Colour and surface finishes
So there are essentially two alternatives to a timber garage door: GRP and Steel. For the former, there are a comprehensive selection of colour finishes, which include traditional appearances that wood stains provide such as Mahogany or Light Oak, but there are also more modern colours such as Anthracite Grey available as well. You may ask, why would I want a timber effect door in Anthracite Grey, well you still get the woodgrain appearance with a texture surface finish that shows the grain of the wood as well as the appearance of joins between what would be individual pieces of wood. At present, there are 18 colour finishes to choose from for GRP.
Steel timber effect doors are supplied in two colours (Golden Oak and Rosewood) and two designs (Wentwood and Sherwood). The modern wide-profiled design is ideally suited to more modern architecture and complements existing wooden features. The foil-coated steel has a fine woodgrain texture that not only looks realistic, but has a woodgrain feel to it as well.
Perhaps the most overlooked benefit of choosing a timber garage door is its natural appearance. Garador timber doors are produced from solid red cedar (or solid red cedar and marine grade plywood for the Elizabethan range) and so each piece of wood is unique with knots and a woodgrain texture that can't easily be replicated.
Maintenance and Longevity
When it comes to the maintenance and longevity of your garage door, it's arguable that you could get some real mileage out of a real timber garage door. Doors constructed from solid red cedar have a very long service life and contain natural preservatives that help to protect the wood from temperature related stresses, which could result in cracking or warping.
But if you are going down the steel or grp route, then its worth noting that GRP doors are especially durable, as the door panel itself won't rust and they won't warp or shrink like real wood. It could be argued that both the steel and GRP door styles require less maintenance as they don't require regular staining or treatment, just the occasional wash down with some water and detegent.
Price
For those on a limited budget, then a timber-effect garage door offers a significant cost-advantage over a garage door constructed from real wood. Garador's steel timber-effect up & over garage doors involve a foil-coat being applied to the surface of the steel for a realistic appearance and durable surface that will last well. The two door models are the Sherwood and Wentwood, with the latter having a vertical wide profile design and the former having a horizontal wide profile design and both designs coming in either a Rosewood or Golden Oak finish.
Visit www.garador.co.uk to view the range of timber-effect garage doors on offer.
