Replacing worn trim is not a difficult task
Q. My house had beautiful wood window and door trim when we moved in. After six years with kids and dogs, they are badly scratched and worn. Do you have any tips for installing new trim myself?
A. Although door and window trim cover only a small percentage of the wall area in a room, it can have a tremendous impact upon the overall appearance and decor of a room. If the trim is scratched and worn, even a freshly painted room will not look up to its potential.
Most do-it-yourselfers should be able to remove the old trim and install new trim. With just some simple hand tools, you make it look like a professional installation. Plan on taking your time to be sure every piece fits together properly. There is no need to rush through the project and you should treat each window and door as a separate mini-project.
One reason your original trim may look bad is not just a result of wear and tear from children and pets. When some carpenters are in a hurry to finish the house, fitting the trim is one of the final tasks. Instead of carefully fitting all the pieces properly, they just fill any gaps with caulk and paint over it. As the caulk dries and shrinks over years, the trim starts to look bad.
There are quite a few different types of materials that can be used for trim. The newest materials are made of composites. These are excellent and durable, but you may find standard old wood trim is easier to work with for a beginner. Wood is easy to cut and sand to get that perfect fit.
Check your local home center or lumberyard to select a trim profile you like. Selecting a simple, relatively narrow profile is easier to work with and often looks more classy. When buying several pieces of trim, compare the profile edges for uniformity. There may be pieces from several different production runs and the profile thicknesses may vary slightly.
If the window or door jambs are flush with the wall, it is easy to make standard 45-degree cuts and the trim will fit together perfectly. More often, the jambs extend out from the wall so the trim will not lay flush against the wall. In this case, a 45-degree cut will result in a gap at the joints.
When the trim will be painted, this is not as much of a problem as when the trim will be stained. A thin shim strip can be placed underneath the trim against the wall to make it level. Cut the trim pieces at 45-degrees. Once the trim is painted, the shim cannot be seen.
The following method also works when the trim is stained. Cut the trim pieces at 45-degrees. Place them around the window or door and notice the size of the gap at the joints. Wear heavy work gloves and use a utility knife to carve away the back side of the trim until the front edges fit together.
Use finishing nails that are long enough to penetrate at least one inch into the lumber beneath the drywall. Don't try to hammer them flush. Use a nail set to drive the head below the wood surface and fill it with wood filler.
• Send questions to Ms. Builder, c/o Daily Herald, 6906 Royalgreen Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45244, or visit dulley.com/msbuilder.
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