Wainscoting project: floating plywood panel or glue?

[Andrew Wayland]

It's a topic that seems to pop up a lot with cabinet doors, and has dozens of answers...

But I'm curious how you fellas would do this if it was your project!

Im making some wainscoting with 3.5" wide cherry boards. I'm essentially making a long rail with stiles (about 6' long, and 8' long).

To continue the cherry look, I'm adding 1/4 plywood to the stile and rails to make one large "panel" to tack to the wall.

I think the the best way to do this is to rabbet the stile and rail assembly, and then fit the plywood into the rabbet.

I know there's lots of opinion on glue and no glue when it comes to dissimilar wood types, so I'm curious: would you glue the plywood in? Or would you staple it in? Or would you just float it???

I want the stiles and rails to fit nice and tight to the plywood to keep dust and dirt from accumulating. And since I'm not painting this, i don't Have the luxury of caulk!

[John TenEyck]

I installed wainscotting in a bath recently. I used 1/2" plywood and glued it into a rabbet I cut in the back of the stiles/rails. There's no expansion/contraction issue when using plywood.

John

[Lee Schierer]

If the plywood is captured by the rabbets, there is no reason to use glue on the panel and potentially have glue squeeze out that will have to be carefully cleaned up or cause a blemish in the finish. Since the rails and stiles are attached to the walls (preferably into the studs) you do not have a structural issue. However, nails holding rails or stiles that are driven into drywall are a waste of time. If your stiles don't align with a convenient stud, then rabbet the top and bottom so they are trapped by the rails. Apply a little glue to the ends of the rails as you insert them into the rabbet. As John said there is no issue with plywood changing dimension with seasonal moisture changes, so if you prefer you can glue it.