Cabinet Door Construction 101

When selecting doors for your kitchen cabinets, there are some terms you will encounter that may be confusing. These include slab, raised panel, stile & rail, mortise & tenon, mitered, solid door – it’s a lot to consider! This “Cabinet Door 101” will help to clarify the options.

CONSTRUCTION

Cabinet door construction refers to how the components are put together to make a door. We’ll talk about style in the next section.

Slab. Slab doors are completely flat, with no ornamentation or “frame” around the panel. These can be solid wood, or more typically, veneer, with a thin layer of real wood or engineered material applied to a composite substrate (plywood, particleboard, MDF, etc.). Veneer doors will have a thin strip of edge tape, either wood veneer or other materials, applied to the edge to give a smooth finish and hide the substrate. (See Slab Door Styles article for more details on individual styles.)

Mortise & Tenon (M&T) or Stile and Rail. The most common construction, seen in Shaker-style doors and most others with a center panel surrounded by a solid wood frame. The center panel can be flat or have raised detail, and the stiles and rails may have different edge profiles (more on this later).

Here we see a detail of the vertical stile and horizontal cross rail surrounding the center panel.  Looking at the parts of a mortise & tenon joint, you can see that the large tenon and deep mortise are sized for secure joinery. This type of construction may also be called cope & stick.

Mitered.  While these doors also have solid wood vertical stiles and horizontal rails enclosing a center panel, the corners are joined by a mortise & tenon at a 45 degree angle, like a picture frame. This technique allows for more decorative stiles and rails, since the pattern will continue around the door. These doors are typically more ornate so are often seen with more traditional room designs.

Slab with Mitered Frame. This construction is often seen with the popular “slim Shaker” door styles. A veneer slab panel is combined with tongue and groove joinery to 1/2″ or 3/4″ solid wood stiles and rails that feature mitered corners. This creates a very stable, very durable construction.

With solid wood panels and components, it helps to understand that all woods will expand and contract a small amount with changes to temperature and humidity within the home. At times, you may notice hairline cracks on painted product wherever there’s a 90 degree joint, or at mitered joints. This is entirely natural and is not cause for replacement.

STYLE

In this section, we’ll answer one of our most frequently heard questions: what is the difference between “Shaker” and “Shaker Solid” door styles? We’ll also cover key differences between center panels and explain edge details.

Recessed Panel. NOTE: “Flat panel” may also be used to describe this style, although it is more commonly associated with slab doors.

Found in both Mortise & Tenon and Mitered doors, the center panel of recessed styles are completely flat, with no detail raised off the panel. The panel is typically either 1/4″ veneer or 3/8″ solid wood. (The panel may be MDF or HDF when painted.)

A 1/4″ panel is the entry-level price point and may have a slightly hollow sound and feel when closing a cabinet door. Center panels are pinned in place to reduce this effect. This pinning also keeps the center panel stable and helps reduce movement as the solid wood stiles and rails expand and contract. Veneer typically does not take stain the same as solid wood, because it is thinner and there is not as much material for stain to soak into. For this reason, the center panel may have a different appearance than solid wood panels, stiles, and rails.

3/8″ thick solid wood panels are sometimes referred to as reverse raised and have a different sound and feel when tapped upon, as they are a more robust, heavier door. Solid panels are not pinned, as the wood needs flexibility to allow natural expansion and contraction. Solid wood center panels are constructed of multiple staves that can range between 2” – 4” inches wide. Since these panels are a similar solid wood material to the stiles and rails, the finish should be consistent across the entire door.

The key visual difference between the 1/4″ and 3/8″ panels can be seen on the back of the door. When you flip the door over, the 1/4″ is completely flat, and the back will be recessed in slightly from the stiles and rails. With the 3/8″ panel, you will see a small arch on the back, and the panel will be flush with the stiles and rails.

Raised panel. This refers to the more decorative center panel that may have a simple raised profile or a more complex routed profile. These panels are typically 3/4” thick to allow for the material that must be removed to create the profile detail.

Comparing a raised panel door (left) to a recessed panel door with a solid center panel (right), you can see that the raised panel creates a thicker, heavier door:

Certain woods are only available with 3/8” recessed or 3/4″ raised solid panels, such as Rift White Oak, Black Walnut, and rustics (rustic characteristics such as knots, mineral streaks etc., are not available in veneer material). Some doors are only offered in a Solid configuration and would not have a veneer panel option.

Applied Molding. These styles do not fit neatly within any category, as they typically feature Mortise & Tenon construction with either raised or recessed center panels. As the name implies, a piece of decorative molding is applied to the surface of the door for a richly layered look.

The moldings range from fairly simple to quite ornate and are specific to each door style. Applied molding doors are often enhanced with glazing or highlighting to showcase the layers of detail.

Edge Details. You can personalize the look of many mortise & tenon door styles by selecting from a variety of profiles that can be applied to the outside edge of the door.  This can range from a slightly eased edge or a thin notch to more complicated “waterfall” styles or bevels.  Mitered doors have a standard edge profile, and most slab doors are square on the outside edges. Your designer can show you all the options for the door style you’ve chosen.

Visit the Door Styles page of CanyonCreek.com to see all the construction types, panels, and more. Hopefully, this article has helped make your selection easier!z