Garage door maker
Wood and custom garage door repair for Portland's older homes
We repair wood and custom garage doors on Portland homes, cutting out rot, rehanging heavy carriage-style doors and matching springs to what the door weighs today, so a door with good bones keeps working.
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Wood or custom door in Portland-area garages
Wood and custom garage doors are real wood or built-to-order doors, such as stile-and-rail sectionals, carriage-house styles, swing-out doors, one-piece wood tilt-ups and doors sized for odd openings, and many older Portland neighborhoods still have them. We repair them regardless of who built them.
Some of these doors are originals or early replacements on detached garages behind older houses; others are new, built by small custom shops in the region to match the house. Both face the same threats: weight, water and a tired finish.
Our neighborhood notes flag older wood doors and rot in older Portland neighborhoods, among them St. Johns, Kenton, Irvington, Laurelhurst, Grant Park, Sellwood-Moreland, Woodstock and Brooklyn, where small detached garages sit behind the houses.
How to tell it is a Wood or custom door
A flashlight and a few minutes are enough to sort solid wood from wood-look steel or composite, and stock doors from custom builds.
- Raise the door a foot and look at the bottom edge: real wood shows end grain, paint lifting at the corners, or dark staining where water has wicked in.
- On the inside face, a stile-and-rail door shows vertical stiles and horizontal rails framing separate panels, where a steel door shows a smooth or ribbed metal skin.
- Strap hinges and handles on a carriage-style overhead door are decorative; a true swing-out door hangs on working hinges fastened to the jamb.
- Springs give the weight away: unusually thick, long torsion springs over a single-car opening mean a heavy door, which is worth mentioning before any spring work.
Wood or custom door models we see on service calls
Each wood or custom door type below comes with the weak point that usually starts the trouble.
| Model | Years sold | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Stile-and-rail wood sectional | Older originals and current custom builds | Panels set in a frame of stiles and rails. Rot starts in the bottom rail and the lower stile ends, and loose joints let a section sag. One section can be rebuilt or remade to match. |
| Carriage-house style overhead door | Current custom and catalog builds | Looks like a pair of swing-out doors but rolls up on tracks. Overlay boards, glass and decorative hardware add weight, so springs, hinges and top-section reinforcement carry more load. |
| Swing-out hinged carriage doors | Early garages and some new builds | True hinged doors that open outward from the jamb. Sagging from worn hinges and rot at the bottom corners are the usual repairs, and some owners convert the opening to an overhead door. |
| One-piece wood tilt-up | Mid-century homes | A single wood slab that pivots out at the bottom while rising, counterbalanced by springs at the sides or a torsion shaft. It racks out of square and has no sections to swap, so a conversion is worth pricing. |
Known Wood or custom door issues and the fix
Wood doors give out at the bottom, at the joints and at the springs, and each problem below maps to its repair.
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The bottom rail or bottom section has gone soft
We cut out decayed wood and splice in new stock when the damage is local, or remake or replace the bottom section when rot reaches the joints. Fresh bottom weatherstripping in a new retainer then keeps standing water off the end grain. Garage Door Panel and Section Replacement, from $449
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The door feels heavier than it used to
Wood takes on water through the wet months, and fresh paint, added glass or patched sections change the weight too. We balance the door and fit springs sized to what it weighs now. Garage Door Spring Replacement, from $249
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Hinges and brackets are pulling out of the wood
Screws lose their grip in softened or split wood. We move fasteners to sound wood, through-bolt where the design allows, and replace worn hinges so the sections ride true again. Garage Door Roller and Hinge Replacement, from $199
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The top section bows or cracks where the opener pulls
A heavy door needs a strut across the top section and an operator reinforcement bracket where the opener arm attaches. We add both, balance the door, and choose an opener suited to its weight. Garage Door Opener Installation, from $549
How much a wood garage door weighs, and why the springs care
A wood door's weight shifts with moisture, paint and added glass, and the springs must match it or the hinges, rollers and opener all wear faster.
Forest Service figures for unprotected outdoor wood in Portland show a moisture content near 11.7 percent in July that climbs past 16 percent by January. Wetter wood is heavier wood, so springs set in a dry August can come up short by midwinter.
Torsion springs on a heavy door store a lot of energy, and the bottom brackets carry it through the lift cables. Leave the winding bars and those brackets alone; we unwind the old springs, weigh the door where the design allows, and wind new ones to suit.
Rot in a wood garage door: what can be saved
Rot limited to the bottom rail or the lower ends of the stiles can usually be cut out and rebuilt, while rot that has reached the panel joints or a second section points to remade sections or a new door.
Decay needs wet wood: Forest Service guidance says wood kept below about 20 percent moisture content will not start or keep decaying. With Portland winter readings already between about 15 and 17.5 percent, the splash zone along the door's lowest rail, the jambs and the trim sit closest to that line.
We probe with an awl to find where sound wood begins, then choose between a splice, epoxy consolidant for shallow soft spots, a matching remade section, or replacement. Every cut face and new board gets sealed on all sides, end grain first, because that is where water gets in.
Historic districts and odd-size openings in older neighborhoods
Irvington, Laurelhurst and Eastmoreland are National Register historic districts, so ask the city before changing how a street-facing door looks, and expect some older openings elsewhere to need a door built to size.
Keeping the character can mean repairing the original door, or choosing a replacement with carriage styling or a wood-grain look that reads correctly from the street.
In Kenton, Overlook and Sellwood, some older single-car garages have openings that fall below today's standard door widths or heights. Portland requires a permit to widen or shrink a door opening, so building the new door to the existing size is often simpler than reframing.
Wood or custom door questions
Why is my wood garage door harder to lift in winter?
Wood absorbs moisture in the wet months and gets heavier, so springs that balanced it in summer can fall short in winter. With the door closed, pull the release cord, lift the door halfway and let go. If it sinks, the springs need adjusting or replacing; if a coil shows a gap, leave the door closed and call us.
Does a heavy wood carriage door need a special opener?
Not a special one, but balance comes first and the top section needs reinforcing. Springs carry the weight while the opener only guides the door, so a heavy wood door gets a heavier-duty opener plus a strut and an operator reinforcement bracket, which keep the opener arm from bowing or cracking the wood.
How often should a wood garage door be refinished in Portland?
Refinish when the surface stops shedding water, not on a fixed calendar. Sprinkle water on the lower panels: if it soaks in or darkens the wood instead of beading, the finish is spent. Sun-facing doors and the bottom edge usually wear first, so check them each fall before the rainy months settle in.
Should I check with the city before replacing a wood garage door in Laurelhurst or Irvington?
Yes, if the change alters how the door looks from the street, since both neighborhoods are National Register historic districts. Repairing the original wood door keeps its look intact, and when replacement makes sense, a new door styled to suit the house can keep its character. We measure and price both routes on one visit.
Can a new wood section be made to match the rest of my door?
Usually, yes, by building a new section to the same width, height, panel layout and wood species, then finishing it to blend with the rest. Fresh finish on new wood rarely matches weathered wood right away, so some owners refinish the whole door afterward to even out the color.
Related pages
Wood or custom door calls near you
Wood or custom door work has taken us to Cedar Mill and Bethany, Gladstone, La Center and the rest of the metro, and the posted price is the same at every address.
Other brands we work on
Ready to get the door moving again?
Call with the symptom, or text a photo of the door and the opener, and we will name the part and the posted price before anyone drives out.