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June 11, 2013

New Doorways Say HELLO!


 
Our doorways said nothing.
Not even hello.  Or goodbye.
 
We wanted them to say something, anything really.
 
So when changing out the trim in our home, we decided
the doorways also needed a little change.

The doorways in our home were sheet rock only.
No pretty wood.
No pretty molding.
Nothing that spoke of originality.

They were painted, and that was about it.
 
 

To bring more character into our house,
we added big molding around the doors.

What we used:
4 - 1x4x7 MDF
2 - 1x4x5 MDF
2 - 1x6x7 MDF
4 - 1x2x5 Primed Pine
Nails

Tools you need:
Miter Saw (or chop saw)
Tape Measure
Pencils - preferably a dozen; you'll use one, 
set it down, forget where you put it,
look for another one, use it, set that one down, 
forget there is one behind your ear,
forget one near the saw,
forget the one by the door,
...you are starting to get the idea.

First we measured the top of the inside of the doorway.
I then cut a 1x6 to fit the top.
Once the top was nalied in place, I measured 
and cut 1x6s for the sides of the door frame. 



The outside frame of the door was framed with 1x4.
Each piece was measured even with the top height of the 1x6.
Confusing right?
I circled below what I mean.



The top of the door way was framed by a 1x4 and 2 - 1x2s.
The 1x4 is cut to align with the far side of the 
1x4s framing the sides of the doorway.


Each 1x2 is 1 inch longer than the 1x4 on both sides.
The bottom 1x2 is nailed into place,
followed with the 1x4 and capped with the last 1x2.  
Each lining up with the other.

 
Here is a visual to give you an idea of what was done.




My next steps were filling in the nail holes and using caulk to fill in the gaps.
 
Caulk is a miracle worker and covers a multitude of imperfections.
Caulk will not, however, cover up the imperfection
of dirty clothes you notice your kids are wearing
as you head out the door to go to church.
Caulk can't do that.

The final step is one last coat of paint.

TA DA!
 

 
 A touch of character to a previously boring doorway!
 


 


Seeing them side by side shows what a big difference a little trim can do
to the look of a room. 

Wow.