Chose to leave a 3/8 inch expansion gap on a big maple countertop and it paid off 2 winters later

Grant Green · 2026-09-30T22:20:03.80758+00:00

Back around 2019 I had to decide between butting a 12 foot maple countertop tight to the wall or leaving a gap. The homeowner wanted it tight, said the gap would look sloppy, but I went with 3/8 inch anyway and hid it under the backsplash lip. Two winters later the top swelled almost a quarter inch and would have crushed the drywall if I had pinned it. Old timers always said wood has to move and they were not kidding. Curious if anyone here has a rule of thumb for gap size on wide glue-ups, or do you just go by feel?

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Chose to leave a 3/8 inch expansion gap on a big maple countertop and it paid off 2 winters later | Carpenters - The Community Guide