Installing Interior Door Molding
Choosing Interior Door Molding
Trim
Introduction:
If you are a DIY homebuilder
you will eventually get to the finishing touches
such as installing all the trim such as window,
baseboard and interior doors trim. The entire look
of the house changes as you complete these interior
finish tasks. Installing interior door trim is not
a difficult task but it does require a lot of
attention to the details if you want a professional
looking finished job.
For a professional look you
must make accurate measurements and make clean saw
cuts. A good quality tape measure and a miter saw
are an absolute must to make accurate cuts when
installing interior door molding.
Interior trim molding is the
finished board used to cover the space between the
door rough opening and the finished wall. It is
available in many different interior door molding
styles to match the door design.
The interior door trim molding
gives the doors and doorways a finished look in the
same way as baseboard and window molding. There are
many different styles of interior door trim molding
but they all come in three different types of wood.
Door molding is usually made
of solid wood and is very easy to install. The
molding is usually nailed in place using a finished
nail gun. Although it can be glued to the wall or
installed with screws, nailing it is the preferred
way and gives it a good finished appearance.
When buying door molding there
are three basic types to choose from;
1.
The first type of
door trim is either pine or oak wood which comes in
one-piece solid lengths.
2.
The second type is
the finger jointed wood. It is approximately 30%
cheaper than solid oak and pine wood.
3. The third type is
the medium density fiberboard or MDF fiber board
molding.
The first type is the most
attractive. It can be stained or have a painted
finish. But this solid wood one-piece molding is
expensive. The second type is basically made up by
finely putting together pieces and scraps of wood
and the end product is a solid piece although on
close inspection the finger joints are visible. It
is less expensive than the solid wood trim and can
be painted although it is not as attractive as the
solid board trim especially when stained.
The third type is a medium
density fiberboard. It’s very inexpensive. This
type of door trim is made from sawdust and other
wood by-products. It takes paint very well but it
does not hold up well in harsh conditions and
deteriorates when it gets wet.
I recommend using the solid
type or the finger joint type door trim. It looks
the best and holds up well under all conditions.
The standard window trim is 2 ½ inches in width and
can be purchased in lengths up to sixteen feet
long. For a more elegant window trim a wider board
can be used.
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