Cabinet raised panels doors?

Our Expert

The frame-and-panel is a centuries old design that provides a beautiful way to deal with the seasonal expansion and contraction of solid wood. As you're probably aware, wood expands and contracts as the relative humidity rises and falls. However, the movement only takes place across the grain. So solid wood door panels actually shrink in the winter months and expand during the warm, humid months of summer. The stiles and rails of the frame in a frame-and-panel door have a narrow groove in which the panel is free to "float". This design keeps the outer dimensions of the door consistent regardless of the time of the year while preventing the panel from splitting or warping

As a rule-of-thumb, most species of wood will expand and contract approximately 1/16" per foot from winter to summer. Some woods, such as maple, move a little more, while others, such as walnut, are more stable. I know from experience that when constructing furniture and cabinets, such as a paneled door, as long as I allow for 1/8" per foot there will be no problems with warpage or splitting due to seasonal wood movement.

When constructing the frame of a door, there is no need to allow for seasonal expansion at each end of the panel, just the sides. However, it is less work to just cut the frame groove to the same depth on both the stiles as well as the rails.