garage door

When you have a 13’ tall, 11’ wide garage door on a historic building that will be the prominent feature of the front facade, the folks at Clopay is who I turned to to build me a quality door that is 100% custom, and built to stand up to the elements.

I was fortunate enough to fly out to their factory to learn more about Extira and see my door being made. To say their facility is impressive is an understatement. See Vlog and Deep Dive at the bottom of this page.

Extira is an impressive invention that gives me all the benefits of new technology (basically being maintenance free) while allowing me to completely customize the design to achieve the historic, carriage door look, complete with cross-bucks, that I was going for.

And you can read more here on Clopay’s blog post.

My custom designed door rendering in Chief Architect

reserve wood collection custom series

Working from a professional drawing or just a sketch on a notepad, Clopay can create the doors you've only imagined, with windows or without, in woods like Knotty Alder, Spanish Cedar, White Oak, Ironwood and African Mahogany. Or select Extira, which is an exterior-rated weather-resistant wood composite. Made from eco-friendly materials, Extira is moisture, rot, and termite resistant, offering superior performance to paint-grade materials like MDF and many wood species.

Each door is handcrafted from the material of your choice using your precise specifications.

more about extira

It carves, routs, and fastens like natural wood, and has a perfectly smooth surface free of knots or voids, allowing for detailed craftsmanship and a fine, furniture quality paint finish homeowners expect in a premium carriage style garage door.

The density of the substrate makes it easy to incorporate deep V-groove patterns with defined edges, like a Chevron, or arches, to achieve a natural wood look that just isn’t possible with molded material. Because of its inherent strength, Extira won’t crack or split.

Extira doors are typically built in three sections instead of four, resulting in proportionally larger windows, which many homeowners, architects, and builders prefer.

The door has a 4-layer polystyrene insulated construction. Extira cladding and overlays are applied to the exterior face of a 2”-thick hemlock frame base. A luan woodgrain backer gives the interior of the door a finished look, and can be painted or stained.

Extira can be painted any color including black. Standard Clopay windows styles, specialty glass, and decorative hardware are available, as are custom designs.