"PAINTING & FINISHING"
At THE DOOR MAN most of our CLOPAY garage doors come in four colors. (White, brown, almond and sandstone) But houses across the country vary in shades and colors. You can paint steel garage doors to match the house or trim color. You'll need to use a high quality exterior latex acrylic. Never use oil based paints. Oil based paints could bubble and peel like a bad sunburn. Homes that have prolonged exposure to the sun should try to avoid using darker colors. (Especially garage doors that face south)
Even though the price for redwood garage doors is three times the price of standard steel raised panel doors some homeowners and contractors prefer the beauty of wood. After any wood door is installed, they'll require a lot of attention. Wood doors will absorb moisture if they're not properly sealed. After staining, wood doors need to be sealed front and back and all edges to prevent moisture from destroying your door. A good sealer or polyurethane will need to be reapplied to the exterior every 2-4 years.
After a wood garage door has been properly sealed, it will still shrink and expand with changes in temperature. Some times that will cause redwood panels to crack. You'll need to use a little wood filler and apply some more sealer. Each time the door shrinks a little the nuts that hold the hinges on tend to loosen up. It is very important that you keep all the hinge hardware tight. Loose hardware is what allows the wood door to warp and bow. Keeping the nuts tight will increase the life span of your wood door.
Wood garage doors require a lot of tender loving care. The better you keep the exterior waterproofed and hinges tight, the less likely you'll be to have any problems in the future.
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