Everyone knows the importance of making a good first impression and extends to the front door of your house. Properly maintained, a quality door can last for decades, but there comes a time when it makes more sense to replace it than to repair it. Buying a new front door is an important investment to your home. If you’re trying to figure out whether or not that time has come for your entryway, take a close look and ask yourself the following questions:

• Is your front door weathered, scratched, or dented?
• Are there cracks or breaks along the door’s edges or within its panels?
• Does the door let in drafts?
• Have you encountered difficulty getting the door to hang level on its hinges?
• Is it often a hassle to close and lock the door?

Can you replace it yourself? You can replace any exterior door in your home without removing the jamb if the jamb is in good shape and not out of square. You just need the same size of door without the hinge cutouts. You don’t need special tools, you can cut the hinge mortise with a chisel and a hammer.

Out of 11,916 projects analyzed by HomeAdvisor, the average cost of replacing a front door was between $477 and $1,389, for an overall average of $916. The lowest price reported by a homeowner was $100, while the highest price reported was $4,200.