compatible home additions and ADUs across Fort Lauderdale, with full projects typically running $45,000 – $130,000 for an addition and $90,000 – $220,000 for a detached ADU. Most homeowners reach out after realizing their existing entry doors, sidelights, or transom windows are handing them moisture problems, air leaks, or hinge fatigue that a standard patch job can’t solve. In our climate, a Therma-Tru door system that’s been through three or four hurricane seasons will show its age in very specific ways: warped frames, failed corner seals, or glass units that fog between the panes. The question is rarely whether the door can be saved, but whether the wall around it is still sound enough to build on. That’s where the home addition or ADU conversation starts for a lot of Fort Lauderdale homeowners.
If you’re planning an addition or building an ADU on a Fort Lauderdale lot with an existing Therma-Tru entry system, matching the new work to your current doors matters. We’ll talk about which Therma-Tru series you have, what’s compatible, and what a realistic budget looks like. We’re an independent contractor, not affiliated with Therma-Tru, but we work with their products because the warranty structure and part availability hold up better than most in South Florida humidity.
Key Takeaways:
- Fort Lauderdale home additions run $45,000 – $130,000; detached ADUs run $90,000 – $220,000 depending on size, foundation, and finish level.
- Therma-Tru entry systems installed during an addition must be flashed correctly or you’ll see rot inside 24 months in this climate.
- Matching a new Therma-Tru door to your existing series means checking the label on the door edge, not just the style name.
- We write the price down before any work starts, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise covers the work in writing.
- Call (754) 551-2922 for a free estimate on your Fort Lauderdale home addition or ADU project.
Which Therma-Tru Models This Applies To
Therma-Tru builds entry doors, patio doors, and sidelight/transom systems across a number of series: Classic-Craft, Fiber-Classic, Smooth-Star, and Pulse are the ones we see most often on Fort Lauderdale homes built or renovated in the last 15 years. The compatibility gotcha that surprises people is this: two doors can look identical from the curb and take entirely different hinge hardware, sill pans, and weatherstripping because one came from the Classic-Craft line and the other from Smooth-Star. The only reliable way to identify what you have is the inkjet label on the hinge edge of the slab, or a sticker inside the frame head. If those are faded or painted over, the screw spacing on the hinges and the sill profile usually tells us which series we’re working with.
For home additions and ADUs in Fort Lauderdale, the part that matters most isn’t just the door slab. It’s the sill pan, the corner seal pads, and the frame-to-sheathing flashing. Therma-Tru’s factory parts are engineered to their specific slab profiles; generic aftermarket sills from a big-box store may physically fit but won’t drain water the same way. In a climate where a summer afternoon storm can dump an inch of rain in 40 minutes, that difference is the difference between a door that lasts 20 years and a jamb that rots in five. We specify OEM sill pans and corner seals on every addition and ADU we build because we’ve seen what the wrong flashing does to a new wall in Fort Lauderdale.
We also stock parts for the brands alongside Therma-Tru in a lot of these projects, including KraftMaid, Cambria, and Silestone, so the door system, cabinetry, and countertops in a new addition can be specified and ordered together rather than through three different vendors.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Therma-Tru Home Additions & ADU Is Failing
- Water staining at the bottom corners of the door frame. This is almost always a failed sill pan or missing corner seal pad. In Fort Lauderdale, where the afternoon rain drives sideways against east-facing entryways, a small flashing gap becomes a visible stain within one wet season.
- The door drags or binds at the top corner during the humid months. Slab swelling from moisture intrusion means the frame-to-sheathing flashing wasn’t done right, or the slab has absorbed enough humidity that the original weatherstripping no longer clears. A Therma-Tru slab that’s been properly sealed doesn’t move like that, even in August.
- Condensation or fogging between the glass panes in a sidelight or transom. The insulating glass unit has lost its seal. On an older Therma-Tru system, this often comes with a frame that’s also showing its age, and it’s a sign the whole opening is worth a look before you build anything adjacent to it.
- Visible rot or softness in the wood subframe behind the door trim. By the time you can push a screwdriver into the wood, the water has been getting in for a while. This is common on Fort Lauderdale homes where the original door was installed without a sill pan, and it’s the single biggest reason we recommend replacing the full frame rather than just swapping the slab.
- The door closes fine but you feel air movement around the perimeter. Worn compression weatherstripping or a sagging hinge means the door isn’t sealing against the frame. The fix might be a new hinge set and weatherstrip, or it might be a sign that the entire frame has shifted enough that a replacement is the smarter call before you spend money on an addition that connects to it.
Replacement Cost & What’s Included
A full home addition in Fort Lauderdale runs $45,000 – $130,000, and a detached ADU runs $90,000 – $220,000. If the scope is limited to replacing a failing Therma-Tru door system as part of that project, the door work itself typically falls in the $2,500 – $8,500 range depending on slab series, glass package, and whether the frame needs full replacement or just new flashing and sills. What drives the addition price up or down is the foundation type (pier and beam on a low-lying Fort Lauderdale lot costs more than slab-on-grade in a newer development), the size of the footprint, and the finish level inside.
When we quote a home addition or ADU in Fort Lauderdale, the written price includes every part: the Therma-Tru door system, the flashing and sill pans, the framing, the interior finishes, and the labor to put it all together. There’s no verbal ballpark that becomes a bigger number after the walls are open. The Kingswell Guarantee requires a written price before any work starts, and our 365-Day Done Right Promise covers the work in writing. If something fails inside that year, we come back and make it right at no charge, including a free return visit, no service call and no re-inspection fee.
| Project Type | Fort Lauderdale Price Range | What’s Typically Included |
|---|---|---|
| Discrete Therma-Tru door replacement within an addition | $2,500 – $8,500 | Slab, frame, sill pan, corner seals, flashing, install, written warranty |
| Home Addition (one room, attached) | $45,000 – $130,000 | Foundation, framing, Therma-Tru entry, electrical, drywall, flooring, paint |
| Detached ADU (studio – 1BR) | $90,000 – $220,000 | Foundation, full envelope, Therma-Tru door(s), kitchenette/bath, utility hookups |
DIY or Call Us?
The safe DIY work on a Therma-Tru door system is checking the obvious: look for daylight under the door at the corners, feel for drafts, run your hand along the bottom rail after a rain. You can note where the water is getting in and take photos. What you shouldn’t do is pull the door slab and attempt to rebuild the sill pan or reflash the opening yourself. If the flashing is wrong or the sill pan isn’t sloped and sealed correctly, water gets behind the frame and rots the wall before you even see a stain. In a Fort Lauderdale addition or ADU, that means tearing out sheathing and potentially redoing framing on a brand-new building, which costs far more than doing the door right the first time.
If the door is the problem, call us at (754) 551-2922 and we’ll take a look. If the addition or ADU is the project, the door is part of the conversation from day one, not an afterthought once the drywall is up.
How much does a Therma-Tru home addition cost in Fort Lauderdale?
A home addition in Fort Lauderdale runs $45,000 – $130,000 depending on footprint, foundation type, and finish level. If you’re adding a room that ties into an existing Therma-Tru entry door, we’ll assess whether the existing door and frame can stay or need replacement as part of the quote. Call (754) 551-2922 for a written estimate. Estimates are free.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCan a failing Therma-Tru door be repaired instead of replaced?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no, and the deciding factor in Fort Lauderdale is whether the frame or subfloor has already absorbed water. A worn hinge or weatherstrip can be repaired. A rot-softened frame or a failed sill pan usually means full replacement, because the water damage keeps spreading even after you fix the visible part. Call us at (754) 551-2922 and we’ll tell you which situation you’re in, in plain language, before you spend anything.
How long does a Therma-Tru home addition or ADU project take?
A single-room addition in Fort Lauderdale typically takes 3 to 5 months from permit approval to final walkthrough, and a detached ADU runs 5 to 9 months depending on utility work and foundation conditions. The Therma-Tru door installation itself is usually a one-day job once the rough opening is ready. We’ll give you a written schedule along with the written price, and we don’t make promises on timing we can’t keep.
Do you stock Therma-Tru parts or do you have to order them?
We keep common Therma-Tru weatherstripping, hinge sets, sill pads, and track components in our stock for the classic series we see most often in Fort Lauderdale. Specialized slab sizes or unusual glass packages are ordered to match your specific door label. We don’t substitute generic parts for Therma-Tru parts when the original part is what the system was engineered for. Call (754) 551-2922 and we’ll check stock for your specific model.
Will the price change once work starts on a home addition or ADU?
No. The written price we give you before work starts is the number on the invoice unless you change the scope. If we open a wall and find something neither of us could have known about, we stop work, tell you what we found, and give you a written price for the changed scope before any additional work happens. There are no change orders you didn’t approve in writing. That’s the Kingswell Way, and that’s how Penhallow Remodeling Fort Lauderdale has operated since before Trevor Nash brought the standard to this market.
Trevor Nash grew up in Los Angeles and learned the trade at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College before spending the better part of two decades running crews across South Florida. Tell me what you need, I’ll tell you what it costs, then we’ll get it done. That’s the approach on every Fort Lauderdale home addition and ADU we build. Call (754) 551-2922 to schedule your free estimate, or call and talk through what you’re seeing with your Therma-Tru door. A live person answers, 24/7.
Written by Trevor Nash, Owner, Penhallow Remodeling Fort Lauderdale at Penhallow Remodeling Fort Lauderdale, serving Fort Lauderdale and nearby areas.
