Question for you finish carpenters out there

[Ray McGrath]

How do you handle applying casing when the drywall stand proud of the window casing by 1/4" or so.

Ray

[Maurice Ungaro]

You have to fur it out.

I make all my window casings & trim as a complete unit, and just slip them into the opening.

[Conrad Fiore]

Ray,
Glue strips to the window jambs to extend them just beyond the drywall on all sides. When the glue is dry and the strips set, take a block plane and plane down even with the drywall. Trim up your windows and you're done.

[Michael N Taylor]

I have taken a hammer and beat the edge of the dry wall from the window to about 2" from the edge and the trim will fit just fine if it is just a 1/4" proud to start with, anymore and the trime will not fit at the miters.

[John Callahan]

What Conrad said .................... add extension jambs and plane to size. One thing to watch out for is wood species/grain if you're using stain (especially a lighter color) for a finish- a mismatch can stick out like a sore thumb. With paint it's not an issue. A bit after the fact but with some manufacturers such as Anderson you can spec wider jambs from the factory ................saves a bit of work.

[Rob Hermann]

Well, I just did this, Not saying I'm proud of it but hey, it works and no one will know but me. I put the casing where it goes and marked the drywall with a pencil at the outside edge. Then I took my drywall knife and proceeded to cut, ok butcher, the drywall down to the casing and across to about 1/4 of my line. The casing then lays pretty nice and all you have to do is adjust your miter angle to compensate for the angle on the casing. Honestly, mine looks great and you wouldn't know the one corner was a full 1/2 out.

[Chris Friesen]

You can beat it into submission, but a surform tool (like a rasp/plane cross) will knock down the drywall even with the window frame much more neatly and without damaging the drywall as much in the process.

[bill mullin]

If they are a consistent 1/4", or whatever, I would just rip some extensions. If they vary to where I have to rip tapers, I would probably mark the drywall and beat it down. But, 1/4" is quite a bit, and it will "rock" the outside of the casing out, and you will need a dual bevel saw to accurately cut the miters, especially if the casing is thick and wide.

[Karl Brogger]

I have taken a hammer and beat the edge of the dry wall from the window to about 2" from the edge and the trim will fit just fine if it is just a 1/4" proud to start with, anymore and the trime will not fit at the miters.


That's how I've done it. Smash the rock out of the way.



One of the very few techniques I've seen on This Old House that was actually worth much was one where the extension jamb had a slot cut into it and was actually planned to stick out past the wall. The casing also has a slot so the extension jamb could go into the casing. Any variations were eaten up by an unseen gap. Talk about making life easy. If I ever get around to finishing my basement I'm going to make all the jamb extensions, and window jambs this way. Rarely does everything come out prefectly.

[scott vroom]

+1 for furring out the jambs with 1/4" strips. If painting, use any species; if staining then use matching species.

[chuck morrison]

i do it the same way as bill i use a dual bevel slider if the rock is proud 1/4 i face cut the casing about 3 deg and cut miter at around 44 and1/2. there is another way tocut it by cutting it like you would crown by shimming it up on the outside edge and cutting on a 45 deg this can be done on a regular miter saw.

[Glen Butler]

Well, I just did this, Not saying I'm proud of it but hey, it works and no one will know but me. I put the casing where it goes and marked the drywall with a pencil at the outside edge. Then I took my drywall knife and proceeded to cut, ok butcher, the drywall down to the casing and across to about 1/4 of my line. The casing then lays pretty nice and all you have to do is adjust your miter angle to compensate for the angle on the casing. Honestly, mine looks great and you wouldn't know the one corner was a full 1/2 out.

Thats how we do it where I am from. Well pretty much, but as Michael Taylor said, beat it with a hammer. Score the paper with your knife almost as far out as the casing is, then beat it.

[Ray McGrath]

Thanks for all your replies.
The offset is not consistent around the perimeter, I'm not going to be proud of it, however, I believe I'm going to go with the butcher and adjust the miter plan. As was stated I'll be the only one (except for everyone that reads this) that knows.

Thanks
Ray

[Michael Helms]

I use the method Rob and others describe (use a knife or other tool to cut a slope in the proud portions of the drywall from the plane of the wall down toward edge of the jamb). I used a block plane and light belt-sander for the same purpose in a home with cedar T+G walls.

I generally find making the necessary adjustments to the resulting compound miter cuts easier if I cut one end of each of the second and third casing pieces at a time: cut the initial vertical piece to length (maybe with an estimated compensated compound cut at the miter), nail the top end to the wall/jamb, then cut your opposite estimated compound cut on the end of the head case which joins the vertical, but leave the piece long since you'll probably need to re-cut your miter because your initial cut likely won't fit perfectly. Leave the final (second) corner cut on the head case until the first end is cut to fit tightly, and then cut it to length and fasten the first end with it's mate leaving the next end floating. Repeat the process for the final vertical case (you'll also need to cut this vertical piece slightly taller than it should be to permit re-cutting if the fit isn't right if you want to avoid having the bottom floating off the floor). Initially I usually leave the second end of each case piece "floating" till the cut on the successive piece is finalized - this gives some leeway for getting the joints tight and the second vertical tight to the floor. Also, in the event of a seriously bad cut or other problem, with only two or three nails/brads in the casing, you can get a badly cut piece off the wall easily. After the corners are tight and nailed to your satisfaction, you can nail off the rest of the casing lengths.

The process may require a lot of trips to the miter saw, but results in tighter joints for me.