The short answer
For a handful of doors you need this week, a big-box store is hard to beat: stock on the shelf, open evenings and weekends, and a 10% bulk discount on many prehung doors when you buy 10 or more. For a multiplex or rental build, the work is in the count, matching the trim to the doors, and getting the right doors to the right unit. That’s where a builder supplier earns its place.
Side by side
| What you need | Big-box store | Builder supplier |
|---|---|---|
| A few doors, fast | Best option when the size and handing are in stock | Usually made or ordered to your job, so plan ahead |
| Takeoff from plans | Usually your team does the count | Many suppliers take off the plans for you. Ours is free. |
| Price | Posted shelf price; 10% off 10 or more on many prehung doors | Project quote for the whole build. Ask for it per unit type. |
| Dozens of one door in each handing | Check stock on every size and handing before you commit | Ordered to your count |
| Trim matched to the doors | Separate aisle, separate brands | Doors, casing and baseboard on one order, primed to the same finish |
| Custom sizes | Special order, where available | Made to your openings |
| Sorting on site | Your crew sorts it | Ask for bundles labelled by unit and floor |
| Phase two matching phase one | Depends on the line still being stocked | Specs kept on file |
Big-box details are from Home Depot Canada’s website on October 23, 2026. Other retailers and other suppliers will differ, so ask.
When the big-box store is the right call
- A single replacement door or a small renovation.
- You need doors this week and the sizes and handing you need are on the shelf.
- A standard stock door is exactly what the spec calls for, and you have the crew time to count, pick up and sort.
When a builder supplier is the right call
- Repeat units. Four, six or eight units of the same layout means the same door package many times over. One count per unit type, multiplied, is less error-prone than a cart count. See how to take off a rental building.
- Accessible suites. MLI Select and barrier-free suites need 36″ doors on the path through the unit. A supplier quoting from plans flags those openings; a cart count is easy to miss. See interior door sizes in Ontario.
- Trim that matches. Casing and baseboard primed to the same white as the doors, on the same delivery.
- Crew time. Every yard run takes carpenters off the job. Our job-site delivery guide works out what that costs.
- A later phase. If there’s a second building, you want the same style and profiles, not whatever is in stock next year.
Questions to ask any supplier
- Will you break the price out per unit type, with doors, trim and hardware on separate lines?
- Is the count taken from my plans, and will you show it to me?
- Are the casing and baseboard primed to match the doors?
- Which openings did you count at 36″ for accessible suites?
- Prehung or slab, which jamb width, and is handing on the quote?
- Can delivery be split by phase and labelled by unit and floor?
- What happens if a door arrives damaged or a count is short?
- Can you match this order for the next phase?
For a budget to compare quotes against, see what doors and trim cost per unit, worked out from dated shelf prices.
Sources
- Bulk pricing on prehung doors (buy 10 or more, save 10%), Home Depot Canada (checked October 23, 2026)
- 2-panel prehung interior doors, Home Depot Canada (checked October 23, 2026)
Retail offers change. Premier Building Products is a builder supplier, so read this with that in mind, and isn’t affiliated with Home Depot.
