For decades, wooden residential garage doors made up the majority of models installed on homes because steel and aluminum models were still in development. With today's improvements in dyeing and texturing treatments for fiberglass covers, faux wood garage doors look more realistic than ever. Find out why a faux wood garage door is a better investment than an old-fashioned one made from wood.

Lighter Weight

First, switching to a lightweight fiberglass garage door with a faux wood finish reduces wear and tear on your garage door opener. If you just added a new garage and don't have any hardware yet, you can buy a less expensive opener if you're pairing it with a lightweight door. You'll also notice less wear on the springs and tracks that hold the door up. Also, you will be struggling less when you manually open and shut the door.

Reduced Maintenance

Real wood garage doors are beautiful, but that beauty fades quickly when you forget to keep up with the cleaning and sealing of the material for a few years. You'll need to spend at least one weekend every year working on your wood door, while faux wood doors only need an annual cleaning that takes under an hour in most cases. Why spend all that extra time on maintenance or pay someone else to do it when you could enjoy the same look with less work?

Increased Durability

Wood is a strong and durable material, but it's still susceptible to damage from moisture and insects. It only takes a few carpenter bees or a colony of termites to ruin an expensive and relatively new garage door, and often times the damage is done to the interior of the wood where it's hard to notice there's a problem until it's too late. The metal frame and fiberglass exterior of a faux wood door is not appetizing to insects and won't become damaged by moisture.

Continuously Customizable

Finally, don't worry that you're stuck with a single color or style when you choose to install a faux wood garage door. Just like real wood, you can paint the surface to change its texture and color at any time you want. There's just no need to keep the door painted to protect the material underneath the surface. However, you will need to protect the paint itself by recoating the door every few years after changing its color. Leaving the factory finish intact is the best way to permanently reduce door maintenance chores.