We're getting ready to hang some door trim in our newly remodeled house, but a few of the doors are not flush with the drywall. The uneven space is probably about half an inch or so. How should we put the trim up so that it looks right? Do we shim it to make it even? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

Are you saying that the side of the door jam is not flush with the sheetrock by up to 1/2 inch? .....Thats a lot. Are you going to paint the jams or stain? If I was going to stain the door and it was in a highly visible place I would remove the jam and replace with a fresh piece of wood that was wide enough to bring the sheetrock flush. Just put the board in place and trace a line from the sheetrock side. Trim the board and attach. Then the trim will match up perfectly.

If I was painting, I would leave the jam in place and temporarly attach the shim with some brads, then trace a line from the sheetrock side, remove the shim, trim to size and attach. Either way, it is not a 10 minute job. If it is exaclty the same distance off for the entire length of the door, you could just rip a piece of wood and attach, but that doesn't happen very often.
Good Luck

 

Which way? Is the drywall higher than the jamb or is the jamb higher than the drywall?

 

If the drywall is proud of the jamb, is it reversed on the other side of the door?

 

Door framing sometimes ends up being too thick when the king stud and jack stud edges do not line up perfectly, causing a thicker stud which makes the drywall stand proud of the door jamb.

 

Did you remove old plaster walls and go back over the walls with just sheetrock?
If there 1/2" off from top to bottom somethings very wrong.
Are you hanging all new prehung doors? Are they split jams?