Best Wood for Garage Door (7 Best Options)

There are a lot of different ways you can go when it comes to installing custom garage doors. While fiberglass, metal, steel, and aluminum are popular material options, many homeowners are choosing to build wooden garage doors.

Wood garage doors offer a unique look and feel to homes and garages. You can use many different types of wood with wood garage doors, each offering a different look, feel, and design than the next.

In this post, I’ll look at seven of the most common woods used for garage doors, different styles to choose from, and help you understand if wood is the right garage door material for you. Let’s dig in!

Best Types of Wood For Garage Doors

Technically, you can use any type of wood to construct your garage doors. However, certain types of wood look and hold up better than others and have become the gold standards of the wood garage door industry. If you’re looking to install a wooden garage door at your home, these are the woods I recommend.

1. Redwood

Redwood garage doors are the way to go if you want something that looks high-end, decorative, and regal. Redwood is one of the most popular woods for garage doors because of how durable and strong it is.

Additionally, redwood garage doors are very resistant to storm and wind damage, much like the iconic Redwoods in California. Redwood is also one of the more paintable woods, allowing for additional customization.

The only downside of a redwood garage door is that it’s susceptible to termite damage, but most other woods are as well. Redwood is also one of the more expensive wood options for garage doors, so you better have a sizeable budget.

2. Cedar

For several years, cedar has been one of the best and most popular options for wood garage doors. Cedar is very strong, resistant to the elements, durable, and is one of the few woods that isn’t prone to termite damage.

As such, cedar garage doors are considered by many to be the best wood for garage doors on the market. It provides the best combination of durability, customizability, and beauty of any garage door material.

As with redwood, you can paint or stain a cedar garage door in any color to add aesthetic value and style. However, as with redwood, cedar garage doors are one of the more expensive options on the market.

Additionally, there are several different types of cedar wood to choose from, including Western red and clear which are also great woods for garage doors.

3. Alder

If looks and style are the main thing you’re concerned with when choosing your garage doors, alder wood is the way to go. Alder wood garage doors are loved for their beauty, color, and, most of all, aesthetic value.

Alder wood provides unique golden tones you won’t find with another type of wood. This is especially true when you can get your hands on knotty alder.

In addition to great looks, alder garage doors are very resistant to heat and moisture damage, making them a great option in tropical areas, such as Florida, Texas, and the Southwest.

4. Composite

If you have a slightly smaller schedule but still want the look and feel of wooden garage doors, composite wood is the way to go. Although similar to plywood and other low-cost materials, composite garage doors are a material all their own.

While different producers will build their doors differently, composite garage doors typically consist of sheets of fiberboard and synthetic resin encased in a wooden shell exterior. Because of how they’re designed, composite garage doors are lightweight and provide excellent insulation and aesthetics.

Composite garage doors are one of the most common options for homeowners because of their affordability. Their downside is they don’t look quite as luxurious or fancy as other woods, such as cedar, alder, and redwood.

5. Plywood

Aside from composite, plywood garage doors are one of the more affordable wood garage door options on the market. Plywood is thinner and much more readily available than other types of wood, making them a very affordable option.

While plywood doesn’t offer the sleek look or design that more expensive woods do, it’s a fairly durable and lightweight material. Plywood is also a great insulator and provides a paintable option if you value customization.

The downside of plywood is that it doesn’t hold up well to the elements, such as moisture, heat, and humidity. As such, it’s prone to warping and rotting and will require frequent maintenance and care.

6. Mahogany

In the words of Will Ferrel on Anchorman, there’s nothing like a rich mahogany, especially when it comes to garage doors. Mahogany garage doors are one of the most popular options among homeowners who have the overhead to afford them.

People will know with a single glance at your home’s exterior that you went the extra mile and value luxury if they see you have mahogany garage doors. In addition to beauty and style, mahogany is a very durable wood lasting longer than most other materials.

Mahogany wood also requires very little ongoing maintenance and can withstand most weather elements, making it an excellent option for homeowners who don’t enjoy DIY tasks.

7. Pine

Finally, you can use pine wood for your garage doors. While it’s certainly an option, pine is one of the least-used woods for garage doors and other outdoor structures because of its required maintenance.

Unlike other woods that require very light maintenance, pine wood needs to get restained or painted annually, or it will warp and rot. However, because of its unique look, aesthetic value, and delightful smell, pine wood is still used by some homeowners who aren’t afraid of hard work.

Best Wood For Rustic Garage Doors

Most of the woods we’ve looked at thus far are used when you want luxurious, sleek, or modern garage doors. If you’re going for a rougher, more rustic look, you’ll want a different wood entirely.

Reclaimed Wood

Reclaimed wood is the way to go for those wanting a rustic look. Reclaimed wood garage doors get created from a process where you take old wood, recycle and repurpose it, and use it to build garage doors.

Reclaimed wood garage doors are quickly gaining traction because they are very affordable and eco-friendly. Since it’s pre-used, reclaimed wood has a unique rustic feel that is tough to accomplish with a brand-new garage door material.

Different Styles For Wooden Garage Doors

In addition to a wide variety of woods, there are also different garage door styles. Here are some of the most popular styles that go great with wood.

Raised Panel Garage Doors

Raised panel garage doors are the most popular type of garage door in the United States. They offer a classic look and design that will most likely never go out of style, making them a great option if you value longevity.

Within the category of raised panel garage doors, you can add tons of features for extra aesthetics. You can also incorporate any type of wood or design into the construction of raised panel garage doors, making them a highly versatile option.

Solid Panel Garage Doors

Most garage doors are made of multiple sections or panels because they are slightly easier to build and operate. However, you can also choose a solid panel garage door made of wood or another material.

Wooden solid panel doors consist of a single pane of wood that operates on a hinge system rather than the typical tracks. While these garage doors offer a unique look and style, they tend to be more basic than sectional, raised panel systems because of how they open and close.

The upside is that you can use any type of wood for solid panel garage doors, as long as it isn’t too heavy for the hinge system.

Carriage House Style Garage Doors

Finally, carriage house-style garage doors are the perfect choice if you’re looking for a style that lends charm, style, and practicality. Carriage house-style doors were invented back in the days of the horse and carriage, hence the name.

Traditionally, these doors operated on a hinge system, allowing them to swing open and shut rather than go up and down. Nowadays, however, if that seems like too much work, you can build carriage house-style garage doors that operate with a traditional opener and tracks.

The advantage of carriage house garage doors is that they’re highly customizable, and you can use any type of wood in their construction.

Are you wondering how to install your wood garage door? Check out the video down below!

Is Wood the Best Material For Garage Doors?

While wood is a great option for garage doors, it’s far from the only option. You can also choose garage doors made of fiberglass, steel, aluminum, and more.

However, wood has certain advantages because it possesses certain qualities that other materials don’t.

• They’re very durable
• Aside from occasional repainting or restaining, they require little maintenance
• Resistant to the elements, specifically moisture, and heat
• They’re a very customizable and versatile option
• They provide a unique aesthetic value that no other material can compete with
• You can choose from a variety of garage door styles, colors, and types of wood
• An eco-friendly option
• Highly insulative

If you’re looking for each of these qualities in your garage doors, wood is your best bet.

FAQs

What is the Most Paintable Garage Door Wood?

Most garage door woods are paintable, but reclaimed wood and cedar are two of the best.

What is the strongest wood for a garage door?

Cedar and mahogany are two of the strongest and most durable garage door woods. They also require very little maintenance and are resistant to most elements.

What type of garage door is most durable?

While wood is a very durable material for garage doors, steel is the strongest and most durable garage door material available. However, steel doors are also very expensive, heavy, and offer little to no aesthetic value to your home.

Final Thoughts

If you want to have wooden garage doors, there are plenty of options to choose from. However, most experts consider alder, cedar, redwood, and mahogany the best woods for garage doors. For those who value affordability and easy installation and operation, plywood and composite wood are the way to go.

Because there are so many different directions you can go in terms of style and type of wood, it’s important to determine your budget, preferred style and desired aesthetics before making your decision.