Real timber or the timber look
There are two ways to get a wooden garage door. One is real timber: Steel-Line sells Western Red Cedar doors in its Custom Collection. The other is a steel door with a timber-look finish, which the big makers sell under their own names.
Steel-Line's DecoWood puts a timber look on BlueScope steel. B&D sells timber-look finishes on its roller doors as Timber Coat, and offers a Knotwood finish on its architectural sectional doors. Steel-Line's specialty range adds batten sectional and slatted doors.
Timber-look garage door finishes by maker
| On which doors | Worth knowing | |
|---|---|---|
| DecoWood (Steel-Line) | Sectional doors | May not be sold in some regions; Steel-Line gives WA as one |
| Timber Coat (B&D) | Roller doors | B&D's name for its timber-look roller finishes |
| Knotwood (B&D) | Architectural sectional doors | Steel-Line's warranty also names a Knotwood coating |
| Western Red Cedar (Steel-Line) | Custom Collection doors | Real timber rather than a coating |
Coating warranties and where you live
Timber-look coatings can carry longer cover than plain ones. Steel-Line's warranty covers its DecoWood and Knotwood timber-look coatings for 3 years, against 1 year for its standard surface coatings.
In Western Australia, check what is actually sold before you choose. Steel-Line says DecoWood may not be available in some regions and names WA as an example.
Timber garage doors on bushfire-prone land
If your home is on bushfire-prone land, the BAL assessment and your building surveyor decide what the door may be made of. A City of Busselton summary of AS 3959, for example, says that at BAL-12.5 and BAL-19 the lower 400 mm of a garage door must be non-combustible material, bushfire-resisting timber, metal or 6 mm fibre cement.
At BAL-40, B&D's bushfire guide says vehicle access doors must be non-combustible. Ask about your BAL before you fall for a cedar sample.
Looking after a timber or timber-look door
- Timber-look steel is still coated steel: Steel-Line's care advice for Colorbond doors is clean water and a cloth at least every six months.
- Keep sunscreen off the coating. Steel-Line lists it with salt and sand as things that corrode garage doors.
- With real cedar, ask what finish care the maker sets and whether the warranty depends on it.
- Keep an eye on the timber itself: the Cyclone Testing Station's work on ex-Cyclone Alfred still found rot in timber among the weak links in buildings.
What we would do
Settle two questions before you pick a timber look: is that finish sold where you live, and does your BAL allow it? In WA or on bushfire-prone land either one can rule a door out, and it is easier to know that before you have a favourite.