Replacing simple casings, doors, and baseboards will give your room fresh color and add decorative elements that will add to the home’s value and appeal.
A fresh coat of paint on the walls can go a long way to spruce up a room’s interior. And paint can emphasize architectural details such as doors, trim and baseboard.
But using paint to bring out such details can sometimes be like trying to turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse.
If your home has “builder’s basic” flush interior doors, simple casings and uninspiring baseboards, you might want to replace these items with more artistic ones. Doing so will give your room fresh color plus new decorative elements that will add to the home’s value and appeal. You can go even further by installing new decorative door hardware.
An interior door assembly consists of the door; the jamb (the frame that the hinges attach to); and the casings (the trim that conceals the gap between the jamb and the wall). The first step in the replacement process is to decide which elements you want to keep, if any, and which you want to replace.
If you are happy with the casings but want to replace the door, you need a “matchup” door – no frame, no casing. Such doors are available at home-supply centers and door companies.
When heading out to buy a door, take along the following information: the door’s measurements (width, height, thickness); which way the door swings; the location and size of the holes for the hardware (the diameter of the bore and the measurement to its center from the door’s strike edge and from the door’s top edge); and the quantity, size, style and finish of the hinges and their exact location.
Doors sold by home centers are usually “raw” and require you to make openings for the hardware and hinges. To do so you will need a whole saw, a spade bit, sharp wood chisels, and a router and mortise bit. The goal is to duplicate the old door so the new one will fit into the opening. If the opening is not square, some combination of adjusting the jamb, leveling the floor and shaving the new door may be necessary.
If you buy from a door company, the company’s employees can do the boring, mortising and hinge-installation for you. Some door companies want to see the old door to help configure an exact matchup – not a bad idea. Then all you have to do is slip the new door into the opening, line up the hinges and install the hinge pins. Once it’s up, all that’s left is painting the door and installing the hardware.
You might be happy with your door but want to replace the casing. There are typically six pieces of casing, three on each side of the door – a head (top) and two legs, one on each side of the jamb.
To remove the casing, use a sharp razor knife to score the joint between the casing and the jamb and the joint between the casing and the wall. Pry the casing off using a flat bar and hammer. A small block of wood placed behind the bar will help protect the wall. Clip or remove any remaining nails.
Install the new casing head piece first, then the legs, using four-penny finish nails to attach it to the jamb. Use a nail set to recess the nail head for putty. Caulk the joints where the casing meets the jamb and where it meets the wall, then paint. Casing is available precut with mitered ends or in random lengths that can be cut with a miter saw.
But you might want to go all the way and replace the entire door-jamb-casing assembly with a new pre-hung door.
Begin by removing the door hardware so it will not be damaged in case you want to reuse it. Next, remove the casings as described earlier. Use care when removing each of the elements so you don’t damage any finishes.
Once the casings have been removed from both sides of the door, use a reciprocating saw with a metal cutting blade to cut through the nails that fasten the door jamb to the framed opening. Remove the door and jamb from the opening, then close the door and tack it shut by driving a finish nail through the strike side of the jamb into the edge of the door near the top and bottom of the jamb. This will keep the door and jamb as one piece, making it easier to transport.
Prehung doors can be bought at a home center or door company. In either case, the supplier will need all the information discussed earlier regarding matchup doors, as well as the thickness of the jamb and whether you will be painting or staining the new door.
Installing a prehung door is an art. Your best bet might be to call in a pro. However, if you are up for the challenge, bone up on the subject and practice beforehand using one of your old doors.
For more information and tips visit James and Morris Carey at www.onthehouse.com.
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