Casing Question


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Old 01-30-08, 08:09 AM
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Casing Question

I am installing trim on new drywall install and have a couple of basic questions...

1. When installing casing, about how many places should I nail a vertical piece? How many nails through the jamb and how many through the stud?

2. My prehung door is not flush with the drywall in certain areas, but particularly near the casing miter at the top of the door frame. It's not a lot and I have shaved the drywall a little. Is there anything else I can do to make things fit better?

3. I lost my owner's manual to my Bostitch finish nailer (air compressor) and don't know how to set the depth. Anyone know where the adjustment is?

Thanks
 
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Old 01-30-08, 08:53 AM
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1). You don't want to put any more nail holes in trim than you have to. But the trim should not move, either. I usually pin the casing to the jamb with 18 ga brad nails every 10-12" or so. And I use a 15 ga finish nail every 16" or so to nail the casing to the stud. The length of the finish gun you're using is a good guide for the approximate distance between nails.

2). When the jamb is recessed behind the drywall, it actually changes the angle of the miter, making it a compound miter. Rather than changing your miter and bevel angles on your saw, the easiest thing to do is to put a shim under the casing as you cut it. If your drywall sticks out 1/4", you would want to make a pie-shaped wedge that is 1/4" thick on one end, and comes to a point on the other end. The shim would be as long as your casing is wide. Lay the shim on your miter saw with the fat end back against the fence, and lay your casing on top of the shim with the outside edge against the fence. Then cut your 45. You'd do the exact same thing with your side piece. If the shim is the right thickness, your two pieces should meet closely. I'm very picky about my miters so I'll use that as a starting point and will continue to fudge the angle and bevel a little until it's perfect. Once you like it, glue and toenail the miters with a pin or brad nailer.

3). Not sure which model you have, but mine has a wheel along the right side of the nose (mine is hidden under a hinged wing) that you turn. It's about 1 1/2" above the nose bumper.
 
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Old 01-30-08, 02:11 PM
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Thanks for the tip on mitering the corners etc. I will use it. My primary question though is:

Where the drywall extends about 1/4 inch or so beyond the jamb, which do I make my casing flush with? I first nailed it flush to the jamb with about 5 nails down the jamb, then started nailing a few on the studs (with my air finish nailer) and it pulled the casing away from the jamb and created a gap between the casing and jamb. I have since eased the drywall edge a little to make the transition more smooth, but not sure if it is going to help. I have also since reduced the depth of the nail on the nail gun b/c I think it was just pulling the nail in the jamb through the casing when I nailed into the stud.

I guess I would like to keep the casing flush with the jamb and just caulk in the gap between the drywall and casing. How do I keep the casing from pulling away from the jamb when I nail into the stud?

Thanks
 
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Old 01-30-08, 02:19 PM
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What you need to do is remove more of that excess drywall... "easing the edge", as you put it. Usually carpenters will pound that drywall down with a hammer until it crumbles away to nothing. A neater way of doing it is to cut the drywall paper about 1" away from the door jamb (this cut line will be covered by the casing), then chisel or scrape off the excess drywall with a paint scraper. You want to create a taper so that the casing will lay flat on the jamb AND the wall so that it doesn't want to "rock" on the corner of the drywall, and does not need to be caulked on either side. Once you remove the excess drywall, the casing will still be tipped, but it will lay flat, won't rock, and won't pull away when you nail it.
 
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Old 01-30-08, 03:11 PM
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Thanks, I get it now
 
 

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