How should I deal with interior door jambs that are narrower than the wall?

Question

I have a room finished in painted 1/4" wood paneling with studs behind it. I want to replace that with drywall. My concern is that the door jamb and attached trim currently fit flush with the wood paneling. Attached is a photo of the existing door jamb and trim. My question is related to, but slightly different than this question. Solutions that I took from that post include:

1. extending the jamb. Would I pry off the trim where I have indicated in the attached photo,rip a piece of 1/4" wood to extend the jamb, and then remount the trim?

2. crush the drywall at the end and insert it under the door trim. Use caulk or mud as needed to make the drywall uniform where it is visible coming out at the end of the trim.

The second option sounds like the easiest and seems like it could end up looking good, but looking for guidance from those who have encountered this situation before. Should I do one of these or something completely different?

Answer 1

1/4" is quite a bit. I've done both, but extending the jamb is much preferable. That's because by shaving down the drywall you're required to tilt the casing, which affects your miters as well as the overall appearance. Your miter angles need to be compound to handle the tilt (and shorter than ~45 degrees as well). With the narrow casing and that much tilt it'll end up looking a bit like a cavity.

So, do this:

1. Lightly score the paint at the joints between the casing and the jamb and wall to prevent tearing.

2. Pry the casing off the wall from the outside. Don't scar up the inside. It'll show more there. Work from way down low if you can so any damage is hidden by base trim later. Use a putty knife, painters bar, or very small flat bar. Pull the nails through from the backside and clean up any splinters. Sand the backs a bit if you like, to clean up the edges.

3. Rip jamb extensions to a suitable depth. Usually, when you have some depth variation, shooting for the deeper dimension works best. If there's a large variation you'll want to try out some test pieces and see what you prefer.

4. When installing the extensions, don't set them flush with the inner jamb face. This would result in a groove due to the original jamb's rounded corner, and flush joints rarely come out perfect. Leave a small reveal on the edge, setting the extension slightly outside that rounded corner.

5. Reinstall the casing. By setting the extensions outboard of the original jambs you allow for re-mitering, which usually gives a better outcome.

6. If necessary, use a very small amount of painter's caulk to deal with any imperfections, then paint.

Answer 2

There is two ways of handling this and I have done both.

1 - Installing 1/2" drywall...

• take off trim. I would install a 1/4" wide strip onto the trim (wood glue) flush with the inside edge that covers about half of the width of the trim. Your drywall tucked behind the other half.

• demo the panels

• adjust electrical boxes

• install drywall

2 - Installing 1/4" drywall.

• butt 1/4" drywall next to the trim. Live with your trim not sticking out 1/4" more. The drywall install is easier because it is 1/4" and it is flat and the wood grabs screws.

• add extenders for outlet boxes.

#2 much easier, less demo, cost less, faster... And you say you wait I don't want my trim to be 1/4" less of a show... I argue that less people will notice that which is hardly noticeable, compared to a jam that has been altered (not replaced) which everyone entering room will notice.