What is the Best Wood for Garage Doors? Only the Best Options

The value of your home and the appearance has a lot to do with the type of wood garage door you have. Wood garages differ in many ways, such as the types of springs they have. Wooden garage doors can be the primary focus of your home exterior. Having solid wood garage doors are an excellent option because they are customizable, elegant, and timeless to suit any style of home that you may have. In this article, we’ll go over what is the best wood for garage doors, garage door wood panels, wood garage door repairs, and the advantages and disadvantages of them.

Styles of Wooden Garage Doors

The layout and design are heavily determined by the exact style of wood that you decide on. Here are some common styles for your wood garage door.

Solid Panel: Solid panels are incredibly budget-friendly and are quite flat.

Raised Panel: Raised panels create a stunning visual effect but are a bit more costly. These types of panels add more depth to the exterior of your house and include shapes that are neatly carved into the wood piece.

Carriage Style: Carriage styles are not usually found in urban areas. However, they are attractive and timeless. These are highly durable panels. Although it may look like the panels open outward, they are in actuality, opened upwards.

Wood with Windows: If you want to make a great impression on your guests, try adding windows to your garage doors. Although it’s much more expensive, it’s worth the investment to make the exterior of your home beautiful.

Type of Wooden Garage Doors

Now we get to answering the most important question of what is the best wood for garage doors. You also need to choose the type of wood in addition to the style. The type of wood will vary based on its weight, quality, and thickness. These are a few popular choices of wood material used on garage doors.

Cedar: Cedar is the best option available and can be the focal point of your home. It’s typically the most popular choice for homes since it is resistant to pest and moisture damage. This type of wood won’t crack or warp in bad temperature conditions, humidity, or weather. It requires less work to open the garage door and very light since it is a type of porous wood. This type of wood is both soundproofing and has incredible insulation. With a Cedarwood, you can leave it unfinished for a more weathered or natural look. Or you have the option of adding paints or different stains. So if you’re wondering what is the best wood for garage doors, then now you know that Cedar is the best choice.

Plywood: This is a fundamental type of door wood and also the least costly. You may add an exterior hardwood skin so that you can make this more aesthetic. However, it does have some foam insulation due to its thin material.

Advantages of Wood Garage Doors

There are so many advantages when it comes to having a wood garage door.

Attractiveness: Wood on garage doors typically has beautiful finishes, designs, and textures that other materials don’t have. Wood will make your garage doors stand out.

Customizable: Many types of customization features can be added to wooden garage doors. This includes accents, decorative hardware, windows and timber types. The garage door wood panels also have design options.

Functional: Traditional garage doors may not fit because some houses have a more unconventional design. Wood garage doors offer customization so that you can fit homes with openings that aren’t a normal size and where the floor isn’t level.

Disadvantages of Wood Garage Doors

Require a lot of upkeep: Wood does require much more upkeep and maintenance; therefore, if you’re not ready for that, then this may not be the best option for you. You need to monitor your door for damages and rot. Also, you’ll need to weatherproof your garage doors by putting on a protective coating layer. If you fail to do these upkeep tasks, your door may chip, warp, or rot. Sometimes garage doors can keep going back up, or be hard to open. So you’ll need to watch out for these common problems.

Not the most energy-efficient choice: Energy efficiency could be negative if your garage is connected to your house. Wood will have some insulation properties but not as good as steel, causing you to use more of your heating system during winter. Although you can find wooden garage doors with better insulation, it will cost more.

Kind of expensive occasionally: Unfortunately, the material of wood can be on the pricey side. You can limit the amount of customization to reduce cost, however, it is still quite expensive. Repair costs will also need to be considered when budgeting

Wood Garage Door Repairs

Check for Rot: Fungus and bacteria that live in the wood can eat away at your door. Typically they start with areas that are damp or moist. Make sure to check the bottom of the door and have the work trimmed. Monitor the trim work by using a long-handled screwdriver and prodding it. If you notice that the wood surface has cracks, that means it’s time to call a professional for repairs.‍

Look for Pests: Also, another one of the many repair tips for wooden garage doors is to check for pests when prodding your door. Pests and termites may attack all types of wood. There are many types of wood consuming insects, such as beetles. Try to identify the type of insect before treating the door. If you’re unsure, call a pest control firm to help you.

Remove Peeling or Chipping Finishes: Ensure that the surfaces have been prepared correctly. Use a scraper to remove any loose paint chips and smooth out the uneven wood. If there are holes in the wood, you can use wood putty to fill them up and let them air-dry.