Home remodeling questions - door, retaining wall, new circuit breakers, regrouting?

This is regarding a house in Pittsburgh, PA. I just bought my first house and i'm kinda clueless about these things. 1. I need to install a fire-rated door or a solid-core door between the garage and basement. Right now there's a screen door only. I'd need to get a lockset installed. How much will labor and materials be? Is it cheaper to go with Lowes or Home Depot rather than local contractors? 2. The retaining wall is bulging and needs to be fixed. How much would this cost? I was told that the same stones could be reused to rebuild the wall. 3. The house is old and has fuse boxes. I need to get a new circuit breaker panel. Cost? Also have to change the old outlets to grounded ones. 4. I need to regrout the tiles by the tub in the bathroom and recaulk it. The tiles themselves are ok, just need to refinish. I've heard that this shouldn't be too expensive. Does anyone know any reliable contractors? I'm in the South Hills part of town.

Public Comments

  1. Hey I grew up about 30miles from you in a town called Vandergrift ever heard of it? 1. If you are handy just get a door at Lowe's or HD and do it yourself. If the jamb is in place already it will be pretty easy 2. This is a labor intensive job to save money do the tear down yourself then hire the rebuild out. 3. A new panel is something you can also get at HD or Lowe's but should be installed by a contractor. But if YOU buy the box you will save some good money. 4. The tile is also a diy project and probably cost around $30.00 for you to do it. If you e-mail me I can recommend someone in your area.