Wood is preferred more for its natural look, affordability, and easy tooling than for its durability.

Because wood expands and contracts and can warp and crack as it weathers, it demands regular maintenance--repainting or refinishing every couple of years.

The easiest to build and most affordable type of door is a tilt-up wood door. In many cases, it can be built right in the driveway by applying a skin of exterior plywood--usually 3/8-inch thick--to a frame of Douglas fir, spruce, or a similar softwood.

Or the frame and plywood can be covered with siding to match the house. This type of flush construction is quite strong, stable, and affordable: For a 16-by-7-foot flush wood door, you can expect to pay from $400 to $700.

Sections of roll-up wood doors may have either flush or panel construction. Flush sections are made by fastening a plywood panel over a wooden frame, like a small version of the flush door described above. For panel doors, manufacturers fit several separate, rectangular panels into a wooden frame. The skeletal framework is built of fir or some other common softwood; panels are made from a variety of materials.

Panels for a door meant to be painted may be flat surfaces of plywood, hardboard, or they may be three-dimensional raised or recessed panels. Cladwood, made from composites with resin-impregnated overlays, or wood look-alikes like Masonite's SureWood raised panels are commonly used for the three-dimensional variety.

Cladwood composite panels come with a 20-year warranty, but most wood doors are warranted for only one year). Installed, an average-sized (16-by-7-foot) paint-grade sectional door normally costs from about $800 to $1,000.

Appearance-grade wood doors--those meant to be stained rather than painted--have solid-wood panel inserts. These doors may be all cedar, redwood, or may have softwood frames with oak, mahogany, or other hardwood panels. When buying one of these, be sure to find out whether the panels are made from a single, solid piece or made from several widths edge-glued together (the joint between glued-up lengths may show).

Appearance-grade wood doors are the most expensive garage doors available. One with redwood panels will run about $1,500; an all-cedar or oak-paneled door may cost $2,000 or more.