I would choose wood only because i prefer wood over any other materials such as doors, trims, windows,etc and dont have a problem w/ maintanence, but that's just a personal preference of liking the looks of real woods. On a garage door, i think the advantage is when the wood doors are stained and sealed, showing off the grains of the species. Painting them can highlight graining as well, but it is a lot to maintain which is something a lot of folks steer away from, hence metal, vinyls,etc. Imo, you cant beat the real look of wood no matter the finish. You are going to get the least efficiency concerning insulating/doors on garage doors because of the jamb/header/ floor sealing that is hard to obtain any kind of tight seal. Most steel garage doors have insulating panels that you can obtain.

If we had been going to paint our garage doors, we would have gone with the Steel Clopay carriage style doors, so I think that would be an excellent choice (even in a high end neighborhood). The only reason we went with a wood door is because our garage doors do face the street, are a focal point of our design and we thought the stained wood was a match better match to the style of our home.

From my perspective, wooden doors are chosen for their beauty. So for me means staining them, and showing them off. If you're going to paint them and have them hidden at the side of the house, I'm not sure I'd see any advantage over a painted and insulated steel door.

Regarding staining and maintenance - a lot of my neighbors have stained doors. After 3 years they're almost all visibly in need of maintenance, particularly the ones facing South or West.

I completely agree with chiefneil's comments about maintenance. Our garage doors face east, but we are fully aware and prepared to restain them every other year. We live in a harsh climate but both our front and garage doors are wood and will need to be "taken care of".

On wood stained/sealed doors, a light sanding followed by a light finish coat annually seems overkill to some,but is something that can be done in a couple of hours and lessens any chance of peeling or flaking especially in southern/western exposures. Highly dependent on location of the door(s) and where you live, but a couple of hours out of a year doesn't seem like too much too ask for keeping a nice finish on the doors. I've had good luck on cedar/redwood doors in the past using dilluted boiled linseed oil, but it requires attention more often than once a year to keep it decent.

You have another option. Jeld-wen makes a composite garage door in various styles. Since you don't see our garage doors from the front, we went with the traditional style which was cheaper.

Joan

The joints in wooden doors will gradually begin to flex with usage. I now have steel and that is my preference.

Our city's Building Review Board would not permit anything but wood. We have neighbors whose wood garage doors look like heck, while older homes have steel garage doors that look like new. In fact, one of the only ways you can tell from the street who has which is by knowing the 'good' doors are most likely to be steel. Go figure.

If steel looks thisclose to wood, and you are painting them anyway, go for steel.

Who's behind the Green Door? Joan of Fairfield County?

Very nice.

Even the carriage-style metal doors share the same problem of all metal doors: they dent. Perfect with no kids and little use. Or for a storage garage. The last home I built, the client chose mahagony--but then painted it. Kind of a waste of good wood.

Actually, true mahogany has very high rot resistance. From a technical perspective, it was a good choice.

"My builder says wood is a better insulator..."

Only if the builder is comparing wood to uninsulated steel. Our steel doors have an R value of about 18. I couldn't find a wood door even close to that.

Ok, let's try this again. Has anyone made a wood door skin and put it over a steel insulated door? I just don;t like the high price of all wood doors or the fiberglass clad doors. I will need 3 doors and i figured maybe just buy soem insulated steel garage doors for $550 (9x8) and then have a carpenter make some panels to add to the front and space the door frame away from the garage frame the same distance (3/4"). Does this sound feasible? A local carpenter would do all three doors for $450 plus wood. I saw where 5/4 cedar for a 16 x 20' deck ran around $1500. This would mean all 3 doors would be about $3600. My closest estimate up til now has been $6000 for 3 doors and those were fiberglass-clad Wayne Dalton 9' x 7' doors (Model 9800). Tell me I'm crazy or not huh?
Dan

My question would be how the cedar will attach to the steel door w/o hurting the structural integrity of the door. Im sure any warranty will be voided out as well.

I would ask your carpenter to show you the last door they skinned if at all to see how it turned out and ask the owners if they are satisfied with the outcome concerning reliability,etc.

Another avenue if you haven't already is to ask steel door mfgr's if they have wood veneer products or kits for their doors keeping warranties intact installed per their recommendations.

Another option for those who like wood garage door but don't like the price and maintenance issues of wood is a Fatezzi door. It's make of a synthetic material made to look like wood. My neighbor has a Fatezzi faux wood garage door and it really looks like wood! Had my neighbor not told me it is synthetic I would not have known. I think it is installed over a steel insulated door. Not sure about pricing but he says it is a lot cheaper than real wood door.

Another option for those who like wood garage door but don't like the price and maintenance issues of wood is a Fatezzi door.

Is there any track record on this fake wood product?

I know someone who has had theirs for several years and it still looks like new - maintenance free!

anyone have thoughts on aluminum door?

since this message popped up again i thought i would also mention the fatezzi doors. after reading this thread i looked up the company and they sent me a sample package of their door siding. they are gorgeous! i had a small sample of the product next to my siding and stone samples and the GC was happy to see i was going with a wood door. he said the color and the grain was perfect and he thought it would look great.

and then he picked it up and realized it wasn't wood at all. all he said was, "wow, what is this?!" we're getting our doors for around $2400 each and their throwing in some decorative hardware just because i told them they should.

i am thrilled to have found this product. i really wanted a wood door but didn't want the maintenance issues that come along with them. we had $2500 budgeted for each door so this really worked out very well. i'll be sure and post pics when we get there.

http://www.ackue.com/fatezzi_xl/

Thanks Kate! I had looked at Fatezzi several months ago and had forgotten about them.

I have three Fatezzi faux wood garage doors installed at my house. I'm glad I did not go with wooden doors. My brother's wooden door had multiple issues with the wood wrapping after a year of ownership. He had a wood cladded over a steel insulated door. It's not a solid wood door. Perhaps it's not as good as a solid wooden door. Maybe a solid wood door would performed better. I don't know. One thing for sure is that the Fatezzi faux wooden garage doors genuinely look like real wood. People who have seen my doors did not know they are not made from natural wood until I told them about the Fatezzi synthetic material. My doors have gone through two winters (including the last two recent heavy snow storms that went through the North East) and two summers to date and they performed as advertised. No issues whatsoever. They are more expensive than the typical steel insulated garage doors but the look of wood adds value, character and curb appeal to my house. Pricing is comparable to solid wood doors and wood panel/cladded doors. The big advantage over natural wood is the low maintenance aspect of the Fatezzi door. Hope it helps.

"I know someone who has had theirs for several years and it still looks like new - maintenance free!"

Eventually it WILL need maintenance.

Can the synthetic be painted successfully?

Replacing the door after 10 years is liable to make painting every 5 years look inexpensive.

A good paint job on wood (one coat of primer and two coats of quality latex paint) should last at least ten years.

My garage faces the back and I would get sun in the morning. Is steel door a better choice if I want low maintenance since my door is not street-facing. Can you recommend brands I should look into for a steel door? I'm looking for a look like this that I can paint over with paint of my choice.