Choosing Wood Vs. Faux Wood Garage Door Material, Part 2

In part one of this two-part blog series, we went over some basics on wood garage doors versus faux wood doors, also known as steel carriage doors. Both these garage door varieties have their own sets of benefits and drawbacks depending on your needs, budget and other factors, but they’re similar enough that they’re regularly compared alongside one another.

At Crawford Door Sales, we’re proud to offer a wide variety of both wood and steel carriage garage doors in addition to our numerous other materials, including glass doors, foam-injected doors and many others. In today’s part two of our series, we’ll dig into some of the specifics on faux wood materials for your garage door, plus finalize things with a general list of questions to ask yourself as you make your eventual choice between these two.

Pros of Faux Wood Doors

As we noted in part one, faux wood doors – or steel carriage doors – refer to those with a classic wood exterior, but a strong and durable steel core that brings several other properties. Some of the benefits found through using this door format include:

• Affordability compared to wood: While you can source steel carriage doors in a huge range of colors and styles, they are not technically custom-made pieces – unlike many true wood doors, which in many cases are. This means faux wood materials tend to be a bit more accessible, both in terms of price (based on demand) and the amount of time you have to wait for construction or installation. In addition, they’re generally easier and quicker to install than their wood counterparts, meaning less hassle and a lower installation cost.
• Protection: With a steel carriage door, the wood overlay and steel core both serve as protective barriers against the elements. These doors, like wood doors, are tough to crack or scratch, but also have additional qualities like sealing off moisture and preventing rot.
• Limited upkeep: Faux wood garage doors come with some of the least maintenance required of any garage door style, requiring no regular painting or resealing over time.

Cons of Faux Wood Doors

Faux wood doors do have some potential downsides, however:

• Cost compared to other materials: As we noted above, faux wood doors are generally much more affordable than wood doors. However, they are still usually a bit pricier than other door materials based on the steel and true wood overlay.
• Varying appearance: Faux wood doors may vary a bit more in terms of quality than pure wood, particularly if you’re spending far less on cheaper materials.

Making Your Choice

So you’ve evaluated all the factors we’ve gone over here, and you’re still unsure which to choose between wood and faux wood. Here are some basic questions to ask yourself, using the answers as a guide:

• What colors or finishes am I looking for?
• Do I require a custom garage door?
• How much maintenance am I prepared to put into my garage door?
• Will my door be exposed to significant wind, rain or other elements?
• How quickly do I want the door to arrive and be installed? Do I mind waiting for a customized door?

For more on how to choose between wood and faux wood garage doors, or to learn about any of our garage door installation, replacement or maintenance services, speak to the staff at Crawford Door Sales today.