I finally measured my door gaps before painting trim

Spent 3 hours caulking and painting last weekend. Looked great. Then I measured. Almost 1/4 inch gap on the bottom of the door jamb. Never even thought to check before. Now I gotta sand and redo it. Who else forgets the simple stuff before painting?

3 comments

3 Comments

anthony7634d ago

My dad's a trim carpenter and he always told me to measure the gaps with a feeler gauge before even thinking about caulk. 1/4 inch is too much for normal caulk to handle, you'd need backer rod or something. I painted my door trim last month and the gap at the top was 1/8 inch but the bottom was pushing 3/8. Had to shim the whole jamb because the floor was uneven. Spent more time fixing the gap than painting. Now I measure everything with a set of those cheap automotive feeler gauges from the auto parts store. They're way more accurate than eyeballing it.

josephbailey4d ago

And here's the thing nobody talks about with those feeler gauges - they're great for telling you the gap size, but they don't tell you why the gap is there in the first place. Like you said, floor unevenness made your bottom gap way bigger. I've seen people spend an hour trying to caulk a 1/4 inch gap smooth when really the door frame wasn't plumb from day one. Had a buddy who shimmed a door jamb three times before realizing the wall itself was bowing about 3/16 of an inch in the middle. Ever tried using a straightedge on the wall before cutting your trim? Might save you from that shimming headache next time.

shanec614d ago

You'd need backer rod or something" - yeah that's what gets me. People act like caulk is magic and can fill a canyon. I've tried filling a 1/4 inch gap with just caulk before and it always looks like garbage after it dries. Shrinks and cracks in a week. Now I either use backer rod or I just cut a thin strip of wood and glue it in there first. Saves so much time compared to sanding and re-caulking later. Also that thing about the wall bowing - been there. Checked the jamb three times before I finally put a level on the drywall and found it was out almost a quarter inch. Trim guys know their stuff.