I need to install jamb extensions prior to trimming out some recently installed anderson 400 series windows. What is the best / quickest method of installing the extensions so they will be flush with the trim? I’ve tried scribing and ripping the extensions on a tablesaw, then gluing/nailing in place – seems to be inexact, and I have gaps when I nail up the trim. I have been installing the sills prior to the jamb extensions – is this the correct order? It is taking way to long to get an acceptable looking result. Any suggestions?
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Knife, with the way windows and sheetrock are installed, even depth on extensions is not an exact science. The area around the mitre is the most critical. You can alter the mitre setting or fur up the stock as it sits on the table to mimic the cockeyed way it'll lay on the wall to get that close. Scribing and planing the last bit certainly helps if you can get it closer to the wall. The rest of the casing can be pulled back a bit if necessary cept where you'll notice a goofy angle at the sill.
You have to find the way that best suits the problem. Sometimes a window can be pulled back in more evenly, but I wouldn't expect much return for the effort. The sheetrock can be renailed or screwed to pull it more even, but where ever a taped joint shows up, you might have a hump. Some will beat the crap outta the sheetrock up to where you'll cover it with the trim. Scribing the extension to fit the contour is something I might just reserve for stained trim. For painted trim, I get it close, make the mitre look good and shim out the backside of the casing b/4 fastening. That's what the thin end of a shim shingle is for. Caulk the small gap and paint it up. No one around here will pay for a cabinet fit, just cabinet appearance.
I set the sill, extension on top. Your sill homemade?
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
We call that "tenderizing " the sheetrock, and, for any trim other than flat stuff, it'll take care of a fat 1/8".
I don't like it, but I've had guys work for me who free hand rip tapers on the table saw, and clean them up on our baby jointer.
I pin nail extension stock (at the desired angle) to a shooting board, and then run that through the table saw.
If we're extending wooden jambs, we like to leave a little reveal where the extension and window jamb meet.
That pre-mentioned production thing only works if af all the extensions are the same, if they're not, it's custom, which has nothing to do with production<G>
EliphIno!
Cripes billy, everything is custom. Production's for those production guys. ha ha ha.Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
jimbo blodgett wrote up an excellent article for the fine rag we all read on tapering jamb extensions, mitering and shooting the frame together, installing, and then trimming. it works very well- no planing, no nonsense really. i have been using his method since i read it with great results...don't tell him- he'll get a big head.
i like the looks of jeff's method also.
hub
When I get a house trim job I'll be trying mr blodgetts technique.
To think that steeler guy could have something in the technique area is scary. Probably read it on the bottom of an iron city can. Preseason, just around the corner.
Hub, you going to any of the jlc live show in columbus the end of sept? Meet you for a beer, Jeff sent me.Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
I still may make that trip ya bastige!
Was really trying to plan for it ....then a customer had other ideas.
Still gonna sneak it in if all's not shot to heck by that point on the project....will be a last minute decision.
I know of a great outdoor grillin' kinda place ......word is thry over-cook the chicken ...but I like it done that way ...besides ..the beer selection is good and the prices can't be beat.
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
hey the pork was good. not my fault you ate the chicken. you gotta sneak over- grab pete and head down. the little woman is out o town for september more or less and being an invalid for four to six weeks is sure to make me ripe for mischief.
see ya maybe
dug
Jeff, that's an interesting approach on your trim. Question or comment though; so you only nail the "fins" and stool of the trim and not the jams? And do you put in any adhesive on the jams prior to putting in your rough opening? Also, is there a nailing sequence you use? Stool first, sides, then top?
this works well when 2/4 windows are ordered for 2x6 walls...
works better if the extension jamb has some depth to it...
easier to nail/screw the ext jamb frame together...
that also give some depth to get the nailer in and still hit some of the framing.
I nail the trim first .....then shoot thru the ext jamb last.
For narrow ext jambs.....if I can ..I still try to tack the 3 pieces together first ....then set it in as a unit ....but nail directly to the window.
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
that we can do! I got knee surgery on monday and down for the count for a month they tell me so I will be itchin to get out and blow the dust off. i'm about thirty minutes east of columbus and happy to barbeque if it strikes your fancy. I didn't hardly poison jeff at all when he was here- you being a browns fan-you get only the best- and if jeff can make it we got a regular liars club convention.
that would be swell cal. Meet for beers and go to the show- door is open if you wanna cook out...
gotta go
hub
where are the gaps?
The windows are straight/flat....
the trim should be fairly straight/flat....
if the windows are set crooked ....the most you'll need is a tapered stick.
Sills can run into the window. I prefer that look.
I also prefer to plan for a slight reveal at the extension jamb/ window joint....
as most windows are slightly rounded there ....and you'll usually notice it's not one continuous piece anyway.
I'll see if I can find a pic of building the sill, ext jambs , and trim as one unit then sliding the whole thing in.
With lotsa windows .....production building can really speed things up.
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
Found the pic ...
got the scanner working again ...again.....
It's a pic of how I like to do the extension jambs ..when possible.
jamb .....stool ......trim .....all "pre-made" ....installed as one unit.
Helps if jamb stock is 3/4 .......
I measure ....shim loose ......attach shims.......shoot thru the trim ......then shoot thru the jamb ext's into the shims.....
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
When a really wavy or weird jambe extension is required, I have done the following. It takes longer, but you end up with a perfectly scribed e/j:
Glue a rip on the edge of the jambe, and use 4d finish nails, but leave the heads proud enough to pull them out without damaging it.
Rip a piece a little proud of the xtg adjacent wall surface. After a couple of hours or so, pull the nails.
Using a handplane, or one of those electric planers, work the e/j until it meets the wall plane perfectly. Then your trim will have a flat place to go without twisting it too much when you nail it.
Good Luck rg
And I do the e/j first, then the stool. rg
If you are dealing with bad humps instead of a taper this will work: To a small easy to handle router, install a sharp 3/4" mortice bit and add a piece of 1/2" plywood to less than half the base. The edge of the plywood should be just beside the bit. The bottom of the cutter should be even with the plywood. Nail the extensions (with reveal!) deep enough to stick out past the drywall a 1/4" or so and set the nails deep. The plywood rides the drywall. Orbit sand. Apply sill underneath.
I may be to late for this or it may not be your job but this is what I do. After the sheetrock is taped but before it is painted I measure from the jamb to where the sheetrock is proudest of the jamb. (the spot where the extension needs to be the widest) I then rip the extensions that wide and nail them on. Next I put blue masking tape on the face of the extensions with the edge of the tape flush with the outside edge of the extension. I then fill the shallow spaces around the extensions with sheetrock mud using a wide knife creating a true flat plane around the window three or four times the wide of the casing. Trimming out a window that is prepared this way is a dream and it makes me look like a master craftsman. For any trim carpenter who can be around the job site at the right times this produces the best looking and fitting trim for the least effort.
Kevin
I subscribe to the glue and plane method.
I cut the jamb extensions to the greatest depth necessary plus a sixteenth. Then glue them in place. I would use hot melt or a CA glue. Under a recommendation, I tried a new glue this week from Fastcap, which bonds wood in about 8 seconds. Good stuff.
Then plane to fit using the sheetrock as a screed or guage. If the sheetrock is too far away, then use a straight edge and a pencil to mark the high spots.
Boris
"Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934