Everything You Need to Know About Wood Garage Doors

Most garage doors attempt to simulate the look of wood. If you have the budget for it, you may be thinking of buying an actual wood garage door. Such a garage door does present a distinctive profile in your house's façade. Before you make the investment, though, you should understand some important information about wooden garage doors.

Most wood garage doors aren't made from solid wood or even solid boards. Rather, manufacturers use sheets of hardwood, such as cedar, redwood, or cypress. They choose these hardwoods because they're especially resistant to rot and moisture. The sheet construction is also to prevent warping. Natural wood garage doors can be finished at the factory or on-site.

Wood composite doors are a popular substitution for whole-wood doors. Manufacturers start with a wood core and cover it with fiberboard. The fiberboard consists of wood fibers and synthetic resins. The core is filled with insulation, and the entirety is coated in a high-density skin that makes the door weather-resistant and natural-looking.

One of the big drawbacks to wood garage doors is the necessary maintenance. The manufactures will treat the wood to make it resistant to rot, insects, and warping. Either the manufacturer or contractor will also finish the door according to your specifications. However, you'll have to be vigilant to ensure your door doesn't eventually deteriorate.

At least once a year, you'll need to perform a door inspection. You should look for signs of rot, which present as soft spots in the wood surface. Termites and wood-boring beetles can also present a problem, so look for their holes.

Periodically, you may also have to re-paint or refinish the garage door. If your door is painted, watch for signs of peeling or fading paint. With stained doors, you should reapply the stain on a regular basis before the wood has a chance to fade.

Wood garage doors come in three levels. The most cost-effective level is the stock door. With stock doors, you choose from prefabricated options. The most basic doors are the cheapest - they feature no special panel design and no glass. Upgrading the design adds to the cost, but stock doors are still the most budget friendly option.

The most expensive level is the custom door. You can choose essentially everything about these doors:

• Color
• Finish
• Panel design
• Trim
• Glass panes
• Insulation

With custom doors, you can sit with a garage door expert and draw up your plans, which they submit to the manufacturer.

In between these two levels is the semi-custom door. As the name suggests, you have certain choices to make, in this case concerning design, panels, and glass panes. The price for semi-custom doors is between stock and full-custom.

Wood garage doors come in various styles and can complement any style of house. The most common style is the raised panel wood door. These doors feature floating panels inside a solid frame, or they're constructed to look thus.

Contemporary doors are almost the opposite. They tend to feature no raised or concave paneling. When closed, they appear to be flat. You might find glass panels interspersed in eye-catching ways with the wood panels.

Carriage doors are the most historical style. They're constructed to resemble the swing doors found in old-world carriage houses. While you can still find carriage doors that swing out to open, most feature the more sensible roll-up construction.

In addition to the basic styles of wood garage doors, you can find creative custom options. One of the popular custom options is the barn door, which features cross-hatch panels and strap hinges.

The other major style marker is your chosen finish. Many homeowners opt for natural staining, which allows the natural beauty of the wood to show. You can have your door painted to match the exterior of your house. You can also have the door finished with varnish, which offers a glossy finish.

Choose a wood garage door to complement your house's façade and raise curb appeal. Zumwalt Corporation has a wide variety of garage doors to fit any style you need.