Frame-and-panel doors were created to provide stability to the door in its jamb.  Water vapor causes wood to expand and contract.   Free-floating panels can absorb this movement without placing pressure on the door's vertical sides (stiles) or the horizontal crossmembers (rails.)  For years, panels had to be thinner than the stiles and rails so that they could be held in place by a groove (dado) which allowed the panel movement.  These are referred to as flat panel doors.  Thicker panels could be used if their edges were tapered to fit in the groove.  This tapering makes the panel appear to rise up from the surface (raised panel doors.)  For ease of construction and added decoration, mouldings can be applied from both sides to hold the panel in place rather than the groove.  If the mouldings rise up from the surface of the stiles and rails, it is referred to as raised moulding construction.  These raised mouldings can be on one side or both sides of the door.   In this section, you will see all of these forms of construction.

This page is an embedded frame in the web site for Christie's Wood and Glass.  If you do not see a navigation banner at the top of this page, click HERE to go to our Home Page.  Otherwise, use the navigation buttons above or to the left to avoid cascading frames.