Wainscot Panels Glossary Of Terms

Wainscot or Wainscoting: A paneling style applied to the lower third of an interior wall, below the chair rail and above the baseboard. It is traditionally constructed from tongue-and-groove boards or frame-and-panel. Its purpose is now generally decorative.

Wainscot Cap: The molding along the upper edge of wainscoting is called a wainscot cap and may serve as a chair rail. A wainscot cap is used to finish the top edge of a wainscot wall treatment. It may also be used as one component of a larger chair rail profile.

Baseboard: A baseboard or skirting is a wooden board, normally three inches to twelve inches high, covering the lowest part of an interior wall. Its purpose is to cover the joint between the wall surface and the floor. It covers the inevitable uneven edge as flooring meets the wall. As a secondary function, it protects the wall from kicks and abrasion and sometimes prevents furniture from being pushed right against the wall.

Shoe Moulding: Quarter round, is a convex molding that has a cross section in the form of a quarter of a circle or of an ellipse. Typically used as a flooring joint between the flooring and the baseboard, quarter round is preferred because of its aesthetic appeal. It covers the uneven edge as flooring meets the baseboard.

Beading: Molding in the form of a row of half spherical beads. Narrow, half-round convex molding that, when repeated, forms reeding.

Astragal: Semi-circular molding

Profile: Patterns

Panels: The panel is either captured in a groove made in the inside edge of the frame members. Panels are made slightly smaller than the available space within the frame to provide room for movement. Wood will expand and contract across the grain. By allowing the wood panel to float, it can expand and contract without becoming damaged. It is common to place some sort of elastic material in the groove between the edge of the panel and the frame before assembly. These items center the panel in the frame and absorb seasonal movement. The panels are usually either flat or raised.

Raised Panels: A door panel on which the edges have been contoured or shaped to provide an aesthetically appealing, three-dimensional effect.

Recessed Panels: A term describing a door style with a thinner panel inserted into the grooves of a wood door frame giving a recessed appearance.

Wall Panels: paneling that forms part of a wall.

Bolection: a molding that projects beyond the surface of a panel. Inlay and Bolection moulds are used to frame inset panels or to create mock panels. A bolection moulding is a moulding which projects in front of the face of the framing used to cover the joint between two members with different surface levels.

Tongue and groove: A method of fitting similar objects together, edge to edge, used mainly with wood. Each piece has a slot (the groove) cut all along one edge, and a thin, deep ridge (the tongue) on the opposite edge. The tongue projects a little less than the groove is deep. Two or more pieces thus fit together closely. Such a joint should not be glued, as shrinkage would pull the tongue off.

Frame and Panel: (also called rail and stile) is a woodworking technique often used in the making of doors, wainscoting, and other decorative features for cabinets, furniture, and homes. The basic idea is to capture a floating panel within a sturdy frame. Usually, the panel is not glued to the frame - it is left to float within it so that seasonal movement of the wood comprising the panel does not distort the frame. Frame and panel construction at its most basic consists of five members: the panel and the four members, which make up the frame. The vertical members of the frame are called stiles while the horizontal members are known as rails. A basic frame and panel item consists of a top rail, a bottom rail, two stiles, and a panel.