A wood garage door costs roughly $2,000 to $10,000 installed in the New York area depending on species and whether it is custom. Wood looks better than anything else on an older house, weighs considerably more than steel, needs a heavier spring, and requires refinishing every few years or the bottom section starts absorbing water.
Wood is the material people want on a Scarsdale colonial, a Garden City carriage house or a Douglaston tudor, 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 involves.
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. If a previous installer fitted a standard spring to save money, the door has been out of balance ever since and the opener has been paying for it.
The maintenance is real. A wood door needs its finish maintained on a cycle of a few years, and the bottom edge is where neglect shows first. Water wicks up, the section swells, and a swollen bottom section on a custom door is an expensive thing to replace.
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 better at damping noise than single-skin steel
What it is bad at
- Highest maintenance of any material, with refinishing every few years
- Heaviest, so it needs a heavier spring and puts more load on the opener
- The bottom section absorbs water if the finish is neglected
- Highest cost, particularly for custom sizes
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.
How often does a wood garage door need refinishing?
Every two to four years for a south or west facing door, longer if it is sheltered. The bottom eighteen inches matter most, because that is where water sits and wicks up.
Is a wood-look composite a good compromise?
Often, yes. Composite and faux-wood steel doors give most of the appearance with none of the refinishing, and they weigh far less. On a genuinely historic elevation the difference is visible up close; from the street it usually is not.