A wood garage door costs roughly $2,200 to $9,000 installed in Florida depending on species, size and whether it is custom, and a wind-rated wood door that meets the Florida Building Code sits toward the top of that range. Wood looks better than anything else on a Coral Gables, Winter Park or Old Northeast house, weighs far more than steel, needs a heavier spring, and in Florida faces termites, rot and a refinishing cycle of one to two years.
Wood is the material people want on a 1920s Coral Gables Mediterranean, a College Park bungalow or a St. Augustine house near the historic district, and on those houses nothing else looks right. It is also the material most likely to be sold without a full explanation of what owning it in Florida involves, which is a lot of sun, a lot of water, and insects that eat it.
Termites are the first problem. Subterranean termites are active statewide and drywood termites are common in South Florida, and a wood door sitting on a slab with a bottom seal that stays wet for half the year is an easy target. Rot is the second. Afternoon storms from June through September put water at the bottom section every day, and where the finish has failed the water wicks up and the section swells. Choose a species that handles moisture, keep the bottom edge sealed, and treat the door the way you treat the house.
Weight is the mechanical consequence. A wood door can weigh half again what a steel door of the same size does, which means a different spring specification and often a heavier opener. And the rating still applies: a new wood door needs a Florida Product Approval or a Miami-Dade NOA like any other, which narrows the choice of models and raises the price. Faux wood steel and composite doors give the look on a Weston or Palm Beach Gardens carriage style house with none of this, and they are what we recommend for most people who ask about wood.
What it is good at
- The only material that genuinely suits a period house
- Can be made to any size and any design, including matching an existing elevation
- Repairable in ways a dented steel panel is not, since wood can be filled and refinished
- Naturally quiet and solid in use
What it is bad at
- Highest maintenance of any material in Florida: refinishing every one to two years in full sun, and a bottom section that termites and rot go after first
- Heaviest, so it needs a heavier spring and puts more load on the opener
- Highest cost, and wind-rated and impact-rated wood models are limited and custom
Wood questions
Does a wood door need a different spring?
Yes. Spring size is determined by door weight, and a wood door is significantly heavier than steel of the same dimensions. A door fitted with an undersized spring will not hold halfway when you lift it by hand, and it quietly destroys the opener attached to it. We weigh or calculate the door before we quote the spring.
How often does a wood garage door need refinishing in Florida?
Every one to two years for a door facing south or west, longer if it is under a deep overhang. The bottom 18 inches matter most, because that is where the afternoon rain sits and wicks up. If the finish is cracked or chalky, water is already getting in.
Can I get a hurricane-rated wood garage door?
Wind-rated wood doors exist and some are impact-rated, but they are custom, heavy and expensive, and the choice is thin in the HVHZ where a Miami-Dade NOA is required. A faux wood steel or composite door with the same rating starts far lower, and from the street most people cannot tell. We show you both before you decide.
