Wooden garage doors are an investment. If you have made that investment, I would recommend you keep them maintained. Preventative maintenance will save you money in the long run. Have them inspected annually for any water or sun damage. Make sure the sides and bottom edge is protected from the elements. You can have a great finish or paint job on your garage doors, but if water can get in behind that protective layer, that will compromise the wood and the finish.

Make sure that the craftsman who works on your doors will get those edges protected before they start. Then inspect their work. Ask for a detailed invoice with the stains and finish used on your doors. That allows you to either remind the original craftsman or the new one, what was used. There are so many options out there, it’s almost impossible to know for sure what was used. Compatibility of finishes is very important towards the outcome of a lasting product.

I was recently brought in to work on the exterior doors of a lake house by Pickwick Lake. The front doors were the original finish and beyond saving. The garage doors would have been very expensive to refinish. But besides just that, the last craftsman who refinished them had left the extra finish with the customer. So, I touched up the areas that had peeled off and I used the same finish to re-coat the doors. I would call that a refurbish job. These doors are now on a maintenance plan that will allow us to keep a very close eye on not only the finish, but the wood as well. We will be keeping all of the edges protected as needed to keep the moisture out from behind the finish.