Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Aug 29, 2000 03:45am | #1

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   are u sure you're quoting craig correctly ?.. if so, craig should stick to computers...

   rip extension jambs and tack them onto the jambs to bring them out flush with the wall surface or a little bit proud of the wall surface..

   sometimes you have to rip tapered extensions.. the mashing of the wall board is usually only done in very rough work.. or if there is a (small ) section that is causing trouble....

   if the problem is typical.. the extension jambs are the correct solution....

1. 
   Guest_ | Aug 29, 2000 03:47am | #2

   *One possible way is to back the trim and blocks 1/4" on a table saw or mounted router. Another would be to install 1/4" jamb extentions. Take into consideration your skill level, tools available, time and the type of finish you are to have on your windows.

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   Guest_ | Aug 29, 2000 05:01am | #3

   *Your only practical option, as stated, is to shim; however, there are a couple of nuances for you to choose from. On a wood frame I prefer to glue on the shim using Hot Stuff Super T (if I could leave it over night to set, then I'd shift over to Weldbond) and then I can plain it down in place, if necessary, without worrying about nails. If this was a vinyl window then adding the shim to the frame becomes annoying. It can easily be done (I'd use that 3M Super 77 spray, it doesn't have to really hold anything); but, the joint isn't so great because the edges on the vinyl are rounded and the frame is usually crowned. That's when I may choose to glue the shim to the casing first, AFTER the trim has been cut/mitred and you've cut your biscuits - do not attach the shim before machining.

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   Guest_ | Aug 29, 2000 06:52am | #4

   *I recently finished a house of 58 windows and doors of which almost half were inside the drywall atleast 1/4". Making extention jambs would have been too time consuming and in some cases just not look right. MY solution was to just hold the casing then cut and remove the drywall paper. then use a sureform and an old chisel to plane the gypsum down till the trim fit tight. by just mashing the drywall (as i've seen many people do) you lose the support behind the trim then will have to put in shims and extra caulk..it sucks.--cut that DW so the trim "GROWS" out of the wall--NO CAULK.gabe

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   Guest_ | Aug 29, 2000 01:49pm | #5

   *gabe.... you lost the reveal on the side... now the trim , instead of the insubstantial 5/8 inch becomes a non-existent 3/8..saving time isn't always the goal...the extension jambs are the school solution . and you won't be criticized if you do it that way...if you walked onto your job and saw that someone had buried the casing in the sheetrock.. what would you say about the job ?b but hey, whadda i no ?

2. 
   Guest_ | Aug 29, 2000 03:52pm | #6

   *Gabe, I'm looking at your solution and a few questions come to mind. 1) What do you do with all the drywall screws that are (were ?) holding it to the studs ? Do you pull them before you start with the sureform, or drive them through ? If you only get near to the screw-line, do you have to re-mud ? 2) If your casing is wide enough to get out into the screw-line, and you've just skimmed at least half the thickness of the drywall away; isn't the drywall around the window left more or less floating ?

3. 
   Guest_ | Aug 29, 2000 05:06pm | #7

   *If the existing jamb extensions are 1/4" shy, and fairly paralell to the face of the wall, you might try highlighting the extra piece you add by giving it a small reveal, instead of trying to hold it flush to the existing extensions. You're gonna have trouble hiding that extra piece, you might as well try highlighting it and it might enhance the overall design.There's nothing wrong with "altering" the sheetrock a little with a hammer in a high corner, or if one edge is a little proud, but 1/4" all the way around calls for other techniques. Especially with corner blocks, you don't want them tipped so the reveals look goofy where the block and casing meet.

4. 
   Guest_ | Aug 30, 2000 02:08am | #8

   *Reveals. Tons of em, give me more, I love reveals. And I ain't bullshittin. Sorry Jim, I just got excited. I truly do like the look of a stepped back jamb. Specially if it's painted. Those shadowlines are killer.Trying to flush up extensions with the casings looks like just that.Gentlemen, show those reveals. Ladies, ........BC

5. 
   Guest_ | Aug 30, 2000 03:25am | #9

   *I learned a good trick to pull extention jambs flush to any high spots in sheetrock. Put a 3 inch drywall screw in the jamb perpendicular to the wall. Take a block and use your hammer claw to pull those windows in flush with the sheetrock. You can also use a pipe clamp and a jig. Sometimes this will pull the window slightly away from the brick molding outside but it is easily caulked. This method is not a solution for jamb extentions, if you have 1/4 all the way around, then you need to make an extension..I also agree about the margins..I always show a margin rather than try to line extentions flush with each other.

6. 
   Guest_ | Aug 30, 2000 05:28am | #10

   *it is true that reveals add a certain traditional styling to a casing, sometimes more reveals do look very intelligent on a door or window. And I must admit that any such gap on a jamb which exceeds 3/8" pretty much requires another reveal (unless you are dealing with uncommonly thick casing) However, as it was noted that you have only 1/4" of gap, it would not be at all queer to the eye if you were to simply sink the trim into the wall as i advised before. To answer your following question; Yes i do pull the screws which will be covered by the casing-- the drywall will not be "floating", instead it will be sandwiched tightly between the framing and the casing after you nail it down. As for the lack of thickness on the outside of the casing after this ooperation is performed, it is only a matter of personal preference. I have never had a client reject this-- they don't even notice this unless they are standing right behind me during the process. If you do try this method and do not like the look of it after your first window, take it of and slap on a reveal-- it will all be covered with no ill effect.one other note: you may find that you can only use this method on a door if you have the proper thickness of casing, proper thinness of base, or by using a plith block. just plan ahead and look for discrepancy of casing to base thicknesses.Trim carpentry is an art form which most resembles slight of hand-- but in a more permanent form.gabe

7. 
   Guest_ | Aug 30, 2000 06:36am | #11

   *Calvin, man, check it out. About 15 years ago we were remodeling a real old office building in downtown Tacoma and there was this 12" wide Mahogany light vallance all the way around a reception area, right? So the company that provided the millwork sends out all this wide prefinished Mahogany with a 1 X 2 dadoed into the back of it for the difusers to rest on, and we had God knows how many hours into this frikkin vallance and the material had to be 7 or 8 bucks a foot, and we get the joints perfect, and fuss over the 1 X 3 that sat on top to create kind of a cap...and we were workin' super long hours, but we were all young guys thinkin' everything was art, and finally it was done. So anyway, we all stand back admiring this thing, and someone over at the end of the room says "oh crap" (or something like that) so we all go over to where he is to see what the problem is... and turn around and look where he's lookin'...and sure enough...even a sawed off carpenter like me could see the top of the top flourestant bulb behind the top cap. crap.So someone hit on the idea of ANOTHER top cap, with the same reveals again as the first one, and do you know how much better that second one looked, even if it hadn't been needed to cover that bulb, it really gave definition (or something like that) to the top of that vallance. That extra reveal MADE that vallance.All hail an added reveal here and there.'course, then there was the problem of light shining through the joint between the two top caps...but that's a story for another night.

8. 
   Guest_ | Aug 30, 2000 12:17pm | #12

   *Gabe, us finish guys would rather call it magic. Seems a little more honorable.

9. 
   Guest_ | Aug 30, 2000 01:41pm | #13

   *gabe.... IMHO... if your clients don't criticize you for burying their casings in the wall... then they are just not discerning..surely , any trim carpenter walking thru would not be so generous..((As for the lack of thickness on the outside of the casing after this ooperation is performed, it is only a matter of personal preference. I have never had a client reject this-- they don't even notice this unless they are standing right behind me during the process. ))bad process.... use the jamb extensions....b but hey, whadda i no ?

10. 
    Guest_ | Aug 30, 2000 03:18pm | #14

    *jb and calvin...My sentiments exactly. In a house like this, ripping 1/4" strips of poplar (paint) or equivalent stain-grade would be a heckuva lot faster (for me) than attacking the drywall with rasps and utility knives.I also think that sinking 3/4" trim a quarter-inch into the drywall would make the window trim look a tad weak. Aesthetically, it wouldn't work for me.Reveals and shadow lines are killers...wishing I had a digital camera for quick pic posting.Savage does advocate pulverization, but not for severe cases like this...

11. 
    Guest_ | Aug 30, 2000 05:32pm | #16

    *Jim,Let me guess, mohagany caulk?:)Bill

2. 
   Greich | Aug 30, 2000 05:32pm | #15

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   What are the best ways to deal with installing window casing and corner blocks when the windows (Pella)are as much as 1/4 inch below the dry wall surface (i.. not properly installed). Craig Savage suggests pulverizing the dry wall but this does not overcome the problem of installing the corner blocks...