Hey All,
I have a exterior door and a window with jambs made for a 2×6 wall and they might need to go into a 2×4 wall.
What is the best way to cut that extra two inches off of the jamb?
Interior will be drywall and casing.
I’ve got a belt sander, a good jigsaw, a Bosch door planer, and some hand planes.
Please do remember as you offer counsel and the wisdom of experience that I am not a finish carpenter. I run a track excavator for a living, so any complex or difficult carpentry is probably not a good idea.
And no, I am not going to hire someone else to do this. <G>
Replies
Is this in the wall already? On a smallish window, I would stick it on the tablesaw- after making sure there's no metal in the corners for me to hit. If it's too big for that, i'd use a circular saw with a straight edge. I've done this on homemade jamb extenders.
Most anything will work though, if you're careful about it.
zak
"so it goes"
Not in the wall yet. Both are clad and have nailing fins.3/0-6/8 door and 3/0-5/0 window.<<i'd use a circular saw with a straight edge. >>I don't know why that didn't occur to me. Good idea.<<Most anything will work though, if you're careful about it.>>Thank you. That's why I hang around here.Any benefit in scribing a line all the way around before I start so I have some reference to work to?
bosch finecut or fein multimaster"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know" Ralph Waldo Emerson
How long do you suppose it would take you to go all the way around a window jamb with a Fein multimaster?
Doug
dunno...never used one..."I hate quotations. Tell me what you know" Ralph Waldo Emerson
Any benefit in scribing a line all the way around before I start so I have some reference to work to?
That would probably be the way to do it if you were more thoughtful and careful than I often am.
I usually just measure a few places, cut it, then spend the next 20 minutes with a chisel cleaning up.
Actually, if this is going to be cased, you can cut the jambs at the longest length necessary (assuming it's plus or minus 1/16" or so), then the casing will sit on the jamb, and the drywall won't interfere. mud or caulk the outside of the casing to the wall.zak
"so it goes"
Any benefit in scribing a line all the way around before I start so I have some reference to work to?
I can't see that as having any benefit if you simply use a straight piece of wood as a straight edge and screw it (temporarily) directly to the jamb. Set the depth of the circular saw carefully and I think you can cut right through the sill without doing it any harm. A dab of caulk should take care of the kerf if any part of it is exposed.
The last door that I hung where the jamb had to be cut down was an interior door, so it was easier just to dissemble the jamb, rip it on the table saw, and re-assemble. That probably won't work for an exterior door because of the pre-attached sill.
-Don
You're about to see a framer give an excavator advise on finish carpentry..... buckle up baby. :)
I've only had to do this a couple times, so there very well could be an easier, faster way to do it.
First time, I marked it out and cut close to the line with a circ saw and then finished with a hand held power planer.... had to be very careful at the corners where the jamb pieces butt as the grain changes direction.... very easy to tear-out the corner with the planer there.
Second time, the window was going in an old plaster wall that was messy to begin with. This time, I put it in the hole, scribed it to the plaster and then cut close to my scribe line with a jig saw. Finished with a belt sander to the line.
Same concept, different tools. A finish guy will probably be along shortly to tell me I'm nuts.... but at least then we'll both learn something, right? :)
yer nuts-
but that was still good advise
I'll sometimes use a block plane to clean up tp the line if I'm close. Its kind of fun to break out the hand tools every once in a while
What's a block plane? ;)
I like hand tools too.
View ImageView Image
that looks way to clean to belong to a framer
<G>
She was brand new that night.... cherry still intact. Ugly all clean like that isn't it?View Image
throw some dirt on that sucker- get it broken in quick
looks like a cool tool, but I don't think I'd have much use for one
<<You're about to see a framer give an excavator advise on finish carpentry..... buckle up baby. :)>>ROAR!!That quote (with proper credit) should find a permanent and prominent home on this website.
I would not go rip 2" off of the expensive jamb extensions without scribing each one of them to the wall. Chances are your window may not be sitting evenly in the opening and the jamb extension width will vary.
After that, a tablesaw and jointer are the best way to accurately trim the extensions.
You can probably shave a quarter inch off the bottom of a trench with your excavator, so you should be able to handle this job with no problem. :)
<You can probably shave a quarter inch off the bottom of a trench with your excavator, so you should be able to handle this job with no problem. :)>>Actually, I can. I never thought about it that way. Thanks. <G>
How good are you with the excavator?
First, scribe a line all around the jamb. Use a utility knife for accuracy.
Then lay the window on edge and use the bucket to split the jamb
LOL!
This isn't a good idea, Catskinner. A clad door with a nailing flange isn't something that you would want to change from a 6" wall to a 4" wall. You would have to cut the exterior of the jamb, which means removing the cladding. The sill will have to be cut or it will be sticking out an extra 2". Essentially the whole door unit will have to come apart, be cut down and reassembled. I'm not sure if you could save and some how reuse the cladding. Most exterior doors are inswing. You can't cut the rabbet that the door fits into. Sell the 6" door and buy a 4". You will be way ahead.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
<<This isn't a good idea, Catskinner.>>Something tells me that quote should also find a permanent home here. <G>
<<Beat it to fit / Paint it to match>>Words to live by. <G>
I'd probably do the windowon the table saw.
But you have trouble with the door unit since it has flanges. The door opens in, right? So the rabbet and the hinges are on the inside. The essential elements of the jamb are on the in and outside edges, so you gots trouble if you remove.
So I would consider installing the door jamb as is from outside. Then rip a good piece of lumber to extend the walll thickness on the inside and hide it with casing.
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<<But you have trouble with the door unit since it has flanges. The door opens in, right? So the rabbet and the hinges are on the inside. The essential elements of the jamb are on the in and outside edges, so you gots trouble if you remove.So I would consider installing the door jamb as is from outside. Then rip a good piece of lumber to extend the walll thickness on the inside and hide it with casing.>>We have a winner.It's going to get offset from the nearest wall and the piece you described to extend the wall thickness is going to get tied into book cases.Then with a judicious application of "beat it to fit, paint it to match" as previously credited here <G> I think it's all actually going to work.Thanks.