AMN Construction · Finish carpentry · Door and window casing

Door and window casing, with even reveals.

Casing is the trim that frames a door or window and covers the gap between its frame and the wall. We remove the old, fit the new with even margins and tight corners, and leave it ready for paint.

Email photographs and measurements 805 886 0988

In short

Casing hides the joint between the frame and the wall, and sets the style of the room.
The small, even step where casing meets the frame is called the reveal. It is where good work shows.
Casing and baseboard meet at every door, so choose them together.

Door casingThe trim around the opening. It hides the gap between the door frame and the wall.
Window casingThe trim around a window. Its width and profile should agree with the door casing.
Stool and apronThe inside sill, and the trim piece beneath it.

A room in elevation: the casing around a door and a window, and the stool and apron beneath the glass.

Step by step

How a coped corner is cut, frame by frame.

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How a coped corner is cut

Run the first piece inThe first length is cut square and pushed tight into the corner.
Miter the second pieceThe second length gets a 45° cut. The cut edge shows the outline of the molding.
Cope to the lineA coping saw follows that outline, back-cutting slightly, so only the face of the molding remains.
Fit the jointThe coped end overlaps the face of the first piece. Wood shrinks in dry weather. A miter opens; a cope stays closed.

Built by Tom. Fifty years of custom cabinets and finish carpentry, from Oregon and Hawaii to Malibu, Pacific Palisades and Westlake Village, and now from Goleta to Carpinteria. Meet the carpenter

What we do

What is included.

Removing old casing without damaging the wall or the door or window frame.
New casing in solid wood or MDF (a smooth, stable board made for paint), in the profile you choose.
Mitered corners, or a butted head: a flat top piece that the side pieces run up into.
Window stools and aprons: the inside sill you set things on, and the trim piece beneath it.
Extension jambs where the window frame sits back from the face of a thick wall.
Matching an older profile, milled in our small boutique shop in Carpinteria when no stock profile fits.

How it goes

Step 1
You email photographs of the doors and windows, a rough count, and a sample or picture of any profile you like.
Step 2
We look at the openings on site and check whether the frames sit flush with the wall.
Step 3
Material is delivered and left in the house to adjust to its air before it is cut.
Step 4
Each opening is cased in turn: frames are trued up, reveals marked, and pieces cut, glued and nailed.
Step 5
Nail holes are filled and edges caulked, ready for the painter.

Yours to decide

Decide these first.

Mitered or butted head. Miters wrap the opening like a picture frame. A butted head, often with a small cap, suits older and Craftsman houses and hides wood movement better.
Width and thickness. Wider casing suits taller ceilings and larger rooms. It should be thicker than the baseboard so the baseboard can stop against it cleanly.
Material. MDF paints smoothly and costs less. Solid wood resists knocks and damp better, and is the choice for stain.
Windows: a stool and apron, or casing on all four sides. A stool gives a ledge and a traditional look. Four-sided casing is simpler and more modern.
Whether every opening in the house changes, or only one room. Mixed profiles show at the doorway between rooms.

How to tell good work

The reveal is the same width down both sides and across the top of every opening.
Miters that close tight on the face and at the outer edge, with no filler making up a gap.
Casing that lies flat against both the frame and the wall, not rocking on a bump in the drywall.
Stools that sit level, with the ends, called horns, the same length on both sides.
Baseboard that meets the casing cleanly, without sticking out past it.

What moves the price

The number of openings, and how many are windows with stools and aprons, which take longer than doors.
Material and profile: stock MDF costs least, a custom-milled match in solid wood the most.
The walls. Frames that sit proud of the drywall, or behind it, need planing or extension pieces first.
Paint or stain. Stained casing shows every joint, so it takes better stock and more time.

Prices vary with the materials and the hours a job takes. Each job is custom and unique, so we price it once we have seen the room.

Questions

Door and window casing: what owners ask.

What is the difference between casing and trim?

Casing is one kind of trim. Trim is the general word for all the molding in a house: baseboard, crown, chair rail and casing. Casing is the part that frames doors and windows and covers the gap between their frames and the wall.

What is a reveal on door casing?

The reveal is the narrow strip of door frame left showing between the edge of the frame and the casing. It is set back on purpose, usually about the thickness of a pencil line or two, so small variations do not show. An even reveal is the mark of careful work.

Should door casing be thicker than baseboard?

Yes, in most houses. The baseboard runs along the wall and stops against the side of the casing. If the casing is thinner, the end of the baseboard sticks out past it and has to be cut back at an angle, which looks like a patch.

Can you match the casing in an older Santa Barbara house?

Usually, yes. Many older profiles are no longer sold off the shelf. We take a short sample or a tracing and have the profile milled to match in our small boutique shop in Carpinteria, so new openings and repairs agree with the rest of the house.

Where we do this

Built in our small boutique shop in Carpinteria where the piece is custom, and fitted on site in:

Carpinteria Summerland Montecito Santa Barbara Hope Ranch Goleta

All finish carpentry · see the projects

Inquiries

Have a room in mind? Send us the photographs.

Email photographs of the room and rough measurements to purchasing@amnbuild.com. Matt reads it himself. No forms.

Email Matt the photographs Or call Matt · 805 886 0988