Panel Mould Made To Order

Panel Mould: How To Match, Measure and Order

A panel mould is the small decorative section that frames a panel. Planted around a door panel it hides the joint between panel and stile and adds relief. Mitred into rectangles on a plaster or plasterboard wall it forms the applied panelling seen in Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian interiors. The same section is sold under several names, so you may know it as panel moulding, panelling moulding, panel beading, door beading or panel trim. Related sections are beading, architrave and dado rail, and scotia beading is often specified alongside a panel mould as a cover bead.

How to match an existing panel mould

Matching is the job we get asked for most, and it is easier than people expect. Any one of these is enough for a mill to grind a cutter:

• Send a physical sample. Best of all. Take a 100mm to 150mm offcut from somewhere it will not be missed, such as behind a door, inside a cupboard or above a picture rail, and post it. A real section removes all guesswork.
• Photograph the cut end. Shoot the end grain square on, in daylight, with a steel rule or a coin laid flat beside it so the scale is unambiguous. A photo of the face alone is not enough, because the depth of the profile is what matters.
• Take a profile gauge tracing. Press a contour gauge onto the moulding, draw round it on paper, then scan or photograph the tracing flat.
• Send a drawing. A dimensioned cross section at full size, hand drawn or CAD, works perfectly well.

What to measure before you enquire

• Width and thickness of the section in millimetres, taken at the widest and deepest points.
• Total linear metres, then add ten to fifteen per cent for mitres, cutting waste and the odd spoiled length.
• Longest single length you need. Long unjointed runs cost more and limit which timbers can be used.
• Timber and finish. Paint grade, or a hardwood you intend to stain, oil or wax.
• Interior or exterior, and whether the moulding will be fixed to a damp or unheated wall.

Choosing the timber

For painted work, a stable close grained paint grade such as tulipwood takes a crisp arris and holds paint well. For a stained or clear finish, European and American oak, sapele, walnut, beech, cherry and ash all machine cleanly and are the usual choices for panelling and door work. For exterior panel mould, Accoya and other durable species are specified because they hold their shape through wet and dry cycles. Everything listed is solid timber. If you have been quoted an MDF or polyurethane equivalent elsewhere and want the real thing, this is the place to ask.

Period and restoration work

Different periods left different sections, which is why a general purpose profile rarely reads correctly in an old room:

• Georgian and Regency. Bolection mouldings standing proud of the panel face, raised and fielded panels, and fine astragal and ovolo sections.
• Victorian. Heavier ogee and ovolo mouldings, deeper relief, and tall panelling under a dado rail in halls and stairwells.
• Edwardian. Lighter and flatter than Victorian, often simple bead or quadrant sections with square edged panelling.
• Arts and Crafts. Plain chamfered and square edged work where the timber and the joinery, not the ornament, do the talking.

If the building is listed or in a conservation area, matching the original section like for like is normally what a conservation officer will expect, so keep any original moulding you take down and use it as the pattern. Where nothing survives, a photograph of a neighbouring property of the same date is often accepted as the reference.

How the quote process works

• Choose a profile from the range on this page, or send your own sample, photo, tracing or drawing.
• Tell us the timber, the section size and the total metres.
• One enquiry goes out to a number of UK timber suppliers and mills. WoodUChoose connects you with them; we do not hold stock and we do not sell the timber ourselves.
• Compare the quotes and lead times you get back, then order direct with the supplier you prefer.

Because every panel mould is made to order rather than picked off a shelf, allow proper lead time, and remember that a profile needing a brand new cutter carries a one off tooling element on the first order. Repeat runs of the same section are quicker and cheaper.