Central Oregon Garage Door Company specializes in unique door solutions, but with the help of Schweiss Doors, the Bend, OR company outdid itself with its installation of a cedar-clad hydraulic door on a vacation log cabin home in Oregon.

The garage door—one of Schweiss’ custom designer doors—is 14’-10” wide and has a 6’-3” clear opening. One of several unique features is its integrated walk door. Josh Beith, operations manager for the Central Oregon Garage Door, believes the garage door was a selling point for the homeowner.

“The customer wanted to do a garage door with a man door on the 30-foot by 30-foot garage, which didn’t have one,” Beith says. “Doing a man door on a log home with a rock veneer on the front is somewhat of an endeavor. The plan challenged us … ‘Can we do a big one-piece door with a big man door in it?’ The homeowner didn’t quite know what should be done. Once we thought about a hydraulic door, Schweiss was the first company we started investigating. It was a no-brainer. We called and did some engineering with Brent at Schweiss Doors and it got figured out. Somebody inherited a very fancy garage door.”

The hydraulic door style was chosen in order to gain maximum headroom; the homeowners had a Suburban they were trying to squeeze into the garage along with some sports cars.

“We installed the door,” Beith says. “Anchoring to the logs was a little bit of fun, we had to do a bit of engineering, but it went well. We played around with location of the hydraulic pump and decided to mount it at ceiling height above a workbench near the garage door itself. Because of the thickness of the Schweiss doorframe, it has quite a bit more insulation than a standard 2-inch thick wood door would have.”

Polishing off the look of the door is cedar exterior cladding and an inside liner of Philippine Lauan Mahogany. Four windows located at the top half of the door allow for substantial natural light and add to the attractiveness of the door.

“The hydraulic door is pretty smooth and a quiet-running application to do something unique like this and make it work,” Beith says. “We would for sure recommend Schweiss Doors.”