Custom Garage Doors in Oconomowoc, WI

A custom garage door is any door built to specifications that go beyond the standard sizes and designs on a dealer's stock list. That can mean a width or height that does not match the usual openings, a material like real cedar or mahogany, a window layout drawn for your house, a curved top section, or a color matched to your trim. Some custom doors are custom in one way only, such as an off-size steel door for an old garage. Others are fully designed pieces built to match a specific home.

Custom work starts with careful measuring. We record the exact width and height of the opening, the headroom above it, the side room on each wall, the depth of the garage and the condition of the framing. Older garages are rarely square, and a custom door has to fit the opening as it really is, not as the drawings say it should be. We also look at how the door will be lifted. Heavy wood doors and very tall doors need springs, tracks and openers sized for the job, and planning those parts at the start is what makes a custom door run smoothly.

Lead times for custom doors are longer than for stock doors because the sections are built to order. We explain the timeline when we quote, and if your current door is failing in the meantime, we can make repairs to keep it working until the new one arrives. We also stay in touch while the door is being built, so you know where things stand. When the door arrives, we schedule installation at a time that works for you and confirm the opening is ready before our crew shows up.

Lake life in Oconomowoc means a lot of homeowners own something taller than a car. Pontoon boats on trailers, wake boats with towers, campers, travel trailers and lifted trucks all need more clearance than a standard seven-foot door gives. Tall doors of eight, ten, twelve feet or more let you park these inside, out of the snow and salt, instead of paying for storage or leaving them under a tarp all winter. Many newer homes at Pabst Farms already have one taller bay, and some older lake properties have added a dedicated boat garage.

A tall door is not just a stretched version of a short one. The sections are heavier, so springs and cables are sized differently. The tracks may need a high lift or vertical lift setup so the door rises along the wall and leaves room overhead for a car lift or storage. Wind load is a bigger factor on a tall, wide door, and reinforcing struts keep the sections from bowing. The opener must be matched to the door's weight and height, and a wall-mounted jackshaft opener is often the best fit for high lift tracks because it frees up the ceiling.

If you are adding a tall door to an existing garage, the framing and header may need work. We tell you what we see during the visit so you can plan with your builder or carpenter if structural changes are needed. Planning these details early avoids costly surprises. It also lets us size the springs, tracks and opener correctly the first time, so the door is safe and balanced from the day it goes in. Some owners also want a service door beside the tall bay, or a matching standard door on the next bay so the front of the garage looks balanced. We can plan those together.

Real wood doors are the heart of many custom projects. Cedar is light, stable and naturally resistant to rot, and it takes stain beautifully. Mahogany has a deep, rich color and tight grain that suits formal estate homes. Other species are available depending on the builder, and each has its own look and upkeep needs. Wood doors need a quality finish and regular resealing, especially here, where humid summers, snow and road salt work against them. We are upfront about that maintenance so you can decide with clear eyes. Some homeowners refinish every few years.

Custom glass can turn a garage door into a design feature. Options include clear, frosted, seeded, tinted and insulated glass, and window layouts can be drawn to echo the windows on the house, such as divided lites that match a historic front facade. Full-view aluminum and glass doors can be built in custom sizes for modern homes or lakeside rooms that double as a porch. Colors can be matched to your trim, shutters or front door, and steel and composite doors can be finished in custom paint for a precise match. Arched tops, where the top section follows a curved opening, are another custom touch that suits older brick and stone homes.