Those of us that live in older houses know that they come with lots of character and personality. Most of the time it’s pretty charming, but every now and again we realize our walls aren’t quite straight, something isn’t level or things are just plain odd.
How many times have you tried to make something perfectly level, only to find that nothing else in your house is level?
If you are buying a new door and want to update the trim, what do you do if the wall isn’t even? When it comes to installing door trim on an uneven wall, we have a really simple fix.
Door trim’s job is to frame a door on three sides. It covers the gap between the door casing and the wall, creating a neat look. However, if the wall is uneven, the trim may not lay flush with the door casing.
The door frame should extend ½ inch beyond the stud frame to make space for ½ wide drywall. If the door frame protrudes further than this, the trim can’t evenly rest on both the doorframe and the drywall.
If you find yourself in this situation, follow our easy step by step guide to installing door trim on an uneven wall.
Gather
Equipment / Tools
- Drill and driver bits
- Nail gun
- Flat pry bar
- Rag
- Utility knife
- Hammer
- Five-In-One tool
- Paintbrush
Materials
- Drywall screws, 1 5/8-inch
- Painter’s caulk
- Paint
Guide
1 Remove the Door Trim
You can skip this step if this is a new installation.
Using the pry bar, delicately pull the door trim from the door casing. Use the towel between the prybar and the wall to prevent damage. By simply pushing down on the prybar, the trim should pop right off.
2 Securing the Drywall
Occasionally, the drywall underneath the door trim will actually come apart from the stud. This can happen when the drywall screws come through the drywall. If your drywall has come loose, leaving a gap between the drywall and the stud, install a few drywall screws into the stud to re-secure it. Otherwise, move onto the next step!
3 Cutting the Drywall Paper
Time to bust out the five-in-one tool! Using the trim as your guide, slice the drywall paper on the outer edge. Make sure it is straight before you cut it by checking it with a level. You may have to cut into the gypsum core later, but try your best not to cut into it for now.
4 Test the Depth
Now it’s time to cut the drywall paper on the door side. Check your depth by placing the trim on top of your new edge. If you’re lucky, removing just a thin layer of paper is enough to bring to trim back into alignment with the door casing. You can skip to step 8. If it STILL isn’t even, carry on to the next steps.
5 Checking for Screws
Check if there are any screws or nails between the door casing and the cut you just made. If there are any present, remove them now.
6 Removing Gypsum Core
Using your hammer, tap the drywall on the door side. You want to partially shatter the drywall in the problematic area. Scrape away the gypsum, taking care to keep the depth equal. Remove just ¼” inch at a time and continually check the depth by placing the trim over the area you are excavating.
7 Replace Screws
If you had to remove drywall screws in step 5, you will need to replace them to secure the drywall to the stud. Make sure you put them in a new place, as the same spot won’t hold.
8 Install the Door Trim
Hold the trim up to the wall and make sure it looks flush. Using a nailer, nail the trim into place. It should rest within the niche you just made within the drywall.
9 Finishing Touch
Apply a bit of painter’s caulk to the cut side of the door trim to cover up any ragged edges. Once the caulk has dried, paint the trim and wall a color of your choosing!
