I'm not kidding, I had this EXACT problem - My house was built with 2x4s and plaster over plasterboard walls. All the pre-hung doors you can buy around here are made for 2x4 and 1/2in drywall. I've had a doorway sitting in my hallway for months that looked awful because I was too scared to make my own jamb extension. I was going to have a contractor do this when I had new windows put in the house (something I just cannot do). However, this morning I saw your video and this evening I put in the extension myself. it looks amazing and didn't take me more than an hour or two (I haven't done the casing yet since I am skim coating the old plaster walls). Thanks for the motivation and instruction. You've been a huge help.
Extension jams are a standard building practice.. at least it has been for 40 years.. some windows come with extension jams that you custom rip to custom fit walls.. easy piezy.. same as trimming out a window with wood gotta rip boards to fit..
One of my greatest enjoyments of watching Vancouver Carpenter's videos, is the self-depreciating humor. Cracks me up and lightens my heart. Because of this, I watch your videos whether I need to or not, just for the fun. Always give a thumbs up.
Thanks bud! Just put in a new exterior door to the kitchen, only to realize after installing, caulking, and spray foaming all the gaps, that it was too shallow to meet up with the wall. Whoops. Lol my grandpa wanted me to pull it back out and cut the siding to inset it deeper in the wall. No thanks, I’m good. Not re-doing all that lol. It’s gonna be jam extensions all the way for me. Thanks for making my life a little bit easier anyway. Keep up the good work brother.
1:10 to 1:30 is the best part of any video. What you just did there is the difference between actually teaching someone something or simply retaining viewers until the end to know how the mystery resolves. It has a huge effect on learning and remembering your video since we can now follow along and think for ourselves and sort of know in what direction you are going and and can therefore anticipate what is comming. On the other hand those mystery videos that only care about viewer retention and leaves everything a mystery until the end will often not teach the viewer anything since they could not follow along. Thank you!
Just sitting here and watching you work, then it hits me that’s exactly what I need to do with my 12’ sliding glass door.. currently hidden behind one drape, but I know it’s there just waiting. Now I know how to finish it. Thank you.
Eternally grateful for this video getting recommended to me today. Just about done with mudding the drywall in my garage and am about to move onto the finish carpentry. Had to bring everything up to code so went with 5/8” drywall. Have a nasty gap around a door jamb and was going to try to make the extensions flush with the existing jamb. This technique will save me SO much hassle in the short and long term. Thank you!!!
For a lot of us this kind of project is a looming freaky question mark of doom!! Kind of like the look on some folks faces just after being handed a set of chop-sticks and being told "These have been commonly used for centuries. It's EASY!🤗" ThankS for the fun, simple, albeit calming demo. I have one of these jobs at home which has been on my HoneyDoo list for about 4yrs 😯. ... today is the day I smite this now insignificant beast! ✊
DeWalt has a fantastic fence system. It is a rack and pinion and makes the tiniest adjustments. Thank you for showing this. I do my own repairs and remodeling. I have had to make this kind of adjustment before, and I really did not know what I was doing. I did what I thought seemed logical. When I find a video on You Tube, that shows a professional tackle the same problem and I see that he does it the way I figured out, makes me feel better. Lets me know that I guessed right. Thankyou. I am 61 and back in the day of my youth, there was no You tube or internet -- period -- to go to for reference and instruction. You had to figure it out if there was no one in your life to teach you. Now, I go to You Tube first to get an idea of what to do. Saves a lot of time. Sometimes you still have to use your brain and fudge, because the same type of problem can vary in the needed solution, but You Tube gives you a starting point. Thanks to all the professionals out there that are willing to share their knowledge. Some of us just cannot afford professional services. We have to DIY or we live in a mess of a dwelling.
@@allenbranch1824 Hey allenbranch1824. Sorry to reply so late. I have not looked at comments for a while -- too busy. My saw is model DWE7491RS. It is the 10" portable job site table saw with rolling stand, 15 Amp motor and 32-1/2" rip capacity. It is the replacement model for my old saw. It seems to be working fine, I have had this one for about a year and I have used it a lot as I am remodeling the house. I prefer my old saw because it just seemed like the housing and stand were more heavy duty. But as for functionality, I have no complaints with this one.
The casing is the cookie, and the door & jam is the white fluffy filling, sandwich together and ya get a good strong looking end product😉 Been in trim jobs where we did butt the extension together, cuz the homeowner wanted it that way; so, ya give them what they want…..with the knowledge of what can happen over time. Great vid✌🏻
Hey man iv learned a lot from you. I really am grateful for your videos. You almost taught me single handedly how to install and Mudd drywall. And now iam doing full houses. So thank you man.
This is so useful!! I had this problem 2 months ago and ended up doing a similar double-reveal with a length of window stop, but this is way cheaper and more flexible. Thanks for this, even if it was too late to save me :D
If I have to extend jambs I like to divide the reveals between the jamb and the extension and the extension and the casing. Especially if you have another door right next to it. So if that other door that's finished has a 1/4" reveal, I would use 1/8" on the reveals of the door you are extending. This way the outside edges of the casings are the same on both doors. The eye will pick up that one casing is 1/4" taller than the other. If I'm looking down a hallway and there are multiple doors and the casings are all different heights it stands out like a sore thumb. The walls will usually be a different color than the trim, or at the very least a different finish, and the doors, jambs, jamb extensions and casings will likely all be the same color and finish. The consistency of the reveals is moot by comparison to the consistency of the height of the casings.
Ben, I have been building and remodeling home for 50 years, I think you are about the best sheet rock, drywall and finish carpenter on RUclips. I am going to label all my combination squares "Slidie markie thingies"
I've done several of these types of repairs but I've always butt jointed the extension piece to the frame because I didn't like look of the the double reveal. I found that if you use wood glue and fasten it to the frame with a lot of brad/finish nails (every 6-8"), the two pieces of wood will expand and contract as a single piece of wood. You need to also use Durham's Rock Hard wood putty over the seam and sand. Two coats of LATEX paint will prevent cracking. The corner seams of my casings crack before this seam. But if you don't want to do all this work, the double reveal is your best bet. Thanks for the great vid tutorial!
Way more work. The additional reveal looks better than a cracked flush joint. Craftsman architecture traditionally favored a succession of molding reveals along with plinth blocks and rosettes
It’s nice when you have such a thick door jamb, last time I did this on a prehung door that I bought from Home Depot, the jamb was not even 3/4” thick. Nailing an extension gave me very little meat to nail it on.
You must be psychic. Talk about timing! I've been considering extending a couple existing door jambs and I wondered if such extensions were a thing. Although I was gonna do it anyway, this vid makes it much easier to actually do. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! BTW, anytime you want to do a series of videos on routers and, especially, router bits, don't let me stop you. lol
the butt joint extensions cracking over time will absolutely happen over time also because of the constant movement of the door opening and closing...I love the little tips you give for the viewers that don't do this everyday..great stuff
I'm digging the clucking chicken montage music. The extra 1/4" reveal seems so obvious, once you say it. I would have made life a lot harder for myself trying to match it up flush before seeing this. Thanks, and keep up the great work, VC!
Exactly the idea that I was looking for! Thank you... At 25years of carpentry I really need to say: If it is a power tool, wear your EAR protection; If it makes dust wear a respirator (NOT a mask); If it cuts things, wear EYE protection. Always. Please. Thanks again!
Outstanding and looks great! About to tackle this exact door installation in my basement and trying to figure out the best way to attack it. Great step by step guidance! Thanks again, stay safe and healthy!
Yep, this is a problem in my house. It was built in 1922. Doesn't exactly match up with today's ...well anything really. Plumbing, electrical, carpentry, you name it. Loved the video and subscribed.....because I have a feeling you're relevant to my situation. 😂
The 1/4" reveal for the jamb extension was a good idea. Sometimes trying to make the extension flush with the original jamb can appear as an obvious "patch" if they're not straight. Nice work!
In carpentry, you generally don't attempt to make things flush because they never will look good no matter how you try. This is why we always create a 'reveal'.
@@KenHill I like that idea, yep flushing it it harder and doesn't look as good. THis is Quicker and now you have a small reveal that you can give a little caulk and it is done!
Flushing out a jamb extension is never a good idea. If some how forced to it must be glued to prevent paint cracks. Either way the painters will hate it.
You guys are getting so good at filming. The little effects and music make them even more enjoyable although I enjoy all your videos. This was super helpful since door jambs and trim are right around the corner for my renov's. Muchas gracias and awesome job with jambs.
I have a problem where the wall is out of plump. It is flush with the door jam at the bottom but at the top the wall sticks out nearly an inch. Speaking of fir, I am using fir which will be stained. Thanks to your videos I am getting much better at my projects!
Most doors (frankly all doors at home improvement centers) are sold for 2x4 construction. I find that a lot of people don't know that you CAN get door jambs for 2x6 doors. Also, making custom jambs is not hard at all. I bought composite jambs for my exterior doors and made jambs out of 3/4 poplar for my interior doors. I ripped them down to the exact width I needed.
Custom door jambs are not easy for most people. Many carpenters won't touch that. I do make custom jambs to pre hang "loner" doors but I use door hinge jigs and a router and it is fairly precision work and for varnish grade requires really stable wood. At least to get a really precise pre hung door. There are some old school ways too with a hinge stamp but it is time consuming. The Vix bit becomes very handy too! Do we all know the vix?
I wish I would have seen this video about 3 weeks ago. I just did trim replacements for my MBR closets, and it was a nightmare. All I had was a hand miter box, hammer, and nails. My wife's closet door casing has so much gap in it I had to angle the nails...and eventually trim screws, (I completely suck with a hammer) so they were driving into the 2x4 structural studs, or I'd wiff the casing right into air. I even managed to cut the damn miter for one of the pieces wrong, so I had to redo that too, lol. Once I got everything wood filled, and painted it looks much nicer than I thought it would be. I think I'll be saving up for a decent brad nailer to make my life easier. Turns out you have to be good at things if you plan on using hand tools, and I'm not. LOL.
First time I’ve seen you in a video without mud! Awesome! I actually needed this for my on-going voice record/Virtual meeting studio build…I doubled my drywall layers which have my doorways looking wonkie. This is really starting to get freaky… Every time I decide to check in on one of your newer videos, it ends up being some thing I need to tweak yet on this project (it’s been going a lot slower since the summer hit since there’s too many things outdoors to do). I swear sometimes I think you’re looking in my back window trying to figure out what your next topic is going to be! (… I am just imagining that, aren’t I?!…) A big THANKS {again!} to: “The Most Carpentery-ist Drywaller On The Internet!”
Giving the jamb extensions a reveal is definitely the right thing to do, but I always make the reveals an 1/8 for the extension and then a 1/4 for the casings. It’s a small detail that an old carpenter taught me years ago.
"Or gangster style, if you guys remember correctly" I couldnt help but laugh as soon as I got a flash back of your other video 😂 love your vids.. big help when I started off carpentry
You mentioned the trick of cutting out some of the drywall to make the trim straight. On a couple of the walls that were installed by the drunk guy in my bedroom remodeling I did exactly that. The wall was slightly bowed, not enough to notice (after I spent several hours adding mud to flatten it), but definitely noticeable when adding the trim. So I cut out a notch about a foot long so the trim would lay flat. I will have to do the same thing in the hallway where the wall is REALLY screwed up. The new drywall that was added was up to an inch out of alignment at the top from the original drywall and took many coats of mud to tapper it to look flat. When I go to add the new trim I will have to cut a notch in the original drywall so the trim will go on straight.
I live up the coast a bit, and found lots of that old fir casing in the dump. Whenever possible, I’ve reclaimed it for use in projects. It’s gorgeous! Love old fir for building with. Thanks for the tips on trimming out the door jambs..I have this issue with the new windows I put into my old mobile home. I think this is the answer for me. :)
This is just what I needed. Renovating a house with 2x4 walls that have 3/4" asbestos as well with 3/4boards on top of that plus sheet rock. Never touching an asbestos house again. Sick of respirators!
It looks awesome. Is there a reason that you don't make the reveal flush with the door jam, and you stagger it in steps with the trim? Is it because the resulting larger jamb would resist looking like one solid piece, and would need to be caulked and wouldn't look perfect, vs. having nice staggered sharp edges?
Real world problems... everyone has them on just about every job....this is the part of the business that the fancy how to videos don't show... nicely done!
Every time you fire a nail, use a mitre saw or a table saw without ear protection you're damaging your hearing. Imagine standing next to an airport and watching a 747 taxiing to the runway and then imagine what that sound is like 24 hours a day. It's called tinnitus and it can consume your life. They actually use that as a sound effect in movies these days when someone is blown off their feet by an explosion. They muffle the sound and introduce a high pitched squeal to the sound track. That's what I hear all day, every day.
Nice job. I like to hold the extension jamb and the casing on the same plane so there is only the one reveal. Especially when everything is painted because with a nice smoothed bead of quality paintable caulk everything appears seamless and the assembly seems to have no extension jamb just thicker casing. Good video though to show this method of installing an extension jamb.
Looks good.. I guess the best case scenario would be to have some 3/4 stock on hand, so you can cut strips a bit wider, and aren't trying to nail into a half inch jamb extension, well quarter inch to work with after moving in for the reveal.. not a whole lot of meat there.. but anyways looks like it worked fine.
Thank you! Had carpenter install door trim....it's sitting flush with the drywall looking jacked. I was trying to figure out what to do to fix it and this solved the problem.
I'll typically just build my own jamb if they are not standard size. Unless there are multiple, then I'll have them made to size. I can't stand the double reveal.
Nail gun in hand. Check. Flying nail warning check. Squints on head check. Sorry bud. Old habit since the boss pays the insurance on my jobs. That’s me. Try this to remember. Every time you pull a trigger be profoundly grateful for sight. Make Norm Abrams proud and echo his warning. Love your work sir. Appreciate it. Thank you.
3/16” is the best reveal for standard casing... Also if you want to make the extension jam even it would have to be wood to wood with no paint... then GLUE and nail... The glue should keep it from separating and causing cracks… A lot more work… Plus I think the extra reveal looks better
Attempting to make the jambs flush would be a silly waste of time and would fail anyway, no matter how hard you tried. Wood is constantly moving. This is why you want to create reveals.
These days I run a quick bead of water based construction adhesive and set the trim in with 23 gauge headless brads/pins. (after using a Bench-Dog casement trim guide to give me the nice 3/16 reveal) A quick dab of spackle in the brad holes, some caulking against the wall, and it's ready for paint.
@@KenHill I always leave a reveal because that's the fastest way to do it. But it's possible to make a flush jamb extension that looks good and doesn't crack and it's not even hard to do but it's time consuming so you have to charge more per foot. Solid wood flat panel doors are made from several pieces glued together flush and they don't fail and they look good and it's not hard just time consuming. That's how tables are made also and they don't fail either.
Good points with jamb extensions. When I get extremes, where it’s 3/8 up top and 3/4 on the bottom, and it’s paint grade, I’ll just go 3/4” and caulk the outside casing.
So, I do have this problem. You don't plane or route down the projecting differential (if you face nailed I guess they need extra countersinking), you just edge caulk the casing?
@@ericdillenberger7873 I use a little block plane and just plane away the little bit extra material wherever I need. Then the whole thing ends up flush. I do that for all my extension jambs. Usually that means windows since it's more common to need them with replacement windows.
@@kevlar1482 thanks! I got a set of grippers so I could accurately rip narrow pieces to more uniform thickness, but it is in and out along any given side. I might try CA glue so I don't worry too much about damaging the plane blade. I cannot express how frustrating it is to work on my house as it seems to have been built by beavers who didn't own any measuring tools, levels, or squares and loved them some beer.
VC, thanks so much for this. Somehow the YT algorithm knew I needed to see this. I was thinking I would need to buy new casings for some reno work in my parents basement. Fortunately, this will save me from doing that; and also save them some money!
I had a similar problem only my piece ran 1/2 down the door: 3/4 in. at top down to a point. I just marked that on a spare piece of board, cut it by hand with a 5 in. blade circular saw, then glued the wedge flush with the existing jamb. Then installed casing as usual. Then used wood putty to clean up any imperfections in my wedge piece.
With all respect, I won’t use a chalk line for finish work. It isn’t accurate. Sharp pencil for me. Particularly when dealing with expensive hardwoods. But yes free handing on the table saw.
free hand it with a table saw, or use a track saw or plywood sled with circ saw with fine finishing blade with a wider board. mark your cut and cut. Can hand plane any high spots after so better to be a bit big than too small.
@@dezbigguns1072 no that's because you don't have a relationship with your local guy don't try to project that on me I don't have to beat walls because I order my door jambs a hair bit wider than the walls
Older homes had thicker walls. The lath/plaster accounted for about an extra inch of overall all thickness, making older walls 5-1/2” versus 4-1/2” for most modern homes.
@@markhoffman Regardless of thickness of wall, couldn’t the width of jamb be properly measured? Example of my thinking; if tha jam has a width of 3 inches and there’s an inch gap on both sides jamb, why wouldn’t the original installer use a 5 inch width jamb to accommodate the drywall size they used back then?
@@Woodworkinghobby79 Sometimes you can mess with the jambs because they are heritage homes and the wood is fir or something. Typically when you remove lather and plaster, 5/8th drywall works.
Question - When you put in the initial extension - why didn't you put the top one in first so that the two sides end up "holding it up" at the top corners - just like the other reveal is - at least for consistency's sake? (33 yr handyman here - Sonoma County wine country) To me, at least - it does give the illusion of more strength when the verticals end up securing the top from underneath. Just sayin! - Thanks for your GREAT VIDEOS! Learn something every time - especially about the art of sheetrock and mud etc.
Total life saver in my old house. Installed prehung doors replacing the old ugly damaged doors and the wall is 5 1/2” thick and the prehung door jambs are about 4 1/2”. Borrowed a table saw and crisis averted! 😂
Impressive! Thanks a lot for your explanations. I'm just wondering if that gap is not even al around the jam. Ex, left leg is quarter inch and right leg a bit less or more or even one leg has different gap size. Thank you.
My door shop, Windsor, will also custom cut the jambs to whatever thickness you need. So, typically when I’m doing this on site it’s because there is an out of plumb wall, so the fill strips need to be tapered. Been using new track saw for that, works great.
Great Job! I glue my jamb extensions to the casing and install it that way. Yes it does take a bit longer doing it that way, but it turns out super nice.
That was a fairly wide build out. Most of the time, I encounter maybe 1/2” at most. But it looked pretty good man! Keep that tool pouch on! I was always told that using a reveal makes a carpenter look better than he actually is! 😆 When you butt joint the casing to those extensions, it creates an optical illusion to where it will NEVER look right. It won’t ever look even and the inconsistencies will pop out like a sore thumb!
Thanks, again, VanCarp! Your videos have been extremely helpful to me over the last few years. Hey, where's your hearing protection?.. I SAID, WHERE"S YOUR EAR PRO?
Yes -, my first room I butt jointed, not knowing. So disappointing I'll probably redo at sometime in future. The rest will be so much nicer - thx for your instruction.
Nice. Remodeling older homes always entails transitions like this, so jamb extensions are a routine fix. As you point out at the bottom left jamb, the gap there is greater than the rest of the existing jamb. Caulking is fine for small gaps, say up to 1/16 inch, but nothing is uglier than filling large gaps with caulk - because it LOOKS like caulk. To deal with varying gaps I devised a table saw sled to rip jamb extensions with varying thicknesses. E.g., ripping an 8 ft. extension that varies from 3/16 inch on one end to 1-1/16 inch on the other. I hope your customer has a plan to replace that god-awful looking flat Lauan hollow door with a single panel door to match the existing doors.
My front door has this problem and I never knew exactly how to fix it! Now I'm itching to go do this very thing to it and make it look nice and above all, fix it the correct way.
So the spray and clear I guess glue is a new one for me ! It looks like it holds well you walked around the place ducking and turning with it lol good job
This will be very helpful. I pulled off two door casings and need to build new ones. One of them doesn't have a top, and the frame is a bit high so I need to add material to lower it about 1 inch. What are standard measurements for insides of door frames? There won't be a door in this case, so nothing prehung to just stick in there. Thank you.
I'm not kidding, I had this EXACT problem - My house was built with 2x4s and plaster over plasterboard walls. All the pre-hung doors you can buy around here are made for 2x4 and 1/2in drywall. I've had a doorway sitting in my hallway for months that looked awful because I was too scared to make my own jamb extension. I was going to have a contractor do this when I had new windows put in the house (something I just cannot do).
However, this morning I saw your video and this evening I put in the extension myself. it looks amazing and didn't take me more than an hour or two (I haven't done the casing yet since I am skim coating the old plaster walls).
Thanks for the motivation and instruction. You've been a huge help.
Well done!!! Feels good, doesn't it?
Extension jams are a standard building practice.. at least it has been for 40 years.. some windows come with extension jams that you custom rip to custom fit walls.. easy piezy.. same as trimming out a window with wood gotta rip boards to fit..
@@terryloh8583 it feels really good when you can make adaptations and it turns out nice.
Or, you could just order one in the proper size...depth. Does it cost more...yes. But worth it
Man every time I have a question about renovations, you have the answer.
Thank you for all your videos Vancouver Carpenter. You're awesome!
One of my greatest enjoyments of watching Vancouver Carpenter's videos, is the self-depreciating humor. Cracks me up and lightens my heart. Because of this, I watch your videos whether I need to or not, just for the fun. Always give a thumbs up.
Can we just give it up for the RUclips algorithm and big brother always watching, I googled this problem yesterday and boom, there you are!
Thanks bud! Just put in a new exterior door to the kitchen, only to realize after installing, caulking, and spray foaming all the gaps, that it was too shallow to meet up with the wall. Whoops. Lol my grandpa wanted me to pull it back out and cut the siding to inset it deeper in the wall. No thanks, I’m good. Not re-doing all that lol. It’s gonna be jam extensions all the way for me. Thanks for making my life a little bit easier anyway. Keep up the good work brother.
1:10 to 1:30 is the best part of any video. What you just did there is the difference between actually teaching someone something or simply retaining viewers until the end to know how the mystery resolves. It has a huge effect on learning and remembering your video since we can now follow along and think for ourselves and sort of know in what direction you are going and and can therefore anticipate what is comming. On the other hand those mystery videos that only care about viewer retention and leaves everything a mystery until the end will often not teach the viewer anything since they could not follow along.
Thank you!
My tabletop dewalt is the first portable table I’ve ever owned with a good fence!! Thanks for the tips!! Cheers from way far north California! 👍🏽
Just sitting here and watching you work, then it hits me that’s exactly what I need to do with my 12’ sliding glass door.. currently hidden behind one drape, but I know it’s there just waiting. Now I know how to finish it. Thank you.
My house is old and uses full width (actual 2x4) walls so standard pre-hung doors all need jamb extensions. This was a great video.
Eternally grateful for this video getting recommended to me today. Just about done with mudding the drywall in my garage and am about to move onto the finish carpentry. Had to bring everything up to code so went with 5/8” drywall. Have a nasty gap around a door jamb and was going to try to make the extensions flush with the existing jamb. This technique will save me SO much hassle in the short and long term. Thank you!!!
For a lot of us this kind of project is a looming freaky question mark of doom!!
Kind of like the look on some folks faces just after being handed a set of chop-sticks and being told "These have been commonly used for centuries. It's EASY!🤗"
ThankS for the fun, simple, albeit calming demo. I have one of these jobs at home which has been on my HoneyDoo list for about 4yrs 😯. ... today is the day I smite this now insignificant beast! ✊
DeWalt has a fantastic fence system. It is a rack and pinion and makes the tiniest adjustments. Thank you for showing this. I do my own repairs and remodeling. I have had to make this kind of adjustment before, and I really did not know what I was doing. I did what I thought seemed logical. When I find a video on You Tube, that shows a professional tackle the same problem and I see that he does it the way I figured out, makes me feel better. Lets me know that I guessed right. Thankyou. I am 61 and back in the day of my youth, there was no You tube or internet -- period -- to go to for reference and instruction. You had to figure it out if there was no one in your life to teach you. Now, I go to You Tube first to get an idea of what to do. Saves a lot of time. Sometimes you still have to use your brain and fudge, because the same type of problem can vary in the needed solution, but You Tube gives you a starting point. Thanks to all the professionals out there that are willing to share their knowledge. Some of us just cannot afford professional services. We have to DIY or we live in a mess of a dwelling.
what is that saw with the rack and pinion fence? Do you know the model? thanks
@@allenbranch1824 Hey allenbranch1824. Sorry to reply so late. I have not looked at comments for a while -- too busy. My saw is model DWE7491RS. It is the 10" portable job site table saw with rolling stand, 15 Amp motor and 32-1/2" rip capacity. It is the replacement model for my old saw. It seems to be working fine, I have had this one for about a year and I have used it a lot as I am remodeling the house. I prefer my old saw because it just seemed like the housing and stand were more heavy duty. But as for functionality, I have no complaints with this one.
The info starting at 13:55 is gold and is the "why" we are looking for. The first ten minutes is the how.. Thank you!
Thanks for taking the time to show us! Even if it does make you take longer when you forget your numbers.
Im a carpenter from Arizona, Love the videos! Learning some sweet tips and tricks, thanks!
Vich area of Az do you carpenter in?
The casing is the cookie, and the door & jam is the white fluffy filling, sandwich together and ya get a good strong looking end product😉
Been in trim jobs where we did butt the extension together, cuz the homeowner wanted it that way; so, ya give them what they want…..with the knowledge of what can happen over time.
Great vid✌🏻
Hey man iv learned a lot from you. I really am grateful for your videos. You almost taught me single handedly how to install and Mudd drywall. And now iam doing full houses. So thank you man.
This is so useful!! I had this problem 2 months ago and ended up doing a similar double-reveal with a length of window stop, but this is way cheaper and more flexible. Thanks for this, even if it was too late to save me :D
Hey buddy. I’ve been building and remodeling houses for 23 years. I have to admit. Your very good with Sheetrock.
Glad to see your safety glasses protecting your forehead. Mine usually are protecting my ball cap. Good job as usual
If I have to extend jambs I like to divide the reveals between the jamb and the extension and the extension and the casing. Especially if you have another door right next to it. So if that other door that's finished has a 1/4" reveal, I would use 1/8" on the reveals of the door you are extending. This way the outside edges of the casings are the same on both doors. The eye will pick up that one casing is 1/4" taller than the other. If I'm looking down a hallway and there are multiple doors and the casings are all different heights it stands out like a sore thumb. The walls will usually be a different color than the trim, or at the very least a different finish, and the doors, jambs, jamb extensions and casings will likely all be the same color and finish. The consistency of the reveals is moot by comparison to the consistency of the height of the casings.
Ben, I have been building and remodeling home for 50 years, I think you are about the best sheet rock, drywall and finish carpenter on RUclips. I am going to label all my combination squares "Slidie markie thingies"
I've done several of these types of repairs but I've always butt jointed the extension piece to the frame because I didn't like look of the the double reveal. I found that if you use wood glue and fasten it to the frame with a lot of brad/finish nails (every 6-8"), the two pieces of wood will expand and contract as a single piece of wood. You need to also use Durham's Rock Hard wood putty over the seam and sand. Two coats of LATEX paint will prevent cracking. The corner seams of my casings crack before this seam. But if you don't want to do all this work, the double reveal is your best bet. Thanks for the great vid tutorial!
Way more work. The additional reveal looks better than a cracked flush joint. Craftsman architecture traditionally favored a succession of molding reveals along with plinth blocks and rosettes
It’s nice when you have such a thick door jamb, last time I did this on a prehung door that I bought from Home Depot, the jamb was not even 3/4” thick. Nailing an extension gave me very little meat to nail it on.
You must be psychic. Talk about timing! I've been considering extending a couple existing door jambs and I wondered if such extensions were a thing. Although I was gonna do it anyway, this vid makes it much easier to actually do. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! BTW, anytime you want to do a series of videos on routers and, especially, router bits, don't let me stop you. lol
the butt joint extensions cracking over time will absolutely happen over time also because of the constant movement of the door opening and closing...I love the little tips you give for the viewers that don't do this everyday..great stuff
It won’t crack if you put some glue on it too.
Nice job. I've been putting off doing a door in my house similar to this... for twenty years. I think I'll do it now!
Good info video I am a retired carpenter myself but I enjoy watching your videos
So what you are saying is “Do your best, caulk the rest”.
Sometimes that all you can do. I'm a painter and had to fix much worse than that!!
not noticeable down there, no biggie...
Caulking hides a multitude of sins.
America is held together by caulk, silicone and duct tape
Looks good from my house mike
Thanks for the tutorial. I was trying to figure out how to do an extension jamb for an exterior door and found this super helpful.
I'm digging the clucking chicken montage music. The extra 1/4" reveal seems so obvious, once you say it. I would have made life a lot harder for myself trying to match it up flush before seeing this. Thanks, and keep up the great work, VC!
This is so great video. I am drywalling my garage and been stuck on this for days and finally its understood from this video. Thanks!
I love that I can go to the same guy for carpentry and skateboarding tips 👍
Exactly the idea that I was looking for! Thank you...
At 25years of carpentry I really need to say:
If it is a power tool, wear your EAR protection;
If it makes dust wear a respirator (NOT a mask);
If it cuts things, wear EYE protection.
Always. Please. Thanks again!
Outstanding and looks great! About to tackle this exact door installation in my basement and trying to figure out the best way to attack it. Great step by step guidance! Thanks again, stay safe and healthy!
Yep, this is a problem in my house. It was built in 1922. Doesn't exactly match up with today's ...well anything really. Plumbing, electrical, carpentry, you name it. Loved the video and subscribed.....because I have a feeling you're relevant to my situation. 😂
The 1/4" reveal for the jamb extension was a good idea. Sometimes trying to make the extension flush with the original jamb can appear as an obvious "patch" if they're not straight. Nice work!
In carpentry, you generally don't attempt to make things flush because they never will look good no matter how you try. This is why we always create a 'reveal'.
@@KenHill I like that idea, yep flushing it it harder and doesn't look as good. THis is Quicker and now you have a small reveal that you can give a little caulk and it is done!
@@bobbyz7736Many times caulk is not even needed.
Staging them back for another reveal actually gives a nice custom look
Flushing out a jamb extension is never a good idea. If some how forced to it must be glued to prevent paint cracks. Either way the painters will hate it.
I have been doing stuff like this for years and NEVER thought of this trick. Thanks! I'm certain i will use it at some point!
You guys are getting so good at filming. The little effects and music make them even more enjoyable although I enjoy all your videos. This was super helpful since door jambs and trim are right around the corner for my renov's. Muchas gracias and awesome job with jambs.
I have a problem where the wall is out of plump. It is flush with the door jam at the bottom but at the top the wall sticks out nearly an inch. Speaking of fir, I am using fir which will be stained. Thanks to your videos I am getting much better at my projects!
Most doors (frankly all doors at home improvement centers) are sold for 2x4 construction. I find that a lot of people don't know that you CAN get door jambs for 2x6 doors. Also, making custom jambs is not hard at all. I bought composite jambs for my exterior doors and made jambs out of 3/4 poplar for my interior doors. I ripped them down to the exact width I needed.
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Custom door jambs are not easy for most people. Many carpenters won't touch that. I do make custom jambs to pre hang "loner" doors but I use door hinge jigs and a router and it is fairly precision work and for varnish grade requires really stable wood. At least to get a really precise pre hung door. There are some old school ways too with a hinge stamp but it is time consuming. The Vix bit becomes very handy too! Do we all know the vix?
Had to make my own casings >
I wish I would have seen this video about 3 weeks ago. I just did trim replacements for my MBR closets, and it was a nightmare. All I had was a hand miter box, hammer, and nails. My wife's closet door casing has so much gap in it I had to angle the nails...and eventually trim screws, (I completely suck with a hammer) so they were driving into the 2x4 structural studs, or I'd wiff the casing right into air.
I even managed to cut the damn miter for one of the pieces wrong, so I had to redo that too, lol. Once I got everything wood filled, and painted it looks much nicer than I thought it would be. I think I'll be saving up for a decent brad nailer to make my life easier. Turns out you have to be good at things if you plan on using hand tools, and I'm not. LOL.
First time I’ve seen you in a video without mud! Awesome!
I actually needed this for my on-going voice record/Virtual meeting studio build…I doubled my drywall layers which have my doorways looking wonkie. This is really starting to get freaky… Every time I decide to check in on one of your newer videos, it ends up being some thing I need to tweak yet on this project (it’s been going a lot slower since the summer hit since there’s too many things outdoors to do). I swear sometimes I think you’re looking in my back window trying to figure out what your next topic is going to be!
(… I am just imagining that, aren’t I?!…)
A big THANKS {again!} to:
“The Most Carpentery-ist Drywaller On The Internet!”
Thanks for your great videos. Your explanations and your ability to remain humble about it all is refreshing.
Giving the jamb extensions a reveal is definitely the right thing to do, but I always make the reveals an 1/8 for the extension and then a 1/4 for the casings. It’s a small detail that an old carpenter taught me years ago.
in this case he had to match the door at the right.
I was thinking same thing 👍
What a relief! 😅 I was so worried it was me. Glad that I’m not alone with this problem.
"Or gangster style, if you guys remember correctly" I couldnt help but laugh as soon as I got a flash back of your other video 😂 love your vids.. big help when I started off carpentry
Didn’t know I’d find a solution to that problem, but here I am all set. Thanks man!
That came out good - considering how much you had to build it out. Nice job
I'm a little creeped out because I was just worrying about this exact issue and then you went and made a video...thanks! As always, great video!
You mentioned the trick of cutting out some of the drywall to make the trim straight. On a couple of the walls that were installed by the drunk guy in my bedroom remodeling I did exactly that. The wall was slightly bowed, not enough to notice (after I spent several hours adding mud to flatten it), but definitely noticeable when adding the trim. So I cut out a notch about a foot long so the trim would lay flat. I will have to do the same thing in the hallway where the wall is REALLY screwed up. The new drywall that was added was up to an inch out of alignment at the top from the original drywall and took many coats of mud to tapper it to look flat. When I go to add the new trim I will have to cut a notch in the original drywall so the trim will go on straight.
I feel for you!!
I feel for you!!
I feel for you!!
I feel for you!!
I feel for you!!
Good job. A measurement forgotten makes a video real & enjoyable when honestly shown.
I live up the coast a bit, and found lots of that old fir casing in the dump. Whenever possible, I’ve reclaimed it for use in projects. It’s gorgeous! Love old fir for building with. Thanks for the tips on trimming out the door jambs..I have this issue with the new windows I put into my old mobile home. I think this is the answer for me. :)
Looks good! When i have to do this i would add it to the backside of the door not the side to the main living space.
“Did I pick a straight one?”
🤣🤣🤣
Every single time I watch your videos I learn something.
How would you deal with a door jam that sticks out beyond the wall by 3/4"?
Cut down one side of the door jambs to the thickness u need.
Fasten the door and use an oscillating saw to cut it flush. Sand it before installing the door casing, and then caulk and paint everything.
Take it back and get one that fits lol. Build a custom door or cut it.
You would simply cut the same pieces that he did but you would install them behind the the trim where it meets the wall
Had the same question myself _ thumbs up for the answers
This is just what I needed. Renovating a house with 2x4 walls that have 3/4" asbestos as well with 3/4boards on top of that plus sheet rock. Never touching an asbestos house again. Sick of respirators!
It looks awesome. Is there a reason that you don't make the reveal flush with the door jam, and you stagger it in steps with the trim? Is it because the resulting larger jamb would resist looking like one solid piece, and would need to be caulked and wouldn't look perfect, vs. having nice staggered sharp edges?
Exactly this. Often the thought is "if you can't hide it, accent it"
Real world problems... everyone has them on just about every job....this is the part of the business that the fancy how to videos don't show... nicely done!
Every time you fire a nail, use a mitre saw or a table saw without ear protection you're damaging your hearing.
Imagine standing next to an airport and watching a 747 taxiing to the runway and then imagine what that sound is like 24 hours a day. It's called tinnitus and it can consume your life.
They actually use that as a sound effect in movies these days when someone is blown off their feet by an explosion. They muffle the sound and introduce a high pitched squeal to the sound track.
That's what I hear all day, every day.
Nice job. I like to hold the extension jamb and the casing on the same plane so there is only the one reveal. Especially when everything is painted because with a nice smoothed bead of quality paintable caulk everything appears seamless and the assembly seems to have no extension jamb just thicker casing. Good video though to show this method of installing an extension jamb.
Looks good.. I guess the best case scenario would be to have some 3/4 stock on hand, so you can cut strips a bit wider, and aren't trying to nail into a half inch jamb extension, well quarter inch to work with after moving in for the reveal.. not a whole lot of meat there.. but anyways looks like it worked fine.
I had a situation like this in my Renta property I just used about a 1 inch wide piece, made nailing it so much easier that the 1/4 you're describing
Thank you! Had carpenter install door trim....it's sitting flush with the drywall looking jacked. I was trying to figure out what to do to fix it and this solved the problem.
I'll typically just build my own jamb if they are not standard size. Unless there are multiple, then I'll have them made to size. I can't stand the double reveal.
I would also recommend putting some expanding foam in the gaps between the wall and the door frame.
You could have just put the trim on there and filled the 3/4 gap with Ramen
That's the real pro move
And you'd be a butcher
You look so happy lately 😊 whatever it is, it’s working well for you! Keep up the good work.
Nail gun in hand. Check. Flying nail warning check. Squints on head check. Sorry bud. Old habit since the boss pays the insurance on my jobs. That’s me. Try this to remember. Every time you pull a trigger be profoundly grateful for sight. Make Norm Abrams proud and echo his warning. Love your work sir. Appreciate it. Thank you.
I like that you have gone back a shorter how to video style for your channel. Keep the tips coming.
3/16” is the best reveal for standard casing...
Also if you want to make the extension jam even it would have to be wood to wood with no paint... then GLUE and nail... The glue should keep it from separating and causing cracks… A lot more work… Plus I think the extra reveal looks better
Attempting to make the jambs flush would be a silly waste of time and would fail anyway, no matter how hard you tried. Wood is constantly moving. This is why you want to create reveals.
These days I run a quick bead of water based construction adhesive and set the trim in with 23 gauge headless brads/pins. (after using a Bench-Dog casement trim guide to give me the nice 3/16 reveal) A quick dab of spackle in the brad holes, some caulking against the wall, and it's ready for paint.
@@KenHill he said even not flush. He isn't talking about not using a reveal here. Read his comment again.
@@KenHill I always leave a reveal because that's the fastest way to do it. But it's possible to make a flush jamb extension that looks good and doesn't crack and it's not even hard to do but it's time consuming so you have to charge more per foot. Solid wood flat panel doors are made from several pieces glued together flush and they don't fail and they look good and it's not hard just time consuming. That's how tables are made also and they don't fail either.
@@spdracr4life I read it again and have not changed my interpretation.
That's why I always measure the door opening and make my own jambs. I've never had to add jamb extensions and I can cut jamb to fit uneven walls.
Lol! “On the job I’m on it’s good enough!” Hope your clients weren’t watching!
Nice name, lol
Thanks You Tube Algie, I just came from my job with this exact situation... Thanks for listening!! And thanks Ben, too.
I would normally install the extension jamb flush with the existing jamb-eliminating the extra reveal
exactly, not so hard but i guess if you are a hack working in a pos apt you can do whatever you want!
@@paulkitchen5802 damnn
Good points with jamb extensions. When I get extremes, where it’s 3/8 up top and 3/4 on the bottom, and it’s paint grade, I’ll just go 3/4” and caulk the outside casing.
So, I do have this problem. You don't plane or route down the projecting differential (if you face nailed I guess they need extra countersinking), you just edge caulk the casing?
@@ericdillenberger7873
Also some shimming.
@@ericdillenberger7873 I use a little block plane and just plane away the little bit extra material wherever I need. Then the whole thing ends up flush. I do that for all my extension jambs. Usually that means windows since it's more common to need them with replacement windows.
@@kevlar1482 thanks! I got a set of grippers so I could accurately rip narrow pieces to more uniform thickness, but it is in and out along any given side. I might try CA glue so I don't worry too much about damaging the plane blade. I cannot express how frustrating it is to work on my house as it seems to have been built by beavers who didn't own any measuring tools, levels, or squares and loved them some beer.
Enjoy the carpentry. You should show more of it if you can. More variety would be nice. Taping and mudding are starting to look like reruns.
VC, thanks so much for this. Somehow the YT algorithm knew I needed to see this. I was thinking I would need to buy new casings for some reno work in my parents basement. Fortunately, this will save me from doing that; and also save them some money!
Now show us how to do a tapered one. I have a jamb that goes from almost 1/2” at the top down to nothing at the bottom.
I had a similar problem only my piece ran 1/2 down the door: 3/4 in. at top down to a point. I just marked that on a spare piece of board, cut it by hand with a 5 in. blade circular saw, then glued the wedge flush with the existing jamb. Then installed casing as usual. Then used wood putty to clean up any imperfections in my wedge piece.
Chalk your taper line, take the fence off your table saw, then rip it. Watch the line. Keep it straight.
With all respect, I won’t use a chalk line for finish work. It isn’t accurate. Sharp pencil for me. Particularly when dealing with expensive hardwoods. But yes free handing on the table saw.
free hand it with a table saw, or use a track saw or plywood sled with circ saw with fine finishing blade with a wider board. mark your cut and cut. Can hand plane any high spots after so better to be a bit big than too small.
Cutting a tapered jam extension is just as simple as cutting a regular jam extension with a track saw.
I like that there is a reveal and not just flat. This is how I’ll be doing it from now on.
Let's be honest if you ordered your door jambs instead of buying them pre-made you wouldn't have this problem
And let’s be honest you would be waiting 3 months more on those special order door jambs and doors. Got to think smart sometimes 🤔🤔
@@dezbigguns1072 no that's because you don't have a relationship with your local guy don't try to project that on me
I don't have to beat walls because I order my door jambs a hair bit wider than the walls
@@thecloneguyz 🤣🤣🤣. My dad owns the local yard. And if you say you’ve never had to do that Then you not a true trim carpenter
@@dezbigguns1072 I didn't say I've never had to do it I said once I owned a company I started ordering them wider so I didn't have to do it anymore
Your missing the point of the video, buying a new door/jamb isn't always an option.
Slidy marky thing is gangsta style !! I like that better . Keep up the great videos and thank you.
What do you do? Fire the dude who messed it up in the first place.
Older homes had thicker walls. The lath/plaster accounted for about an extra inch of overall all thickness, making older walls 5-1/2” versus 4-1/2” for most modern homes.
In old lathe and plaster homes, you want to use 5/8 drywall
@@markhoffman it’ll still be 3/8” short. Instead of the extra labor and cost for 5/8 drywall, sleepers are cheaper, faster and easier.
@@markhoffman
Regardless of thickness of wall, couldn’t the width of jamb be properly measured? Example of my thinking; if tha jam has a width of 3 inches and there’s an inch gap on both sides jamb, why wouldn’t the original installer use a 5 inch width jamb to accommodate the drywall size they used back then?
@@Woodworkinghobby79 Sometimes you can mess with the jambs because they are heritage homes and the wood is fir or something. Typically when you remove lather and plaster, 5/8th drywall works.
Question - When you put in the initial extension - why didn't you put the top one in first so that the two sides end up "holding it up" at the top corners - just like the other reveal is - at least for consistency's sake? (33 yr handyman here - Sonoma County wine country) To me, at least - it does give the illusion of more strength when the verticals end up securing the top from underneath. Just sayin! - Thanks for your GREAT VIDEOS! Learn something every time - especially about the art of sheetrock and mud etc.
You're doing it all wrong. Give me 3 buckets of DryDex, a scraper, and some whiteclaws, I'll show you how it's done.
Drydex? That’s getting fancy. I’d recommend pulling out the ramen noodles for this job
Total life saver in my old house. Installed prehung doors replacing the old ugly damaged doors and the wall is 5 1/2” thick and the prehung door jambs are about 4 1/2”. Borrowed a table saw and crisis averted! 😂
Impressive! Thanks a lot for your explanations. I'm just wondering if that gap is not even al around the jam. Ex, left leg is quarter inch and right leg a bit less or more or even one leg has different gap size. Thank you.
The design in the wood floor is beautiful!!!
My door shop, Windsor, will also custom cut the jambs to whatever thickness you need. So, typically when I’m doing this on site it’s because there is an out of plumb wall, so the fill strips need to be tapered. Been using new track saw for that, works great.
Great Job! I glue my jamb extensions to the casing and install it that way. Yes it does take a bit longer doing it that way, but it turns out super nice.
Wow, I'm glad I watch your videos. I have this exact same problem and didn't know how to handle it. Now I have a better idea of what to do.
That was a fairly wide build out. Most of the time, I encounter maybe 1/2” at most.
But it looked pretty good man! Keep that tool pouch on!
I was always told that using a reveal makes a carpenter look better than he actually is! 😆
When you butt joint the casing to those extensions, it creates an optical illusion to where it will NEVER look right. It won’t ever look even and the inconsistencies will pop out like a sore thumb!
Thanks, again, VanCarp! Your videos have been extremely helpful to me over the last few years. Hey, where's your hearing protection?.. I SAID, WHERE"S YOUR EAR PRO?
Yes -, my first room I butt jointed, not knowing. So disappointing I'll probably redo at sometime in future. The rest will be so much nicer - thx for your instruction.
Awesome! This was so helpful. Plus the added bonus of seeing those old classic Vancouver floor :)
Nice. Remodeling older homes always entails transitions like this, so jamb extensions are a routine fix. As you point out at the bottom left jamb, the gap there is greater than the rest of the existing jamb. Caulking is fine for small gaps, say up to 1/16 inch, but nothing is uglier than filling large gaps with caulk - because it LOOKS like caulk. To deal with varying gaps I devised a table saw sled to rip jamb extensions with varying thicknesses. E.g., ripping an 8 ft. extension that varies from 3/16 inch on one end to 1-1/16 inch on the other.
I hope your customer has a plan to replace that god-awful looking flat Lauan hollow door with a single panel door to match the existing doors.
My front door has this problem and I never knew exactly how to fix it! Now I'm itching to go do this very thing to it and make it look nice and above all, fix it the correct way.
So the spray and clear I guess glue is a new one for me ! It looks like it holds well you walked around the place ducking and turning with it lol good job
Been watching you for quite a while now. I enjoy your candor and humor. Slidy marky thingy, yeah that's what its called. LOL
This will be very helpful. I pulled off two door casings and need to build new ones. One of them doesn't have a top, and the frame is a bit high so I need to add material to lower it about 1 inch. What are standard measurements for insides of door frames? There won't be a door in this case, so nothing prehung to just stick in there. Thank you.