Garage door maker
Northwest Door garage doors, repaired and installed across the metro
We repair Northwest Door garage doors in wood, steel and aluminum from Lake Oswego to Camas, fixing softened cedar overlays, cracked full-view glass and torsion springs worn down by a heavy wood door.
Updated
Northwest Door in Portland-area garages
Northwest Door is a Tacoma-area maker of wood, aluminum and steel sectional garage doors, based in Puyallup, Washington, and several Portland-area garage door dealers sell them. It now belongs to Hörmann, the German door maker, which lists it among its acquisitions.
It grew out of a Tacoma door installer founded in 1946, began building wood doors in 1970, and opened a Portland distribution center in 2001. Northwest Door and Supply in Tualatin is a separate business with a similar name, and the two get tangled in map listings. Paperwork reading Northwest Door or NWD from a garage door dealer most likely means the Washington maker.
We work independently of those dealers, keeping these doors working whoever installed them and fitting a replacement door when the original has reached the end of the line.
How to tell it is a Northwest Door
Northwest Door products stand out by their materials, real wood overlays and full-view aluminum frames especially, more than by any logo.
- Wood sections with a raised overlay of Western red cedar (paint grade) or Meranti mahogany (stain grade) laminated onto plywood faces, the recipe dealer catalogs give for the Builder Collection.
- A wood section with a foam core showing at a damaged corner: dealer specs pair a 1-1/8 inch polystyrene core with finger-jointed hem-fir stiles and rails.
- Full-view doors with 2 inch aluminum frames holding glass or aluminum panels in anodized or woodgrain powder-coat finishes, sold as the Modern Classic.
- Stout hardware listed in dealer specs for the Builder Collection: 14-gauge hinges, 10-ball rollers and 2 inch track. Worn rollers can be swapped for quieter sealed nylon ones.
- Invoices or warranty papers reading Northwest Door or NWD, since the name rarely shows from the driveway.
Northwest Door models we see on service calls
Dealer catalogs list these Northwest Door lines, with launch years from a trade history where one is published; ask about a specific design before counting on it still being built.
| Model | Years sold | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Builder Collection (wood) | In dealer catalogs | Hem-fir frame, polystyrene core, plywood faces and a 5/8 inch overlay in paintable cedar or stainable Meranti, rated about R-6.18. Arched designs on most standard widths. |
| Heritage Classic (wood carriage house) | Launched 1999 | Custom carriage house styling in wood. Heavy sections that call for carefully sized torsion springs and a finish kept in good repair. |
| Township Collection and wood panel or flush doors | Township launched 2002 | The rest of the wood catalog; Township is a semi-custom carriage style. Moisture at the bottom rail and at overlay edges is the failure to watch. |
| Modern Classic and Infinity Classic (aluminum) | Infinity Classic launched 2004 | Aluminum lines; the Infinity Classic is a carriage style, the Modern Classic a full-view frame with glass or aluminum panels. Broken glass and worn rollers are the routine repairs. |
| Therma Classic and Therma Elite (steel) | Therma Classic launched 2006 | Steel sandwich doors; the Therma Classic adds carriage house styling. Springs, cables and rollers service like any steel door; matching a section is the brand-specific part. |
Known Northwest Door issues and the fix
Northwest Door repairs follow the material: rot and loose hinges on wood, heavy doors that tax the springs, cracked glass on aluminum, and swollen doors that rub the jambs.
-
Soft or rotting wood along the bottom rail or under an overlay
We probe the wood to find where the rot stops. Rot limited to trim or the lower edge can be cut out and rebuilt; rot in the stiles or core means replacing the section, or replacing the door outright when no match can be ordered. Garage Door Panel and Section Replacement, from $449
-
A heavy wood door the opener struggles to lift
Wood picks up weight as it absorbs winter moisture and as finish coats build up. We weigh the door, size torsion springs to that number, then fine-tune until the opener barely works to move it. Garage Door Spring Replacement, from $249
-
Hinges working loose in the wood stiles
Screws in wood loosen as the stiles swell and shrink with the seasons. We reset hinges into sound wood with longer fasteners or through-bolts and swap worn rollers so the sections track evenly. Garage Door Roller and Hinge Replacement, from $199
-
A cracked pane in a full-view aluminum door
We measure the panel, order glass to that size, and reglaze the frame. Changing to heavier insulated glass also means rechecking the spring balance. Garage Door Panel and Section Replacement, from $449
-
Swollen wood rubbing the jambs, or daylight under the door
We adjust the track and stop molding so the door clears, then replace the bottom and perimeter seals to suit the gap. Garage Door Weather Seal and Threshold Replacement, from $149
Finding parts for a Northwest Door now that Hörmann owns it
Hardware for a Northwest Door is easy to get, while a matching section depends on whether Hörmann still builds that design. Springs, cables, drums, rollers, hinges and track are ordinary sectional door parts, so most repairs never depend on the brand.
A former Northwest Door web address now forwards to Hörmann's North American site, so confirm that a specific wood or aluminum design is still built before planning around a matching section.
When a match is out of reach, a careful wood repair keeps an original section in service, and a new door becomes the fallback once rot or damage spreads past one panel.
Wood Northwest Door sections in a wet Portland winter
Wood Northwest Door sections need their finish kept up in Portland, because winter air here keeps wood damp even before rain reaches it.
Federal wood research gives Portland's outdoor lumber a moisture content of roughly 16 to 17 percent in December and January, just under the 20 percent mark where decay gets going. Splash at the bottom rail keeps that strip wetter still, so rot appears there first.
Seal all six sides of any replacement section before it goes up, keep the bottom seal intact so water cannot wick into end grain, and refinish as soon as the coating dulls or starts to peel.
Northwest Door questions
Is Northwest Door the same company as Northwest Door and Supply in Tualatin?
No, they are separate businesses with similar names. Northwest Door is the sectional door manufacturer from the Tacoma area of Washington, now owned by Hörmann, and this page covers the doors it built. Northwest Door and Supply is a separately run business in Tualatin. To settle which one supplied your door, check the manufacturer named on the original invoice or warranty paperwork.
Who makes Northwest Door garage doors now?
Hörmann, the German door manufacturer, owns Northwest Door and lists Puyallup, Washington among its North American facilities. For a door already on your house, the change mostly matters when you need a matching section, because springs, cables and rollers fit no matter whose name is on the company. Ask about a specific design before counting on a match.
Why is my wood Northwest Door so hard to lift by hand?
Most often the springs are tired, broken or were never sized for the real weight of the door. Wood doors gain weight as they absorb moisture and collect coats of finish. With the opener disconnected, a balanced door stays put at waist height. If yours drops or fights you, call before the opener strips its gear trying to compensate.
Can a rotted section on a Northwest Door wood door be repaired?
Often, if the rot is caught early. Soft spots in overlay trim or along the lower edge of a section can be cut out, rebuilt with matching wood and sealed. Once rot reaches the stiles or the core, the section needs replacing, which on a Northwest Door starts with confirming the design is still made before deciding between one section and a complete door.
Do you repair Northwest Door aluminum full-view doors?
Yes, and the usual fixes on a Northwest Door full-view are broken glass, worn rollers and springs that need resizing after a glass change. Full-view doors such as the Modern Classic pair aluminum frames with glass or aluminum panels. Replacement glass is ordered to the exact panel size, so a photo of the whole door plus a tape measurement of the broken pane speeds things up considerably.
Related pages
Northwest Door calls near you
Northwest Door work has taken us to Northwest District and Nob Hill, Salmon Creek, Washougal and the rest of the metro, and the posted price is the same at every address.
Other brands we work on
Ready to get the door moving again?
Call with the symptom, or text a photo of the door and the opener, and we will name the part and the posted price before anyone drives out.