Wood Bifold Garage Doors: A Buyer's Guide

Most bifold garage doors are aluminum or steel, and built for function over form. So wood bifold doors for garages are in a category all by themselves — they're slower to produce and harder to find, but when done right they last decades. And now, RealCraft is bringing them to the market direct-to-consumer and made-to-order for the first time.  

In this article you’ll learn everything you need to know about bifolding garage doors, including how they work, what materials they’re built with, how to size them, and what hardware you’ll need. 

What Are Bifold Garage Doors?  

Bifolding garage doors operate with two door “leafs” or halves that open and close along a vertical division. Like louvered closet doors, but updated and optimized for an exterior application. When crafted from solid wood, like ours are, bifolding garage doors lend elegance to your garage without sacrificing functionality.

Wood vs. Steel and Aluminum Bifold Doors  

There are real tradeoffs between these two folding door types, which we’d be remiss not to cover here. Steel and aluminum are less expensive initially. They’re also easier to automate because they aren’t as heavy as wood. Door weight is an important consideration, and hardware has to be rated accordingly. Some homeowners would rather not deal with that. In addition to how heavy wood can be, it also requires more maintenance. And as we mentioned before, wood has a higher upfront cost. 

Despite all of that, real solid wood has a distinct advantage. It’s among one of the only materials that improves with age rather than just wearing out. True-timber solid wood can be refinished. A steel door dents, while wood can be repaired. What this means for you is that a set of true timber bifolding doors can last much longer than their counterparts when maintained properly. Your investment has true longevity, as well as the handsome beauty of natural materials.  

Solid Wood Bifold Doors — What "True Timber" Actually Means

Many times, when we say we use real wood, people don’t understand what that means. In our industry, some people use MDF with veneer facing and call it ‘solid wood’. But we think that terminology is...not quite honest. And after over twenty years building carriage garage doors and other specialty doors, we’re still committed to building with true timber. That means solid planks of wood—no veneers or panel products. If you order White Oak doors, the lumber is true White Oak, all the way through.  

This way, the wood's qualities—its density, strength, hardness, and color shift over time—are consistent and predictable. You’ll always know what to expect, because there are no surprises. It also means that you truly get what you’re paying for, instead of a paper-thin coating of what you thought you paid for.  

The use of solid wood true timber allows us to employ one of the longest-lasting forms of joinery: mortise and tenon. This specialized method of joining the wood together is an ancient technique dating back thousands of years. And it creates an incredibly strong, durable joint. This matters for doors that will open and close thousands of times in their life cycle. As mortise-and-tenon doors, they actually can stand up to thousands of cycles of use, which is what you intend them for.  

Wood Species Guidance For Bifolding Doors

Wood species selection matters for exterior use. Dimensional stability and natural rot resistance vary by species. Here are the tried-and-true wood varieties we like the best for exterior applications:  

• White Oak:This wood species may be our all-around favorite. (Don’t tell the others.) Strong, stable, and beautiful, White Oak offers a quintessentially American look. We carry it in Plain Sawn, Knotty, and Quarter Sawn options. Quarter Sawn White Oak features “rays” that run perpendicular to the wood grain—a feature only found in White Oak, nowhere else.  
• Western Red Cedar:With its rustic knots and ruddy coloration, this wood is an iconic emblem of the American West. You’ll love it for its superior weathering and resistance to decay. It’s also lightweight enough to work for exceptionally large doors (alongside Douglas Fir) thanks to its much lower density.  
• Black Walnut: With its rich deep brown coloration streaked with luminous ribbons of blonde, Black Walnut is beloved for its beauty. It will gradually lighten with sun exposure, so be sure to protect it with a UV-protective finish.  
• Sapele (also known as Sapele Mahogany): This is an all-around favorite for its stability and strength. Ours is FSC-certified, with a quarter sawn grain pattern that reveals shimmering golden streaks. Sapele darkens over time from auburn to dark reddish brown.

How to Size a Bifold Garage Door Opening

This is important to understand, but not nearly as complicated as you might think. For the most part, it’s the same basic process as the sizing for any other standard entry door.

Start by measuring rough opening width and height. Rough opening refers to the framed opening where the door, jamb, and threshold are being installed. Note that “rough” in this term does not mean “rough estimate.” “Rough opening” refers to the rough or unfinished opening for the door, jamb, and threshold. Measure both sides of the opening as well as the center of the opening, from the header to the sub-floor or concrete slab. You will get three measurements: left height, right height, and center height. Your door manufacturer will use the smallest of these three measurements. Measurements should be to the nearest 1/8th of an inch. 

Then for width, you'll want to measure from one jack stud to the other jack stud. Like the height, do this in three places: the top of the opening, the bottom of the opening, and in the center. Your door builder will again use the smallest of these three measurements. Measurements should be to the nearest 1/8th of an inch. 

What you have to understand about bifolding door sizing is, you'll have four total door "leafs" or halves of the door.And so you'll have four repetitions of the same design. The dimensions of your opening influence what design looks best. If your opening is narrow, for example, that means the leafs of the door will be long and narrow, so a simple design with one or two panels will work better than something more complex. Likewise, for a very wide opening, bifolding door leafs will be more wide and squat-looking. So a vertical tongue-and-groove panel will work best, to visually lengthen and bring balance. 

Hardware Considerations for Wood Bifold Doors  

One concern you may have is about top-hung vs. bottom-rolling systems. We use a top-hung system from Cavity Sliders that’s intended for heavy doors like ours. It’s designed to be low-profile, so that the track is not visible from most vantage points, for a truly seamless look. Hardware quality matters even more for heavy solid wood doors than lightweight aluminum doors, and the trolleys we use are weight-rated up to 500lbs.  

We are offering these doors manually first, but automated hardware solutions are in development. For a manual system, it’s important to secure the bifolding doors with cane bolts that extend into the top and bottom of the door opening. These are included with your purchase of a pre-hung unit.  

Wood Bifold Garage Doors and Weather  

We know one of the questions at the front of your mind is, how do I maintain doors like this? And it’s true that wood doors require more attention than their aluminum or synthetic counterparts. Fortunately, the maintenance commitment is very manageable for most homeowners.  

Before you do anything else, you need to protect your doors from direct sun and weather exposure in order for them to be covered by most warranties, including our door warranty. You’ll also want to do this anyway just to preserve your investment.   

And when it comes to finish and maintenance, expect to have an annual routine. You’ll need to adjust and/or lubricate the hinges, which is especially important for bifolding doors. We recommend touching up the finish once a year, and full refinishing every 5-7 years depending on your unique situation.  

So, now you know what separates our built-to-order solid wood bifold doors from the rest. If you're still deciding, we've got an article coming up with more information about how bifolding doors compare to carriage style or standard rolling garage doors.