This question is a bit like one of my previous clients I ran into over the weekend. "Hey Robert... I have an office in my wife's dental practice and I want the ceilings torn off, I *think* they are acoustic tile over sheetrock, but it could be tile over plywood. Also, I need the walls stripped off and the cabinets removed so I can upgrade the walls to new hold new free hanging cabinets. Oh yeah, and a couple three new plugs. How much will that cost?"

Let your mind wonder.

So, since finishing/refinishing is certainly part of what I do, I would ask this: Clear coat or paint? (Why hasn't that been asked?) What shape is the door in? Need a lot of prep? Need to be puttied, have surface work done? Does it have panels? How many? Does it have glass in it? Can the glass come out easily or will it have to be taped off?

What kind of finish will the door owner tolerate? The smell of oil based products will linger in the house for days. Some people have now decided that even latex paint fumes can bring on delirium. With that in mind, the $1200 guy may have decided to take the door off and take it to his shop for finishing to get that "factory" finish. If so, like me he probably puts a plywood barrier across the door hole while the actual door is off site. Some of my clients have loved the convenience of having me pick up the door, block the entry and be gone in 30 minutes, then return in a week with a finished door that I put back up and install the hardware and it's finished.

So, what kind of finish, how much prep, what style door, and on or off site finish, and how will it be applied?

Robert