That old wooden door frame I fixed last month reminded me of how much has changed

I was working on a 1920s house in Portland last month, replacing a rotted door frame. Thirty years ago when I started, we'd just cut a new piece of pine and plane it down to match by hand. Took all afternoon. Now I can order a custom composite jamb online and have it here in two days, perfect fit. The older guys I learned from would probably call me lazy, but honestly, I've got three jobs lined up this week and no time to waste. Anyone else feel like the trade's gotten faster but lost some of the craft?

3 comments

3 Comments

bailey.jennifer18d ago

Wait, isn't a 1920s house a little early for pre-built composite jambs? I thought that stuff didn't really show up until the late 60s or 70s.

brooke_jones18d ago

Totally, @bailey.jennifer, you're kinda right about the timing - I didn't explain that super well. A lot of the 1920s houses around here have had some janky half-fixes over the years, so that last replacement was actually a 90s-era composite someone shoved in there.

brooke_taylor4418d ago

Wait, isn't a custom composite jamb actually way harder to fit right than cutting your own pine? I've seen guys spend more time shimming and tweaking those pre-made units than they would have just building it from scratch.