MG Door Installations LLC

Based on Angie's List reviews, I contacted Mark Gilbertson about replacing my storm door.  What a pleasure.  Mark specializes in door installation, and YOU benefit from his experience.  He measured my door, recommended two door brands to consider, suggested I shop at Menards on Oakton in Morton Grove, told me exactly what size to order, gave me the names of people to talk to at Menards -- everything I needed to know.  I ordered a door -- when it came in, Mark picked it up for me, brought it to my house, arrived exactly when he said he would arrive, took out the old door, put in the new door, gave me and my husband a tutorial on how to change out the screen/glass, different options for the door-stop mechanism, etc.  As it happens, the wrong color sweep was delivered  -- no problem -- Mark zoomed over to Menards immediately, got the right color door sweep, came back, and finished the project like the pro he is.   Mark answers his phone / returns calls very promptly, he honors his appointment times to the letter, his prices are more than fair, and his work is top quality with no drama.

Great quality work.

Mark is great to work with.  A true professional, he's very customer-focused, as you'd expect from someone with as many glowing reviews on Angie's List (which is how I found him.)  When the installation ended up being a lot more work than he had bargained for, he stuck to his original quote (just shy of $600 was for his work -- the remainder of the price was for the door and the custom staining).  He has good follow-up, as throughout the process from initial contact to ordering and then scheduling installation I heard from Mark regularly to let me know where everything was.  He always showed up on schedule, and is meticulous with his work.

Our front entry door was at least 30 years old and in bad disrepair.  It definitely needed to be replaced and based on other reviews and his location, we chose Mark Gilbertson.

He came promptly to evaluate our situation, provided us with useful information, and showed us catalogs of door options.  He then called the lumberyard to get a price on the door for us.   Mark was absolutely professional.  There was no pressure to use his services; he simply gave us the info we needed along with a quote.  He even fixed a broken door knob for us.

After we decided to go ahead with the project, we called the lumberyard to finalize the order -- after which they contacted Mark to verify measurements and to provide an estimated shipment date (we had to special order the door).  Mark then contacted us to let us know the door was ordered and the approximate date of arrival.  He called us again a couple of weeks prior to the shipment date to schedule an installation time.

On the day of installation, Mark picked up the door and swung by our house right at the scheduled time.  He installed the door in about 4 hours and it looks fabulous!  Everything is perfectly aligned and solid.  He also insulated and caulked everything very neatly.  The stoop looks better than it ever has and he left the place cleaner than it was before he came.  He then gave me tips about painting the door and what to do about ordering a storm door.

As a side note:  I went to Menard's to order a storm door and the door person there asked me who the installer was.  I told them "Mark Gilbertson", and she flat out said "He knows what he's doing".  I guess he's got a good reputation there.

Mark's price was in my mind, competitive.  Not the cheapest, but I am willing to pay a bit more to be assured of a quality installation.  That is what I got.  The price he got for the actual door was in the ballpark with other places I checked out.

Overall, I am very happy with Mark Gilbertson's service and I can't recommend him enough.

Their service was excellent.  I was under the impression that we were going to need to replace the entire door and the jamb that was falling and breaking.  The person who came out actually assessed the damage and was able to repair it without replacing the entire door and jamb, which saved us a significant amount of money as well as time.  He also offered us advice, pretty much free, concerning another one of our doors in the entrance way if we were to upgrade it in the future, which was a pretty sound advice.  I will use their services again in the future.

We've found out the hard way that hanging doors is a job for door professionals.  Amateurs screw up measurements and don't know how to build out frames.  Mark is a door professional.  He knows exactly what a job requires and does it well.  We will use Mark for all our future door needs.

Mark first took the view that we should try to repair the broken hinges on one of our storm doors. Alas, that was not to be.  An added problem was that our door size is not quite standard.  Mark went to Menard's to see if that store could supply us.  He then advised me on my options for special ordering. I chose a door, paid for it at the store, and when the special order came in about three weeks later, Mark picked it up, brought it to the house and installed it. Throughout the process he was responsive, friendly and extremely competent.  Cannot recommend him highly enough.

We were lucky enough to get Mark when he had an opening for us. He came the next day, picked up the doors for us, and installed them. He is a consummate professional. The former doors never looked right, and never fit well, and in fact were not installed correctly. Mark installed the doors beautifully, and when he left, the doors looked the way they should have all these years. He then turned his attention to another closet door, which also didn't work well, and fixed it, and it, too, now looks right. He was extremely nice, easy to work with, did a terrific job, and when he left he cleaned up everything, which made us very happy. His rating really is A+.

Excellent. Mark was able to answer all of my initial questions immediately over the phone and was able to set up an appointment within a couple of days. He came over to look at each of the doorways, took measurements and explained what our options were. In both cases the doors that were being replaced were odd, custom-sized doors which needed to be ordered. Mark was able to handle the order and give me a detailed estimate before any work started. Throughout the process, he stayed in contact with me regarding the status of the orders and the installation. Mark does great work, is detail oriented, and takes pride in his work. I have nothing but the highest praise for Mark - we will continue to use his services for all of our future door installations.

The experience was fantastic. Mark is a complete professional in every respect. He arrived on time for both the quote and actual work.  He provided an honest and fair quote, and honored every aspect of the contract. Our entry door had been poorly hung by the builder and leaked air - this has been especially uncomfortable over the last few winters. We decided not to spend another winter with (uninvited) cold air seeping through visible gaps in the front door.  After obtaining several quotes from national window & door retailers, we were stunned by the costs - all in the $2000-3000 range.  Before giving in to one of those quotes, I researched Angie's List and found Mark Gilbertson's company. The ratings and comments wer positive, so I decided to call. I'm so glad I did!

Mark did an outstanding job for about half the cost quoted by national retailers.  During the project, he attended to every detail, assuring that the front door and frame were placed in firmly and without gaps.  He then corrected problems with the storm door, which we thought was also defective - turns out, it was fine - just installed incorrectly.  I wish all providers worked with care, precision, and drive for perfection exhibited by Mark.  We are extremely satisfied with the end result and would hire him again.

Mark came out the first time to measure and gave pricing for his installation.  We asked for quotes for both our front door as well as our basement door.  He also gave suggestions on the type of door that would be best for each, and then gave us quotes for the custom doors themselves.  We paid the door company directly/separately for the door. He was meticulous with every step, including clean up. We are holding off on the front door, but will hire Mark to do that in the spring.  

Mark not only gave a fair estimate, he provided great information about where I could purchase the replacement doors.  Mark picked up the doors I purchased from the retailer (saving me time) and installed them expertly. The doors look great and I'm going to call Mark again to replace the remaining closet doors in my home early next year. Thanks Mark!

Great. Mark was responsive to our intiial request for a quote and came out when he said he would. He clearly understood the assignment (unlike a salesman from brand name window/door company) and proposed the right solution. The process from there was very easy and once the doors were in he scheduled two days to install. He showed up on those days and ended on time. Finnished product looks good and works great. No complaints whatsoever.

Menards referred me to him.  He picked up the door free of charge, installed it right away, and did a good job.

Mark was great to work with.  He knows so much more about doors than anyone else we spoke to and he knows how to work with older homes.  He is very cost conscious and tries to help you find options that are less expensive.  The house is 65 years old and brick construction and the doors are no longer standard sizes.  He steered us toward ThermaTru fiberglass doors and sent us to a small lumberyard to order them.  ThermaTru is one of the few manufacturers that still makes 34 inch doors and 30 inch doors.   Mark gets his customers a discount through this lumberyard.  He also helped us select screen doors and gave us great advice about controlling the heat buildup between the doors and the screendoors.  He removed the old doors and framing down to the brick.  Because the woodwork is old and unique, he was very careful to preserve it so that he could reinstall it later.  No other installer was willing to even try to preserve it.  He warned us it was a dusty job so we put up plastic sheeting and he used his own tarps as well.  He cleaned up after himself and the dust was really not a problem.  The old doors were very heavy so he sawed them into pieces to make them easier to take to the curb on garbage pickup day.  Between Mark's very reasonable installation price and the discount we got at the lumberyard, the job cost exactly half another quote we received from a Pella dealer.  The doors were about $2000 on top of the installation cost and the screen doors were another $1000 because they had to be custom made due to the size.  Mark charges only for installation and has customers deal directly with the lumberyard and home improvement store for the doors, screen doors and hardware.  He gives great advice on brands to buy for doors, locksets and screendoors.  He was punctual and pleasant.  He always called to remind us when he was coming.  I would definitely hire him again.

Mark was always quickly responsive in terms of answering or returning phone calls. I cancelled on him once thinking we had repaired the door ourselves and he was gracious about the cancellation and when I needed to reschedule. Both times he was able to come out in a couple days. He was driving from and then to a job both in the suburbs so trip between to Chicago for such a small job probably was not worth his time but he was gracious about it. Prior to his coming out I had also asked about repairing the screen in a sliding door and he gave me a cheaper alternative to him doing it, which worked out great. Refreshing when someone turns down a job due to concerns about saving you money!

Mark was able to come out promptly to put in our storm door.  He went to Menard's and picked it up and was here right when he said he'd be.  He noticed a problem very quickly--our siding had been installed over the top lip of the old storm door and it looked impossible to get to the screws up there.  However, Mark didn't just say, "Sorry"--he figured out a way to get the old door off without having to take off siding.  From there, he cruised through the job.  When he was finished, he explained all the features of the door and how to work them, cleaned up, and was gone within an hour.  I told him I wish he did things in addition to doors, because people with his skill, work ethic, and professionalism are (sadly) not easily found in the world of home improvement.  Give him a call; you won't be sorry!

Well, another rave review! Mark responded to our initial phone call promptly, gave us a quote and also gave us advice on brands of doors to choose and where to get the best deal on them. We ordered the doors ourselves then when we found out when they would be in we called him to schedule the appointment. Again, he got back to us right away and not only was he available when we requested but he actually said he would pick up the doors for us. (This was great since we only have a mid size sedan.) He arrived right on time with our doors, took some quick measurements and alerted me to a *possible* issue with the front door, which was that the previous door was installed without enough extra space between the frame and the trim. He said he may have to remove the trim to install the door. This concerned me because we have a large family event coming up this next weekend. He said don't worry, that's the worst case scenario and if it happens he said he'd come back the next day with a saw to fix the trim. He started with the back door and part way through installing it he noticed a dent in the kick plate. Can you believe this- HE took it back to the retailer himself and came right back! And he apologized to ME for how long it was taking! I was blown away. How nice of him to notice the damage and take it upon himself to go the extra mile to fix it for us. Okay, already long story, I'll cut to the chase, he finished both doors and did not have to remove the trim on the front door. He showed me where to paint over a very small part of wood that was now exposed and then he showed me how to use all the features of the doors as well as how to use them to be energy efficient. All in all, one of the very nicest vendors I've ever dealt with.

We hired Mark to install a new back door, and ended up using him for five more door installations. He is punctual, very professional and knows more about installing doors than the guy that invented doors. His pricing is based on his install charge, plus the cost of whatever door you select, and he's hard to beat. Please note that he only installs single hung doors because he works alone and doesn't want to hire a crew for more complicated installations. I would use him again in a second for any upcoming door installs, and would not hesitate to recommend him. 

He came, he did and left. He was a nice guy who did a nice job. He gave me a bid, he was professional. He picked up the door and installed it. He did a great job.

Fabulous. So pleased

Mark was very prompt and professional from start to finish. He answered all of my questions and explained the process step by step before installation. After installation he gave me instructions on the care and maintenance of my new doors. I highly recommend Mark.

I wanted to replace a back entry door and install a security door in the back. I also had Mark replace my front storm door. For all of the doors, Mark made suggestions and gave me the measurements. I shopped for the doors and ordered, and paid for them. Mark then picked them up and installed them. Mark made the entire process very easy. Mark is prompt, a true professional and craftsman. If he did things other than doors, I would hire him in a heartbeat. I highly recommend Mark.

Excellent experience. Highly recommend. Mr. Gilbertson did a professional and efficient installation job. I was very, very pleased with the quality of the workmanship. He also provided excellent customer service. He measured the door and gave all specifications to the lumber company. He scheduled the installation work soon after the orders for the doors (front and storm) were placed. He advised us to not get the storm door until the front door was in place (to make sure measurements were accurate). He advised us on the storm door to purchase (I had already picked a front door, but he would have been helpful there if I hadn't already done my research). He advised me on how to stain/finish the door. When I had a question about sealing the door where the bottom weather stripping is located, he called the company and got back to me with new information. Also when our old plaster walls crumbled when he took off the interior trim (I had expected this), he suggested we install drywall and take the opportunity to insulate the wall and put in an outside electrical outlet. Good advice and we followed it.

Mark was able to come out very quickly and provide an estimate the same day and answered all my questions. I did not act on the request quickly and called Mark many months later and he still had my information saved and did not waste any time confirming the measurements and adding me to the schedule. He was very good at providing guidance and answering all my questions related to the paint, our security alarm and locks. Once the door came in Mark called me right away and installed the door a few days later. We could not have been more pleased. Mark was on time and provided services that exceeded our expectations. The door not only looked great, it was installed properly and a much tighter fit than our previous door to prevent drafts. I would highly recommend Mark Gilbertson's work.