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I always thought a 1/4 inch gap for expansion was enough until a client in Phoenix showed me their cracked cabinet door.
Their house is super dry and after two summers the maple panel split right down the middle. How much extra room do you guys leave for really arid climates?
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riley432d ago
That's a solid reminder that standard rules can fail in extreme conditions. I've seen similar things happen with wood floors and even picture frames in desert homes. It really pays to double the usual gap out there.
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kellyjones2d agoTop Commenter
Tell me about it. My aunt's place in Arizona looks like a jigsaw puzzle every summer.
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brian_smith61d ago
Yeah, and @riley43 is right about it hitting other stuff too. I saw baseboards in New Mexico pull apart at the miter joints, leaving these huge black cracks. It's not just big panels. Even small things like drawer fronts can get tight and bind up. Out there, I'd go with at least a 3/8 inch gap on a wide panel, maybe even 1/2 inch if it's a giant slab door. You just have to plan for that wood to shrink a crazy amount.
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