Frame panel design

We use the classic frame and panel design for our gates. This is also an age-old building technique dating back to the 1600s. The design technique allows the wood to expand and contract without changing the overall dimensions of the gate. This is still the design of choice for doors.

We start by building a frame from wood that is about two inches thick. The panel is about one inch thick, and has been laminated together to create the solid inner portion of the gate. The panel fits inside grooves that have been cut into the frame. This allows the panel to expand and contract without creating gaps or pushing against the frame. With this technique, properly executed, the panel can freely expand and contract as the weather changes. Moist weather causes the wood to expand, and when it is a dry climate the wood contracts. Our gates experience extreme changes in humidity, so it is important to size the panel just right so it can grow and shrink without affecting the frame or creating gaps between the frame and the panel.