Interior Door and Hardware Replacement in Aurora

Published 2026 — Rhodex

Swapping an interior door in Aurora needs no building permit as long as the opening stays the same size, and heritage rules stop at the interior. The exceptions are the garage-to-house door, any street-facing door, and old paint.

A door that sticks, won't latch or has a dead lockset is one of the smaller jobs in a house, but Aurora has two very different kinds of housing, and the same job goes differently in each. Here's what the Town actually says, and where the real pitfalls are.

Does an interior door swap need a permit in Aurora?

No, if the opening is unchanged. The Town of Aurora's building page lists "window or door replacement providing the opening is not enlarged or altered" among the work that does not need a building permit. It adds that exempt work must still comply with the Zoning By-law and, where it applies, the Ontario Building Code.

The line is the opening itself. Widening a doorway, cutting a new one, or moving or removing a wall around it is a different job, and the Town says the Building Code requires a permit for significant alterations to an existing house. If your job sits in a grey area, the Building Division can be reached at building@aurora.ca or (365) 500-2081, and asking costs nothing.

Heritage rules and interior doors

If you live in one of Aurora's heritage conservation districts, the first worry is usually the permit. For interior doors it mostly isn't one. The Town's heritage page says that under the Ontario Heritage Act the entire property, except for the interior, is designated, and its heritage permit application form lists "any interior work except that which effects external appearance" as minor work that needs no heritage permit.

The same form is clear about the other side: replacing doors on elevations visible from the street, or removing architectural elements such as shutters, doors and trim, is the kind of project that does need a heritage permit. So a bedroom or closet door inside is yours to change, but a front door, a side door facing the road, or its trim and surround is not. If you're unsure which side your door falls on, the Town's planning team lists planning@aurora.ca on the form. A heritage permit does not replace a building permit, and a project can need both.

The garage-to-house door is not an ordinary interior door

Many newer northeast Aurora homes have an attached garage, often a large one, and the door into the house is the one door you shouldn't treat like the rest. The Ontario Building Code requires a door between an attached garage and the dwelling to be tight-fitting and weatherstripped against gases and exhaust fumes, and to have a self-closing device. That's the wording as reproduced in municipal builder guidance for Article 9.10.13.15; the code has been amended and reissued over the years, so confirm the current text with the Building Division before changing that door or its frame.

In practice: don't swap it for a bare, unsealed slab, keep the weatherstripping on all four sides, and don't remove the closer because it slams. A running vehicle, fuel and solvents sit on the other side of that door.

Older village-core homes: measure everything, and test the paint

Doors in older homes near the historic core are less likely to be stock sizes, and the frames have often moved over the decades. Measure the actual width, height and thickness of the slab rather than trusting a label on the jamb, and note which side the hinges are on. If the frame is out of plumb, a new slab inherits the same rubbing problem, so a prehung unit or some careful frame work fixes what planing never will.

The other issue is paint. Health Canada says a home built before 1960 probably contains lead-based paint, and its renovation guidance uses a broader cut-off of before 1991 for older base coats under newer paint. It advises against sanders, heat guns and blowlamps on it. Painted original doors and trim in an older Aurora home are exactly where that matters, so test before you strip, plane or sand, and ask a contractor how they plan to contain dust. An original solid door is also sometimes worth keeping and re-hanging rather than replacing if it is in good shape, because re-hanging it on new hinges keeps the house's character.

Newer northeast builds: standard sizes, but not always good ones

Homes built in the 2000s and 2010s in northeast Aurora generally use standard door sizes, so a prehung replacement usually drops in more easily. The more common issue is quality: builder-grade hollow-core doors dent, and cheap hinges and latches loosen. Upgrading to a solid-core door improves sound blocking for a bedroom or office, but it is heavier, so use three hinges and long screws into the framing rather than only the thin jamb.

Slab or prehung, and the hardware measurements

A slab is only the door. Use it when the frame is straight and the old door's size and thickness match. A prehung unit comes hung in its own frame and is easier when the opening is out of square. For the lockset, check the backset (the distance from the door's edge to the centre of the large hole, commonly 2-3/8 or 2-3/4 inches), and choose passage handles for closets and hallways, privacy handles for bathrooms and bedrooms, and dummy handles for doors that only need to be pulled. Lever handles are easier on children, older adults and anyone with sore hands than round knobs.

What it typically costs

These are general Canadian estimates, not Rhodex pricing. HomeStars' national price guide puts a prehung interior door at roughly $250 to $650 installed and a slab-only replacement at roughly $150 to $450, with hardware such as locksets sometimes quoted separately. Solid-core or custom-size doors, frame repair, and trim work push the total higher. Get an itemized quote so the door, hardware and any frame work are priced separately.

Quick answers

Do I need a permit to replace an interior door in Aurora?

No, not if the opening stays the same size. The Town of Aurora lists door replacement, provided the opening is not enlarged or altered, among work that needs no building permit.

Does the heritage district cover my interior doors?

Generally no. The Town says the whole property except the interior is designated, and its heritage permit form treats interior work as minor unless it affects the exterior appearance.

Does the door from my garage to the house have special rules?

Yes. The Ontario Building Code requires that door to be tight-fitting, weatherstripped against fumes, and fitted with a self-closing device. Confirm the current wording with the Town's Building Division.

How much does it cost to replace an interior door?

General Canadian price guides put a prehung interior door at roughly $250 to $650 installed, and a slab-only swap at roughly $150 to $450. Hardware is sometimes quoted separately.

Is it safe to sand an old painted door in an older Aurora home?

Not until the paint is tested. Health Canada says homes built before 1960 probably contain lead-based paint, and advises against sanding or heat guns on it.

The short version

Keep the opening the same and you don't need a building permit. Treat the garage door as a safety part, test old paint before touching it, and check whether a door faces the street before assuming heritage rules don't apply. Most of the rest is careful measuring.

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Replacing Interior Doors and Hardware in an Aurora Home: What the Town Does and Doesn't Care About