Garage doors of any color can be green if they are made from recycled or renewable materials. Eco-friendly garage doors are becoming increasingly popular. Recycled sources are used to make composite materials found in many wooden doors sold today. Modern recyclable steel garage doors last a lot longer than the same level of wood doors from an earlier era. Seven years used to be the lifespan of wooden doors, built two generations ago. Back then, Overhead Door was installing replacement garage doors in developments prior to the projects' completion!
Recycle and Renew
Overhead Door offers doors constructed from a number of composites containing recycled materials. This allows the manufacture of composite doors at a fraction of the cost of real wood and that require only a little bit of maintenance to keep them looking good.
One manufacturer builds designer carriage-house doors using recycled old wood from torn-down barns. This means that there is no need to wait 50 years to have the aged look, all without using precious resources. Many of the woods used are specifically grown as sustainable forestry.
Signature Carriage Collection
Eco-Friendly - Signature Carriage CollectionFine woods from sustainable sources are used in the Signature Carriage Collection, one of the most distinguished series offered by Overhead Doors. You can choose from among these renewable materials:
African Mahogany: this highly prized hardwood has a light pink-to-brown heartwood color that turns reddish brown when exposed to sunlight. The sapwood can be yellowish or whitish. Mahogany grain can be interlocked or straight and appears as a lustrous stripe figure. African mahogany is very valuable due to its resistance to decay and rot. Mahogany takes stain very well and will give a lifetime of durable beauty to any garage. It is also thermally stable and contracts/expands less than other woods.
- Meranti Mahogany: not a true mahogany, this material is also called Philippine mahogany or lauan and belongs to the genus Shorea. It is a tropical tree found in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. It is much paler than African mahogany with a tighter, less pronounced grain.
- Western Red Cedar: Known as Thuja plicata, western cedar grows in the Pacific Northwest, often at elevated altitudes. Western cedar wood is a soft red-brown color with straight grain. It is seldom knotty, has a pleasant aroma and naturally resists decay. It's light in weight, dark in color and discourages insect infestation.
- Spanish Cedar: The scientific name is Cedrela odorata, and it too has a pleasant, fresh aroma. It resists termites and rot, is very attractive and moderately lightweight, lighter in color than western red cedar.
- Hemlock: The evergreen Tsuga tree is not related to the plant poison hemlock. It has a light, straw-red hue and is very easy to work with. The grain is straight and finely textured. Hemlock is widely used on exterior doors.
- Douglas Fir: A popular softwood with straight, even grain and interesting knots. It has a pale, rosy color that tends to darken when exposed to the sun. It naturally resists weather and accepts stain or paint well.
- Composite Wood Products: Wood garage doors are also available in plywood (including smooth and roughsawn styles), and MDO. These materials have veneers and can be more economical than solid wood products.
Eco-Friendly - Villa Madre Collection
Recycled Metals
Another eco-friendly way to invest in quality garage doors is to get steel or aluminum doors that contain some recycled metal, often more than 1/3 of the total metal used. To further protect the environment, these doors can be painted with low-VOC pigments that don't contribute to air pollution. A well-maintained metal garage door can last a lifetime.
As you can see, it's easy to buy garage doors that conform to your eco-friendly philosophy. Visit your Overhead Door representative to see all the "green" choices available to you.
