Guide

Wood moves. Here's how much.

Solid wood takes on moisture in humid months and gives it back in dry ones, and it changes width as it does — across the grain, almost never along it. This is not a flaw to engineer away with plastics; it's a property to build for. We do, and this page gives you the actual numbers.

The numbers

Expected seasonal change across a 600 mm-wide solid panel in a conditioned Wasatch-Front home, winter to summer. Wider panels move proportionally more; narrower ones, less.

Species	Flat-sawn, across 600 mm	Quarter-sawn, across 600 mm
Cherry	3.0–4.5 mm	1.5–2.0 mm
Ash	3.5–5.0 mm	1.5–2.5 mm
Walnut	3.5–5.0 mm	1.5–2.5 mm
Maple	4.0–6.5 mm	2.0–3.0 mm
White Oak	4.5–6.5 mm	2.0–3.5 mm
Red Oak	4.5–6.5 mm	2.0–3.5 mm

Derived from USDA Wood Handbook dimensional-change coefficients at a 2–3 point seasonal moisture swing. A swamp-cooled house or a furnace winter with no humidifier will stretch these; a tightly conditioned one will shrink them.

What this means when you order

Reveals are designed gaps. The spacing around fronts exists so July has somewhere to go. A hairline that opens slightly wider in January is the design working, not failing.
Fasten across the grain loosely. Tabletops, counters, and wide panels want slotted holes or figure-8 fasteners — the hide-glue panel guide shows how. A panel screwed rigid at both edges will crack; it has no other option.
Finish all six faces. One bare face takes on moisture faster than the finished five, and the panel cups toward the difference. Our components ship finished all around for exactly this reason — keep it that way when you cut.
Acclimate before installing. A week in the room where the piece will live lets it settle to that room's reality before anything is fixed in place.

Normal, and not

Normal: seasonal width change inside the table above; hairline reveal changes; a drawer that runs slightly snugger in the wettest month of the year.

Worth a message: cupping you can rock a ruler on (usually one-sided moisture — check for a leak or an unfinished face first), a joint opening rather than a reveal, or movement well beyond the table in a normally conditioned room. Send photos — the warranty page covers how, and honest triage costs nothing.