Door Removal in Warsaw — Fast and Damage-Free

Door removal is needed before a replacement, during a layout change or when an old door assembly gets in the way of a renovation. It looks straightforward — lift the leaf, pull the frame, done. But without experience it is easy to wreck the reveals, crack the plaster down to the brick and end up with an opening that takes a week to rebuild. We remove doors across Warsaw — from old timber frames nailed into concrete to modern telescopic systems. If you plan to fit a new door after removal, we prepare the opening right away.

How much does door removal cost and what affects the price

The cost of removal depends on the type of construction and the condition of the wall around the opening. A simple case is a hinged door on butterfly hinges with a foam-set frame — it comes out in 20-30 minutes. A difficult one is a 1970s door nailed into a concrete wall, its frame buried under layers of paint and plaster. That has to be cut out piece by piece. The number of doors also matters: removing several in the same flat brings the unit price down.

Fixings and consumables for the removal are included in the labour cost. Taking the old door and building waste away is a separate service. If you need trimming, adjustment or fitting of a new door after removal, the same technician can handle it all. Current prices for all our door services are in the table below.

Send a photo of the door and opening — the technician will assess the difficulty and quote an exact price with no hidden extras.

How door removal works: step by step

Door removal is not a matter of pulling harder. Each type of fixing needs a different approach, and a mistake at any stage leaves marks on the wall. Here is how the technician works:

1. Inspecting the assembly. The technician identifies the frame type (timber, MDF, metal), the fixing method (foam, nails, plugs, anchors) and the wall condition. This determines the tools and the order of operations.
2. Removing the architraves. Architraves are carefully levered off with a chisel or scraper. If they are pinned, they come away easily. If glued, we cut them free, trying not to damage the wall.
3. Removing the door leaf. The leaf is lifted off its hinges. For surface-mounted hinges, lifting is enough. For mortice hinges, the screws are undone. The leaf is taken out of the way.
4. Removing the frame. This is the most critical step. If the frame is foam-set, we cut the foam with a knife all round and ease the frame out. If it is nailed or plugged, we unscrew or saw through the fixings. In older buildings around Mokotow and Ochota, frames are often nailed straight into brick — extra care is needed here.
5. Cleaning the opening. We remove leftover foam, old fixings and plaster fragments. The opening must be clean, with no protruding nails or build-ups. If a new door is planned, the opening is levelled and primed.
6. Clean-up. We clear dust, offcuts and debris. The old door and frame are stacked separately. The client checks and signs off.

The whole process takes from 30 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on the fixing type and wall condition.

Common mistakes when removing doors yourself

Removal looks like easy work, yet this is exactly where walls and openings get damaged most often. Here is what goes wrong:

• Levering the whole frame out with a crowbar. The frame comes away with chunks of plaster and brick. Repairing the wall afterwards costs more than the entire removal.
• Not removing the architraves before taking the frame out. They get torn off with the frame, damaging wallpaper or paint 10-15 cm around the opening.
• Not cutting the foam before pulling the frame. Foam holds the frame like glue. Yank without cutting and pieces of the reveal come away with it.
• Cutting the frame with an angle grinder indoors. An angle grinder throws sparks and produces a cloud of dust. In a lived-in flat this is a fire risk and a mess. The right tool is a reciprocating saw or a hand saw.
• Forgetting about hidden fixings. Screws may be concealed under caps or a layer of filler. If you do not find them, the frame will not come out and forcing it cracks the wall.
• Not protecting the floor. Plaster chunks, nails and fragments fall on laminate or tiles, leaving scratches and chips you cannot undo.
• Leaving nails in the opening. Protruding nails and screws interfere with fitting the new frame and can cause injury.

What to prepare before the technician arrives

Removal is dusty, noisy work even when done carefully. Here is what to do beforehand:

• Clear the area around the door by at least a metre on each side. Move furniture, items from shelves and rugs.
• Sheet the floor with plastic or cardboard — debris and dust are guaranteed.
• Decide what to do with the old door: leave it by the entrance, take it to the skip, or dispose of it yourself. Removal by the technician is a separate service.
• If a new door will be fitted after removal, make sure the new door, frame and hardware are on site.
• Have a power socket available within 5 metres of the opening for power tools.
• Provide the entry code, floor number and lift information — especially if waste removal is part of the job.
• If you have pets, confine them to another room during the work.
• Warn the neighbours if the walls are thin — removal can be noisy.
• Photograph the door and opening in advance and send the images to the technician — it speeds up the estimate.
• Decide whether you need any additional work: trimming an adjacent door, adjusting hinges, replacing a lock. Everything can be done in a single visit.

A real case: removing old doors in Mokotow

A client in Mokotow was starting a full renovation of a 1970s flat. Four interior doors needed removing — three standard and one double set opening onto the living room. The standard doors sat in timber frames nailed into concrete walls. After fifty years the foam had turned to stone, and behind the architraves we found gaps stuffed with newspaper and plaster. Each frame had to be cut with a reciprocating saw at four points and then carefully knocked out in sections. The double doors were trickier: the frame was reinforced with metal angle brackets sunk into the wall. We had to chisel the brackets out with a breaker, watching the depth to avoid going through to the other side.

All four openings were cleaned up by lunchtime. The reveals came through in acceptable condition — minor chips, nothing serious. The client later booked us to fit the new doors as well. The lesson: in older buildings, removal takes longer because of non-standard fixings, but careful work leaves the opening ready for the next stage without expensive wall repairs.

Who does the work and what guarantees we offer

Door removal is carried out by tradespeople experienced in joinery and finishing — people who work with openings of every era and construction type every day. We arrive with a full tool kit: reciprocating saw, chisels, scrapers, breaker if needed. We cover all of Warsaw and the surrounding area. We guarantee that the opening will be clean, level and ready for the next step — no protruding nails, foam build-ups or crumbled reveals. If anything goes wrong during removal through our fault, we put it right at our expense. To book, call or message us — we typically reply within an hour.