Window trim help

[Jerry Bruette]

Here's the back story. My BIL passed away last Oct. and my SIL is looking to sell the house and downsize.

There's 5 windows that need to be firred out and trimmed. I offered to do the work for free. Here's the rub some of the windows are pretty far out of square/parallel with the wall. That means that the width of some of the firring strips are tapered as much as 3/8 of an inch. I have some ideas on how to handle them but was wondering how any of the more knowledgeable members here would handle it.

I'd like to build what I call a box from 1x4's and slide them in the opening then shim and nail in place. Like I said some of the pieces would be tapered anywhere from 1/8 of an inch to 3/8 of an inch. Would building the box then marking and cutting to fit work or should each piece be cut at an angle then assembled and installed?

[Bradley Gray]

Is the trim to be painted? This would make the trim easier as caulking could help. I would cut the tapers and assemble the casing and the tapers. I have used finish nails in the frame, cut off the heads and pressed the assembly home.

[Jerry Bruette]

Is the trim to be painted? This would make the trim easier as caulking could help. I would cut the tapers and assemble the casing and the tapers. I have used finish nails in the frame, cut off the heads and pressed the assembly home.

Yes the trim will be painted.

[stephen thomas]

If the recess is deep, i do what you describe - build boxes and screw on with trim screws. If the stool is already built out, you can just use individual pieces.
If the stool(/sill) is not in place, you can decide how to handle that detail. Sometimes for modern windows, just picture-framing the whole thing is effective, as opposed to including a sill.

I seldom nail anything like that anymore.
Screws pull tight, and make it easy to "change your mind"
In the type work you mention, you can screw the frame on with 2 or 3 screws, scribe it, and remove to saw with a skilsaw or jigsaw.

Stay off the line - leave 1/8" for clean up.
Even if the wall has dips in it, the face edge of the box has to be nearly straight from point-to-point so the face trim fits easily. For the same reason, don't make the box edge too low, then you have to rabbet out the back of the face trim to get it to lay flat. :eek:

Then fasten it in securely, driving the trim screws below flush.
Use a #6 or #7 Stanley to take the frame on down to flush with the wall, and smooth/straight for the face trim.

smt

[John Pendery]

The quick and dirty method I used for painted jamb extensions back when I was trimming lots of houses was to measure for the jamb extension at all corners, cut to length and tapers and assemble as a unit as you describe. I’ve seen a lot worse than 3/8 out, so shouldn’t be too tough. Will these be trimmed out like a picture frame, or with a stool/apron detail?

[Tom M King]

Five won't be bad. I bought a lake house to flip that had not been trimmed out on the inside and not a single window was installed so it needed parallel jamb extensions. I can tell you my method, which really wasn't too bad time wise, but first I need to see what you have to work with. Can you post pictures of what you have to work with? Otherwise it makes no sense to speculate how it needs to be done.

I think I have my method down in a series of pictures. If it applies, I'll see if I can find them and post them here.

[Jerry Bruette]

The windows will be trimmed like a picture frame. I've done that before and it wasn't hard to do. I had planned on using trim screws to assemble the boxes and shim them level/plumb to the window. I can post some pictures later today.

[Terry Therneau]

I did this at my son's house with some new windows, purchased from a building oversupply place so the jamb wasn't quite deep enough. We used woodworking super glue to connect new to old --- "slick as snot" as my siblings used to say. Left them 1/4 long and ran over it with a power planer. If my #6 had been sharp that would have been even easier.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I would fit and scribe each of the 4 jamb extensions prior to assembling them into a box. I take a cheap Ryobi table saw to trim jobs and make those cuts freehand then clean them up with a block plane. If freehand on the table saw is against your better judgment, you can cut to your widest width and taper down with a block plane or power plane. A block plane for trim is handy because one hand can be the bench and vice while the other hand operates the plane.

[Jerry Bruette]

Here's some pictures of the windows. I got the casings cut to length today and tomorrow I'll tackle the angles. As long as I get the angles right the job should go okay.

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[Maurice Mcmurry]

I hold the jamb extensions in place and slide a long bevel carpenters pencil right down the drywall. Best wishes to the family and sorry for your loss.

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[Kevin Jenness]

The quick and dirty method I used for painted jamb extensions back when I was trimming lots of houses was to measure for the jamb extension at all corners, cut to length and tapers and assemble as a unit as you describe. I’ve seen a lot worse than 3/8 out, so shouldn’t be too tough. Will these be trimmed out like a picture frame, or with a stool/apron detail?

That is how I have done it. I have trimmed out windows in two houses with thick (8" and 12") deep walls where the solid wood extension jambs and sill are built as a unit and joined to the window frames with loose biscuits for alignment and the casings have a 1/4" dado on the back to span any drywall weebles. The tapers were cut on a sliding table saw. If the window units need to be replaced in future the dry joints will make things easier as well as allowing for seasonal movement in the wide extension jambs.

[Ron Citerone]

I did a bunch of this on the cottage renovation. The way I did the tapered cuts was use a table saw and block plane.

Cut the strip to the width of the widest dimension. Then measure the opening 1/3 of the way up set table saw fence to that width and so a stop cut 2/3 of the way. Measure 1/3 from the narrow end set the fence to that width and do another stop cut to the 1/3 point. Easy peasy block planing now compared to planing the whole taper IMO. The first couple seemed tricky but after a few it becomes pretty straight forward.

[Tom M King]

I couldn't find the pictures.

I cut a Lot of different spacer blocks, first by running pieces through the table saw with very little differences in thicknesses by bumping the fence a hair. Those strips were cut to length to fit against the framing to come flush to the back of the window jamb by eye. They were kept in separate little boxes with numbers rather than thickness marked on them. This was done in 2012 and those boxes of spacers have been used quite a number of times since then.

Spacers were all put in place on all four sides of window openings.

The narrowest measurement was found for the jamb extensions. Parts were all run to that measurement.

I didn't preassemble. Also, I always use window stools and skirts, so the window stools were all installed to fit using a jointer.

Next step was to put the head jamb extensions in. Once those were in, the side jamb extensions were installed to a slide fit between the head jamb extension and the stool. Cut one to fit and it it didn't fit perfectly, there were plenty of other places that it would fit perfectly. All the extensions were just installed with pneumatic finish nails. I put an ever so slight taper on jamb extensions (and new jambs made) and set the extensions with a straight edge on the wall to hit right where the casing will hit the jamb extension with a very small reveal.

Once all the jamb extensions were in place, the various spaces were just covered by stops. Casing installed normally.

These were all casement windows. Windows were opened and with a fan sitting in any room door pressurizing the open windows, wall drape thin plastic was place over the windows and each closed. The air pressure made the drape fit tightly. Once all the windows were so draped, I sprayed it all with an airless sprayer.

That job was done in a day with my two helpers. From that job, I still have a box of boxes with hundreds of numbered shims in it, that is probably a lifetime supply.

It's the house in these pictures.