Door trim question

[Peter Quinn]

No good reason for it other than door installer screwed up, wasn't careful, making up BS excuses now to avoid fixing the problem. If one floor is higher the jamb legs need trimming, door bottom gets cut, the tops of all the trim should be in one plane. My guess is either the installer didn't notice or was hoping you didn't notice. Have your GC have them fix it.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Talk with your general contractor. He's responsible for the outcome regardless if it's sub-contractors or contractor's fault. If you are acting as your own general contractor, it's time to take it up with the subcontractor or your finish carpenter.

[Greg R Bradley]

I'm assuming the door trim is installed by the same person that installed the doors. If the trim around the doors is installed by a different person then the problem goes back to the prehung door install.

The person that installs prehung doors goes through and makes sure the framing is acceptable and adjusts as necessary or gets the framers back if something is unacceptable. He then finds the lowest floor in a door opening since you can shorten jambs and doors but generally can't make them longer. Then the doors are installed.

This setting the top of doors also generally sets top of most windows.

The general is responsible for the end result as Ken stated.

[John TenEyck]

There are top notch trim carpenters and there also are hacks, just as in any other trade or profession. The guys that did the trim on a friends house did just an awful job. He and I are planing to someday rip it all out and put up custom oak trim from wood we mill from his property. I built a custom balustrade for his house. I didn't want to do the install because it was 45 miles one way. He said he'd have the trim carpenters install. After we saw their work, we both decided I would do the install. Their trim work makes my balustrade look like a million dollars.

The problem is jobs get competitively bid and someone, not sure if it's the GC or homeowner, or both, are more interested in managing the cost than assuring the quality requirement is communicated properly and enforced if it goes South. It's hard to imagine you would have to specify in the contract that door head jambs "shall all be in the same plane", but it would have eliminated any argument about what the requirement was.

John

[Jim Dwight]

Since you are going to have them adjusting things anyway, you may also want to check clearance under the door, especially in areas where you will want to put a rug. One of my tasks tomorrow is to trim a bathroom door in a condo we just bought because it has maybe 1/4 clearance to the tile bathroom floor. I will check one I trimmed in our house but I'm thinking this needs to be at least 3/4 inch. Not a huge job but it is also something you shouldn't have to do yourself.

[scott vroom]

As others have said, door install was sloppy. But if push gets to shove and the doors aren't reinstalled then you'd want to split the difference on the reveal between the 2 adjacent doors. The trim guy suggesting he'd correct only 1 door by 1/4" speaks volumes for his low quality standard and indifference to customer satisfaction. Are you generaling the job? If not, I'd stop talking to that hack and demand the GC get it fixed...that's his job.

[roger wiegand]

As pointed out below, this won't work. Don't know what I was thinking. -------------------------------
To fix this I'd probably add a 1/4" board to the head of the door frame to make the opening the same height as the other door. The joint should just be covered by the casing giving you the same final height and reveal.

Yeah, the carpenter should have done better, but re-installing would be fairly painful.

In the old part of our house the doors differed by 1-3" in height-- I just gave up on uniformity when I trimmed them and chalked it up to the charm of old house living. 1/4" might have bothered me enough to do something about it.

[scott vroom]

To fix this I'd probably add a 1/4" board to the head of the door frame to make the opening the same height as the other door. The joint should just be covered by the casing giving you the same final height and reveal.

Maybe because it's late and I'm tired, but I can't get my head around how that would fix the problem. It sounds like adjacent two pre-hung doors were installed at different heights, creating a situation where the top casings, if each installed with a 1/4" reveal, are not coplanar. I am not grasping how adding a 1/4" board to the top of one head (you didn't mention which one) would fix the reveal problem.

But then like I said it's been a hellacious long day and my brain is fuzzy(ier than usual).

[roger wiegand]

No, I think it was my brain that was fried. This morning I don't see how what I said would work. Sorry about that.

Maybe because it's late and I'm tired, but I can't get my head around how that would fix the problem. It sounds like adjacent two pre-hung doors were installed at different heights, creating a situation where the top casings, if each installed with a 1/4" reveal, are not coplanar. I am not grasping how adding a 1/4" board to the top of one head (you didn't mention which one) would fix the reveal problem.

But then like I said it's been a hellacious long day and my brain is fuzzy(ier than usual).

[john lawson]

I had this problem in a house I had built. I did the trim and the doors were uneven. I raised the trim to the highest door and then leveled all of them. Unless you want to rip them all out this is the way to deal with it.

You wont see the difference in the reveal when it's painted.

[Jason Roehl]

I had this problem in a house I had built. I did the trim and the doors were uneven. I raised the trim to the highest door and then leveled all of them. Unless you want to rip them all out this is the way to deal with it.

You wont see the difference in the reveal when it's painted.

I've painted thousands of doors and jambs. I would absolutely see the difference in reveal.

[George Bokros]

I've painted thousands of doors and jambs. I would absolutely see the difference in reveal.

I agree, it will noticeable and IMHO UNACCEPTABLE.

[john lawson]

I've painted thousands of doors and jambs. I would absolutely see the difference in reveal.

Sorry, I was referring to normal people, not people who have painted "thousands"

[Jason Roehl]

Sorry, I was referring to normal people, not people who have painted "thousands"

And yet, rank amateur painters (homeowners--"normal people") still nit-pick my work, often inversely proportionally to the amount they're paying, but directly proportional to the value of the structure.

[Bob Grier]

I agree with some others here. Doors and windows should be level at top. This is a given with good builders and craftsmen. Doesn't matter what class home is being built. This is just like studs being plumb (or shimmed plumb) before installing drywall. It is just good construction technique and standard for builders I have worked with.

I do not like listening to excuses and don't like doing business with people who make excuses. Not worth the hassle. Sounds like a builder who would like to save a couple hours labor by not spending time plumbing walls or checking level at top of a few windows and doors. Like said earlier by others, only have to do windows and doors in same view. Does not take more than a few minutes to do it right.

Reset one of the doors. This will take more time than doing it right to begin with but should be easy enough to do. Compromise makes it harder for the next person who has to deal with the person responsible for installing the doors. If you have to compromise, I agree with others that setting the trim to split the reveal would probably be best.