This step-by-step video provides a comprehensive guide on installing new interior window trim, aimed at beginners and intermediate carpenters. It covers various methods of finishing an interior window, including using screws for proper window jamb reve, removing old trim, marking reveal lines, cutting and installing top, vertical, and bottom trims, and finishing with spackling, sanding, and painting. The cost of installation is approximately $70 per hour.
To transform builder-grade windows with decorative molding, crown, and half round, follow Tom Silva’s step-by-step guide with photos and tips for a professional finish. Choosing interior window trim depends on budget and style, considering the initial cost of materials, installation, and ongoing maintenance costs. DIY ability is also encouraged.
To install vinyl windows, run a bead of caulk on the vinyl and apply hot melt along all edges. Position the window casing and wall, and use a flat screwdriver or chisel to make a small separation. Attach shim stock to the trim, as the window frame should never be flush with the wall. Vinyl Window Pro can install any type of vinyl, wood, or MDF trims available at local hardware stores based on homeowner preferences.
In summary, this video provides step-by-step instructions on installing new interior window trim, including the use of screws and other methods to achieve a finished look.
📹 Trimming Vinyl Window Extension Jambs & Casing – Fastest Method to Shim Extension Jambs
In this video we tackle vinyl window extension jambs. I show you what I think is the fastest method to shim window extension …
📹 Installing Interior Window Trim | Beginner
Installing new interior window trim can be a daunting task for the beginner/intermediate carpenter, but this step-by-step video will …
Great tip and work! I don’t do this for the bottom sill plate on windows. I cut blocks of various thicknesses and carry pre-cut buttstrip. I use this for shimming the bottom in 3-4 places. That way when a kid (or goofy adult) steps on the sill like they shouldn’t, it is absolutely solid and doesn’t move. The sides/top I will use this method.
Can not thank you enough for this tip. Started using the drywall screw shims 6 months ago, and today was shimming 20 windows with your method. Takes a minute to shim them, but the install more than makes up with the time saved, and piece of mind that goes with the time savings. You Rock Spencer! Thanks again for this excellent content.
I have always assembled my casing then installed them with 18 gauge pins, adjusted the reveal to where I like it then put small blobs of can foam about every 12″ around the window. Under the sill I put solid foam. Then install trim after foam has dried. Probably a bit slower but insured a very solid casing install and it never pulls from the vinyl window. *just have to be careful not put to much foam as to bow or bulge the casing!
Good idea! We frame and trim out the entire house when ready. When we install the windows we angle all the sill plates 5° and cut the RO height 1/4″ larger. We shim up the windows with 1/2″ plywood/OSB (whatevers on hand). When putting together our jams and casing we just set them in the RO on the 1/2″ shims. We then sight around the jam and window reveals as needed and then nail off the casing as needed. I work with an old timer (40+ year Carpenter) and this is how he’s always done it. I showed him your article on coping and he laughed, lol. He’s really quick its unreal. This old timer literally runs laps around 20 year olds, lol. 😊👍🇺🇸
Why would you do it any other way? If you premeasured and shimmed, then went back and made your trims and extension jambs for your windows and exterior doors in your shop as well as assembling a stack of all your interior door trims then your first full day on the job you could have all your windows trimmed, hang and trim a bunch of doors and look like a full crew had been there for a day when it is just doing things properly. No running, no extra people. Just proven professional production methods for a high quality job. Again, why would you do it any other way. I guess if during that 1st day of screw shimming and taking measurements there were distractions that caused an error in jamb dimensions that could cascade to the trim then that 1st day might not be so impressive. Don’t ask me how I know… But even then, why would you do it any other way. I appreciate your methods and demeanor and enjoy your articles. I hope YouTube is rewarding you well for your service to finish carpentery. Thanks Spencer.
Super efficient as always, if I run into windows like those again ill definitely be trying your method. 99% of the vinyl windows here have a 3/4 jamb return on them, basically a dado around the outside so your jamb extension just slides right in, no need for shiming and eliminates any slight difference in depth
Nice! Feathering the drill speed is the key to speed…. I have always put the screws in with the impact as close as possible, then fine tuned with a regular screwdriver. Coarse thread screws are quicker to adjust with the screwdriver…. (I still carry my Yankee screwdriver from the 70s also 😀) Will try the drill on the low speed…seems much easier. Use the same method on wallcaps etc. with a level.
Aahh andersen 100 series fibrex windows is what you have there. Andersen windows are all just about the easiest Windows to put jam extensions on especially their would models like 200 series 400 series and a series because they have a website in the frame that allow you to line the jam extension up with the perfect margin if the window didn’t already come with the jam extension on it. But the windows you are doing don’t come with the jam extension generally but still very easy product to work with. Looks good man!!
Thanks for all the comments and website support! Infinity PUR WW30 Polyurethane Hot Melt – amzn.to/3oHMku4 Infinity PUR-3000 Dual Temp Corded PUR Hot Melt Applicator – amzn.to/3kKo1th WoodRiver Miter Max Corner Clamp – amzn.to/37Zlqrx #6 FINE Thread Drywall Screws with Phillips Drive #2 Bugle Head – amzn.to/2GeD1Aq
Cool article Spencer! I do it the same way but with my own tweaks to the drywall screw thing… I use wood blocking instead of screws to get my reveals correct and i brad nail the jamb to the blocks in the locations. Anyways The house I just finished I bought HIPUR from your amazon store… I had a real hard time with the casings holding the correct amount of strength unless I let it sit overnight. I went back to my old way of using 2P10/RT. How long do you let those joints sit before they can take the impact of transporting them and shooting them?
For what its worth I have a method I like. I think I’m going to change my first step to incorporate your method though. I like to measure the windows to get what I want for the size if my jambs. I build my jambs. I shim (next time I’ll use screws instead) the bottom of the opening. I set my assembled jamb in the opening, centering the bottom. I nail the bottom. Then I shim it in place like I would the latch side of a door, nailing it as I go. I use my vibrator tool to cut off my shims and its ready for casing. The thing I like about your method is you can assemble it with the casing on and install in as a unit. I may try that now that I’ve got the Pur gun recently. Was afraid to do that in the past because I was afraid I’d break the corner joints on the casing apart. I really like your articles and think it’s great that you are free with your experience. There are a lot of generous people who post articles of how they do things. But you are skilled beyond most of them. You’re ahead of me, that’s for sure! I get good results but u ou do it even better most of the time and your efficiency takes the time factor down a long ways. Keep up the good work.
How long does the hypur glue take to setup? In a room with all those windows, if you see the windows aren’t all level, would you try to correct by leveling the casing with a laser level or just use the jig to shim to level with each opening even if they don’t all align? Great article. I’ve learned a ton from perusal your articles. Thank you
Nice job Spencer. Very nice and quick quality work. I also use screws for baseboard installation. I end up with drywall factory edge at very bottom and need to “screw” them out prior to baseboard install so it doesn’t tilt in too much. Also use them in coped corners and just adjust the screw to fit the opposing cope cut. Dial in the fit with the screw head. Also keeps my joints nice and tight. As for those windows, I can understand that as a sub coming in to do this you can’t be that hung up on sealing these windows up tight. I get that. But that looks like a 2 x 6 wall that the bank of windows are in overlooking that lake and if that is west or north facing, those jamb extensions are crying to be filled in with non expanding foam prior to sealing off with your wood. I know I would have done it if it were me but only if they paid me to do it. Forgot to add FYI. Anderson sells these extensions in a vinyl finish wood to match their window interior you are extending off from. Thst’s a choice for GC of house, not yours. They do look very nice and are very durable around any moisture buildup on those windows which will sweat in the winter. Especially on the bottom.
In our area, we staple a vinyl u-channel to the face of the window. I think you can get them in 5/8″ or 3/4″. Vinyl matches the window color. I pre-assemble the extension frame, scribe and trim for width if it’s really uneven. The U supports the frame, and hides any gaps if there is movement later on. Nice clean finish when you’re done.
You remind me so much of myself from my Finush Carpentry Days.. I used wood blocks pinned in place rather than Drywall screws… (made of KD 2×4’s ripped to various thicknesses). My Single Largest Project was the “Ronald McDonald House” in Loma Linda, CA. 1996. 74 Windows I believe? The person who measured for the Window Blinds was Mad at me… She said that two of my windows were off by a 1/16″. I took that as a compliment… LoL Great article Indeed… Greg
Clever shimming! Obvious – once you see it done the first time. Did you have to ensure the plywood top on the saw horses was flat – or was there enough flex on the wood? I assume you attached the extension jamb to the framing. If so … Would have been through a cedar shim. Did you have to know where the drywall screws were? Could the heads have punched into the casing if the jamb was fixed too tightly? Thanks for the article!
Great work, thanks for sharing. Did you previously check windows to see if they are level and plum one to another? Would you adjust and cheat reveals where jamb runs into windows if they were off? I do the same thing with using screws for shims for preassembled casing units as well, and it’s a lot faster and easier to adjust.
How do you account for getting a same or similar reveal on the drywall in between window units? Or is this not something you’re worried about because the framers you trim behind are precise and have more or less perfect spacing between window openings? Thanks for the wealth of knowledge you’re giving away for free it’s helped me grow as a carpenter a lot recently.
In Florida I NEVER see windows set consistently. Either the guys installing the bucking or the guys installing the windows do not care to plum or square them resulting in as much as 1/2″ differences from corner to corner. In a situation like this would you try and scribe the jamb extension or suggest the drywallers float it out and keep the jamb extension one dimension?
Pre–assembling is100% the way to go with something like this! I’m curious, if you shimmed the extensions out just to hit the vinyl, aren’t you risking a gap showing here and there when things are not absolutely perfect? I think I would have made them cover a minimum of eighth of an inch of the edge of the vinyl. Also I couldn’t tell by looking at your sped up article whether you were nailing through the jamb extensions themselves, were you just nailing the casings only?
Love the jig and the hack with the screws that’s very cleaver,l might be able to use that method whenever I can, my questions is with all those windows and a door that’s next to one of the windows, how do you figure out the same reveals all around the windows and the space between each window to have them all match with equal space? Last time I install the windows the RO wasn’t the same even though the were on the same room, so l had to shim every single opening to make sure they all have same reveal and space between . But be sure l will try this when I get the opportunity, thanks for sharing, l like your way of working, for sure GOD bless you with that skill, thanks!!
thanks for the article! I think old-timers call them liners instead of extension jambs. I recently thought of the screw idea indecently, but more for installing doors. Kinda use the drywall screws on doors instead of the Jamb Master and hot gluing shims. I’m sure you rip all four of your extension jamb pieces the same size, but what if the window is not even all the way around? Here, we used to say it was the window installers fault and let the painter caulk it, but I guess you could use your stave shim.
Hey Spencer do you use any kind of silicone or wood to vinyl glue to help keep the extension jambs stuck to the windows? And also were all the windows set to the same distance from the drywall? I just worked on windows on a job I’m at now and all the jambs had to be just different which I used the track saw for
I love the idea, but in my area it seems like the quality of the windows is going down. So you have to to an 1/8 bow or sag in the window. Do you keep your reveal the same with the window no matter where it goes? Or do you keep your extension straight? I shim the bottom flat, slide the whole thing in, 15ga nails up the sides and top, use a straight edge to make sure there are no bows then spray foam behind the nails. But your method looks pretty good for what you need it for.
Everything looked good for me except for the root information that made it all possible . How to make the jig number one and number two how did you get the measurements for the first one to be able to cut that first jam? To make the jig you must have already known the height that you needed for the screws, how did you know that? And then you had to make measurements side to side top to bottom from the head of the screws to the head of the screws is that correct?
I learned that technique back in the ’70’s when framing protocols went from 2×4 to 2×6 during the oil crisis and codes increased the R value in walls. Before window manufacturers tooled up. I would think small gap and a bead of caulk at the extension /window joint would help with expansion/contraction differences.
I’ve been using a similar method with the screws for about 13 years now, however, a few things I do differently is, I bevel the edge of my jamb extension (10 degrees), I just find it gets a tighter fit and fits over any insulation around the edge of the window so I do have to trim it. Instead of a block of wood because there are too many different type of windows and because often times the windows aren’t glazed to keep the vinyl straight, I will use a laser level to line up my bank of windows and set the screw to the laser, same for the vertical side of the window with the laser, thus allows me to span over any imperfections in the window itself and achieve perfectly straight, plumb and level jamb extensions.
Do you ever install prefinished trim? This is about all we install in rural ks, and only on painted trim do we install raw wood which isn’t all that common. Is there any way to streamline installs with prefinished oak like you do with this FJ poplar? Also, do you just do a butt joint when assembling your ext. jambs?
I love this idea of using screws to set up the gap and hold up the extension jambs. Is this a brilliant invention of yours or is it common knowledge for experienced carpenters? My question is this: if I do this for an existing house and build the extension jamb with the casing already attached, is there much risk that when it comes to pushing the jamb/casing unit onto the window that the casing won’t lie flat on the wall? If I do the jamb first and then put the casing in pieces, then at least I can push the casing flat on the wall and make up for any screwiness of the wall. I am just a little nervous about doing your system, pushing the box onto the window, and then finding it doesn’t lie flat.
I used to work with a carpenter a long time ago who showed me a similar technique for hanging doors. He’d hang the plumb bob and set a high, middle and low nail on the hinge side flush with the string and push the jamb up against them, then tack it in place with a couple finish nails, add the shims and finish nailing it off.
How about windows that are flush mount? They are not trimmed out, you just see the metal frame. How can I case these windows that won’t look stupid and would add enough room to inside mount 2″ blinds. It’s 3 tall windows in a row and I would like to frame them out so I won’t need a valance to hide the blinds outside mount hardware.
I like the idea and think it would work great as long as the windows are set plumb and the jambs are straight . I just recently had to straighten the jambs on 24 double hung Windows where the installer placed the windows in the openings and nailed them in with bowed jambs and all . This really showed up at the trim stage .
This is a method I want to try but doesn’t leave any wiggle room to move them around so your casing lines up. I find that windows aren’t perfect lined up and sometimes unlevel so I always have to adjust one jamb to the one next to it so my trim lines up and down and the empty space between the trim on each window is the same measurement.
Yeah thats the hard way to shim……too much time spent adjusting the screws…back and forth …back and forth…..just take you tape take a measure of the shim you need….make sure the stop is calibrated on your miter saw correctly…set the stop to the length you need and cut apiece of 2x or 1x material… you can cut thin shims with the fast cap miter saw stand and stop system….saw may throw really thin stuff so be prepared….. and nail it in place with trim gun…done…. you don’t have to shim tight…shim to 1/8″ or 1/4″play..(1/16″ or 1/8″ on both sides) unit should slip in place easily
I do that screw trick with baseboards on inside corners too. Whenever i do windows though its a nightmare i swear. Majority are remodels amd windows are all effed up. Need to scribe stool to the warped ass window thats lifting 1/4 inch on all corners and jamb depth varies atleast 3/16 from window to window too i usually have to scribe the jambs and cut them to depth with a jigsaw and a hand planer. Takes forever. If the windows are all caulked in and stuff i usually do a 5 degree back bevel so the jamb fits tight to the window. Ive done some windows on remodels and you can literally push/flex the window out in all the corners because the installers sucked lol. Im just salty cause i spent the last week dealing with this in a newer 600k house thats one of worst houses ive had to trim out lol. Its winter time now too so those crappy installed vinyl windows curl a bit. Theyre colder and contract on the outside and the inside remains relatively the same but the outside contraction makes them lift off on the corners. Ridiculous
Hi Spencer, thank you for introducing me to pur. I finally got my clamps amd glue gun amd glue to me 🇦🇺. Although the only gun i could get was the 3000 with the cord connected to the gun and not the base, but ill get over it. Its been 2 years chasing these items but now i have a supplier (woodcraft) who will post to 🇦🇺. Btw I’ve been doing manholes the same way for years . Pre-assembled still enjoying your vids mate interesting to see how you guys do things
Wow, I guess everyone is simply concerned about time these days. With that many windows in a row, or even just 2 or 3 I would certainly be more concerned about the tops not looking like a mouth of crooked teeth. The reveal is a natural slip and should be treated as such. Your eye will pick up uneven tops long before it sees a 1/16″ or even 1/8″ of a reveal difference.