Interior trim and molding are essential pieces of wood or other material used to encase windows and doors, run along floors and ceilings, and other areas throughout a structure. These pieces serve both practical and decorative purposes, covering gaps between two areas and sealing seams around them. Crown molding is one of the most popular types of trim, as it is any horizontal trim.
Wall trim is a functional and decorative element used on the corners, edges, and field surfaces of walls. Common types of wall trim include baseboards, chair rails, and crown moldings. Formal trim tends toward ornate, complex profiles and is often painted to emphasize its form rather than the material itself. Informal trim, on the other hand, tends toward simple profiles and is often finished clear.
Interior trim consists of pieces of wood or other materials that surround windows and doors or run along the floors and ceilings on the inside of homes. It usually covers gaps between transitions in building materials or covers up any imperfections between the walls, floors, and ceilings, creating a seamless look. The four most common trim materials are MDF, wood, PVC, and tile. Prices are typically measured in linear feet of trim board.
In traditional homes, ornate trim profiles for baseboards, window casings, door casings, and crown molding are common. More formal rooms may also have ornate trim profiles for baseboards, window casings, door casings, and crown molding. Interior trim helps define the architectural style of a room and is a small yet mighty design element in a room.
📹 Trim out your House like the pros – (paneling, wainscot, accent walls)
Interior #finish #decorating BECOME A MEMBER OF FINISH CARPENTRY TV: …
📹 This HIDDEN TRIM DETAIL Affects Your Whole House! See Why…(Reveals/Trim Reveal/Trim Carpentry)
(When you shop through these links, we receive a small commission at NO EXTRA CHARGE TO YOU. We greatly appreciate the …
45-50 years ago I was helping my grandfather, who was a master carpenter, trim out a house he built for a customer. The customer and his wife asked why can’t you just flush this trim up, wouldn’t it look better? My grandfather explained why and even showed them some examples of trim in the house next door. He end up making some trim samples up to show them. Two of them had a couple of different reveals, one was flush and one was flush but he had used a block plane to do a slight chamfer where the two board came together. They decided on the trim detail with the slight chamfer. I remember my grandfather explain that even with the chamfer he couldn’t guarantee that the trim wouldn’t open up a little. The next week they decided to do a reveal on the trim. Luckily the trim had not been started yet when they changed their mind… His explanation made them look at trim differently and they looked at trim in other homes and realized the reveal and shadow line looked much better. That was a teaching moment for me as well and now you are providing that knowledge to others. Thanks…
80+ …. renovated my home, and helped many friends, family with home-do’s. With a technical background, I’ve done everything from remedial drywall, to plumbing, to electrical …. with a lot of simple carpentry, woodworking thrown in. Been at the home improvements thing now for well over 20 years. This is the FIRST explanation/description of something I’ve noticed long ago, but had no idea it was a “formal” or intentional treatment. Being a loner, never had anyone show me or teach me the old ways, or “tricks of the …” . Just always wanted to do it “right”. This revelation from you is truly a great step forward for this old man in knowledge and workmanship. Huge THANK YOU!! My work will be the better for your effort, skill, and taking the time to inform. Great job!
Since you asked…. I am a trim carpenter for 30+ years. You are correct in everything you said but you did leave a critical element. Wood is always moving due to temperature and moisture throughout the seasons. Even if you had all laser straight materials being applied to perfect plumb, level, and square structures, a flush joint would eventually be exposed over the years, especially when joining dissimilar materials. A reveal also helps mask a joints movement. I always liked the way it was said about about a reveal, “we celebrate the joint instead of hiding it.”
Several years ago I did trim carpentry for a track home builder. I really enjoyed the challenge of making an out-of-plumb doorway become perfectly plumb and level. The reveal is the fixer of almost any framing error. If the hinge side of a door is out of plumb, the door will not stay in position, unless it’s closed. Sadly, I bought a house that has a bathroom door that is out of plumb on the hinge side. It’s a framing issue. One of these days I will take it down and install it correctly. It’s been 12 years, so I’m about ready to fix it. Yep.
I was a residential painter for a long time and never knew this, but it was a real pleasure painting behind and putting the finishing beauty on what a good trim carpenter did. Maybe this is part of the reason. Also little details that made a difference were enough nails, but not too much and almost every nail was set right, leaving a hole to fill, not too many sticking out and making an eye sore. Another detail was gaps were straight and consistent. I could tell when it was a focus, and it made a difference in how much caulking had to be used and effort towards making up for the lack of consistency.
I am always lookin for ways to improve my diy game, that said this was very good, and often wondered about the extra space, this will make the pain of lining everything up much easier, along with all the ‘dressing up afterward’ too! Thanks Incidently, I was wondering about a mitering article for framing window moulding or base or ceiling moulding.
I’m glad you spoke about the depth of the reveal. Sometimes I stare at the trim and cannot decide. Recently I made a segmented arch using 6″ poplar (1-1/8″ thick) casing. The width of the casing coerced me to try a deeper reveal. Thank God I did. From a few feet away, the reveal looks perfect and seems to match the other shadow lines in the casing. I’m not an artist and far from a master carpenter, so It doesn’t come naturally to me. Some other trim I did in my house, I wish I had used deeper reveals or thicker materials to improve shadow lines. No one has noticed except me, lol.
You are 100% correct about reveals. Long ago when I was starting out I did not understand this concept and wondered why my work looked funny when I was done. I don’t remember what show on tv I was perusal but they demonstrated the reveal and explained it. The next time I was called to do trim work, I made the reveal and lo and behold when I stepped back I got down with my bad self. I tell people it creates architectural interest and dimension. And my wife and family compliment me on my such good work. Do yourself a favor folks and listen to the masters. They know what they are talking about and there is a positive reason why they do the things the way they do.
💡Wow, what a moment of visual explosion in my mind! My husband (with no carpenter background) pointed out your article to me. I will never ever see architecture the same way! Your explanation was interesting, educational and fasinating! Thank you and all the other replies which added to their knowledge of reveals we see and don’t see everyday! Love it! 🤔😃😉👍👏👏👏
Very interesting! I am by no means a carpenter. I recently re-trimmed our condo and we opted not to do reveals. Though easier and faster, I did find it annoying to have to manipulate the trim to flush-up with the door and window casings. And even then it wasn’t perfect. I may end up redoing some of them but who knows. There are now certain things that I have a good idea of how to do/can probably do myself, but I’d rather hire a pro. Live and learn I guess!
I’ve been doin this my entire career without knowing it was the right thing to do. I got thrown into a trim job a while back not knowing anything about it. Put my first piece up I just knew that making a perfect matching edge was impossible. So my on the job fix was to set it back a little for that “step”. Great article. Makes me feel like I know what I’m doin sometimes lol
Fantastic vid. Just bought a house and started really deeply noticing these details. Happy to say they did my reveals nicely but I’ve some issues with the lack of corner moulding. Really don’t like where horizontal trim (floor) and vertical trim (thresholds) meet. I believe combined with your multitool article I might be able to solve this 🙂
This was really informative! I’m starting to look into how to build a house and have only just started to question how and why things are built. Doors have been a huge question mark for me (like, what’s the deal with the trim anyway? Is it structural or just to cover another seam?) and have heard the term “reveal” but had no idea what it was. Thank you for this article!
I’m just a DYIer and always knew about door reveals and am surprised a pro wouldn’t know. However, I did not know about the inside of kitchen cabinets and just checked mine. My cabinets are from a high quality cabinet maker and the bottom of the cabinet is flush with the face. I would think this would be better, just to make it easier to clean the bottom of the cabinet.
Thanks for this. I’d heard the term, but I didn’t understand what it was about. Way back in the 1960s a builder of cheap tract houses did all of the joints to doors with exact measurements. If I recall properly, they used 1/4″ (or so) mahogany on the interior walls and joined it to the doors with quarter rounds. It actually looked really nice. I don’t know how they managed to make it all fit together perfectly, but it looked quite nice, up to the point when you had to do some work on it. These are actually pretty famous – Eichlers.
This is so true! I remember trimming out my very first interior door frame and I spent hours trying to get everything “perfect” . I didn’t have any “reveals” and when I was finished I just wasn’t happy as it just didn’t look right to me. I actually thought the “reveals” on doors I compared mine too were the results of someone just taking shortcuts and doing crappy work! Lol! I was so wrong. Lol!
Had my dad set me straight on setting the reveal when I was 11 helping him trim the doors in our house- have always checked the reveals since- this also applies to cabinet door alignments, spacing of the door in the jamb, drawer face either proud or recessed, sliding doors, windows, anything where two surfaces come together
I’ve observed reveals while I was working on my trims. And I just thought that reveals look nice and give the trimmer more latitude I use reveals all the time. As for myself this article revealed that trim detail had a name and great reasons for its use. I’m just a DIY guy looking for woodworking solutions as I work on my house.
The first mistake is you called them carpenters! LOL! The builders down here in FL are so terrible, their subs seem to have no experience installing doors or molding. I often see the mitered joint from horizontal to vertical on moldings with gaps and they don’t at least caulk in the poorly mitered gaps. A Little bit of caulk and a little bit of paint make a carpenter what he aint!
This may get covered in a later article, but having a consistent reveal helps to hide “forced reveals” caused by hinges and striker plate. Most pre-hung doors have mortise hinges causing a 1/8″ reveal, plus a thicker trim will rub against the moving parts of the hinge, so you move the trim another 1/8″ (1/8 + 1/8 = 1/4) to prevent rubbing
Thank you for mentioning the concept of shadow lines. You’ll see it and understand it on the exterior as well, especially with vinyl siding. If there are 2 houses next to each and one just has standard D4 vinyl siding, while the other has D4 Dutch lap siding, the Dutch lap one will be more appealing and most people aren’t even able to explain why they prefer the look of the Dutch lap house.
I have noticed while doing finish carpentry (and other trades) that the little things make all the difference. Something small will stand out to someone knowledgeable and the layperson will notice something out of sort, even if they can’t tell you what it is exactly. Unfortunately, those little things typically also take the most labor and time to get right.
on the other hand, shotty carpentry using reveals to cover horrible framing is very common. door and window jambs with multiple trims to cover gap upon gap and still leaving gaps not visible from normal viewing angle. it makes for lots of work to prep and paint. that’s why new techniques are starting to be used, to ditch all the trims. i bought and installed pvc frame windows and doors for my house that have plaster reveals. standard plaster corner goes over the top. no more fifty angles of wood to paint.
I started my carpenter apprenticeship, fortunately, with a pedantic trim carpenter. I learned reveals, coping and many types of joints. But, one thing still mystifies me. Why use a scarf joint to attach baseboards? Why not two clean but joints with glue on the ends? A scarf joint may give you more surface area for better glue adhesion, but with most trim these days, shrinkage is not relevant, and no matter what, you still have a joint line. And sometimes a scarf joint is a bitch to get right as you shoot it on. Anyone who knows, please let me know. Or let me know if you agree with me. BTW, I started when I was 19, now I’m 53 and do very little carpentry.
Interesting timing of this: TL;DR: I thought reveals were optional. I used reveals on doors and windows, but not the double windows on my house. Fortunately, still looks okay. I’m by no means a carpenter. I’m a hobbyist at best who enjoys woodworking, building things, and learning about it, and who is also currently redoing trim in our house (accompanied by popcorn scraping). When we began, and I started redoing the trim for the first time, I learned about the reveal. However, the previous trim install did not put a reveal on our double windows. I believe it was done this way due to the trim in the center between the windows thats less than 1.5″ thick. Overall, it didn’t look bad, so I thought it was optional. Emergency meeting with the wife and she authorized doing the reveal on the doors. Thank goodness we did. Looks great and it needed it. I didn’t do it on the double window, however, it doesn’t look too bad. Fortunately, instead of trying to hide the crack between trim and jamb, I caulked it and purposefully made it visible, which is sort of like a ‘reveal’ in its own way. I have 3 other double windows, all of which do not have reveals, and I only have 2 left to do (just finished the 2nd one). I may change and do those windows with 3/16th reveal like I did the doors, and leave the other 2 as is (all in different rooms).
I love this website, I watch your articles all of the time and you’ve inspired/taught me to do some of my own work. I’ve noticed the reveal before, but never knew the name, thanks for giving me a name with a design element. I just recently replaced paneling (ewww) with sheetrock and now the sheetrock sticks out from the door jamb. Does that have a name so I can search your articles on how to fix that? Thanks for your articles!
It’s a long story why I needed to have no reveal on one door casing I installed, but I can confirm it looks very bad. Someday I may fix it, but in my case its not simply a trim issue. The notion of reveals also applies to tile backsplashes and wall edges. I recently did a backsplash and tried to flush up the tile on one edge – awful.
Just a bit of trivia if you American chippies are interested. In Australia they call that setback a ‘quirk’. ‘Reveal size’ is generally used to refer to the finished opening size. However, the dressed board around the internal of the window which attaches the window frame to the framing stud is also called the ‘reveal’.
LOVE this … I found this just in time, before I install some doors I got on discount from the habitat store. The trim installation at the end would have been a disaster if I had not watched this first!😱…thank you … Love the way you teach at a perfect pace and do not waste time. ❤️. Even your opening jingle is timed perfectly.😂
Funny timing on this article. My wife and I just bought our first house and while I’m a handy guy I wouldn’t call myself knowledgeable. I have a pretty good idea of basics, but I’m well aware of how much I DON’T know too. We just finished fixing up the master bedroom closets and that meant repositioning/redoing the trim. I set a reveal when I did it but did it just because it FELT right, not because I actually knew it was correct. My wife asked me why I did it and all I could say was that it’s an aesthetic choice. Now I get to show her this article and show off my fantastic subconscious knowledge.
Me, planning largely bushcraft-esque builds and unlikely to ever work with trim or care about smooth lines in my life: OOH A NEW HONEST CARPENTER article! I LOVE THOSE! {click} 😆 And hey people, whenever you appreciate a creator’s work, make sure you let their ads play at least 31 seconds (or the full length if they’re shorter) to support the website!
I set reveals with two 1-1/2″ square blocks, offset from each other 1/4″ both directions and glued or brad nailed together. Offsetting both directions lets the tool work in corners. If you want to get fancy, make one of the blocks 1/8″ bigger, so a 1/4″ reveal on one side is 3/8 on the other, or smaller so 1/4″ becomes 3/16″. I find this tool more convenient than a combo square. Not my idea- I probably cribbed it from a magazine like JLC or FHB.
I loved this article! I had no idea this was the purpose of a reveal, and now I’m walking all over my home to look at all of them. Also, the more of your articles I watch, the more I think of an idea for another article: “Pro carpenter jargon” every time you mention terms of your trade, like “true up” on your last article, I feel like I learn things as bonus from the main subject, and I love that extra feature in all your articles
At 4:30, you are showing a fireplace mantle with series of steps and reveals, but what I see is ugly caulking that has pulled away. This is either a problem of a poor paint job, or the mantle has shifted. Can you please comment on how to caulk and paint all that wonderful trim to make it last. Is there a particular kind of caulk that I should buy that remains flexible? Are that places such as this were there will be movement, and it would be better to NOT caulk? I have an old house where I want to maintain the integrity of the grand old wide trim. We have even had woodwork milled specially to match where we did an addition, but when the wide woodwork shrinks, that caulk pulls away. Can you please give some advice here?
I am not a carpenter, although I have an interest in DIY, and such like. I have, however, worked with many carpenters and builders and assisted them over the years. We use the word “quirk”, and sometimes reveal to describe the gap, sometimes it’s 3mm or about 1/8 pf an inch to 6mm or 1/4 inch in your language. Thanks for your article, your presentations are great and informative.
That’s good work. I’ve been drawing stuff all my life and look at details. “Looks so good you won’t even see it” Yep. A friend of mine(who does all kinds of construction) has big house that’s had bits added to it over time. It’s on a slope so the front foundation is kind of high.The original main house has a native rock skirt around it. Everything else was just cinderblock along with a retaining wall. That just bugged me for a long time. I had an idea in my head I wanted to try and easy to undo if it didn’t work. I had done something similar painting my computer room “the dungeon”…to look like a stone dungeon. I painted the cinderblock to match the real rock and cement grout. Individual stones of all different shapes and sizes with a realistic 3D look. From the street and driving up to the house if you didn’t know, you’d never notice they weren’t real. Looked so good you don’t “see” it. If you do, I added some lizards, bugs and few other things here and there once you started looking. There’s even a gnome door and a window on one side. I camouflaged all the pipes and boxes on one lady’s house, painting the pipes to match the brick behind them and the electric boxes to look like birdhouses.
I bought a home that was a rental and got beat up badly. I got it at a good price and it’s 80% perfect handicap adapted. That handicap adaptation was the reason I bought a “lemon”!!! The renter painted doors, cabinets and counters with high gloss porch FLOOR paint! I’ll never get it off, I just have to make the best of the situation. PLEASE keep posting lessons that I can be aware when I go shopping and not get taken advantage of at big box hardware store and low life contractors.
As a good carpenter goes .. Time comes when he can set a Mental Reveal in his brain . . Then there is no need for marks . For stain grade trim it is not wise to put marks of any kind . In that situation if I want it sweet . I make a shim that stays with me at my comfortable reveal .That I hold the trim and shim together until it flushes with the jamb . Then proceed to blow holes in the trim .. LOOL . . Seen guys even with marks Stevie Wonder could see . Go from 3/16″ strong to damn near flush …. ” Look at that dude ??”.. .. I toss away my Mental Reveal technique when the reveals get over 5/16″ ..A carpenter needs to stand back and look at his work instead of going on Automatic Underdrive
“Ugh!” – This was handy and I can SEE how using a reveal is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. I am what one is a weekend “handydude” With that said, I have installed new doors, moldings around windows, etc. and after perusal this article I realized that I was unconsciously using reveals when adding/replacing molding – However, as I looked to the left of my computer desk, I looked at an insulated steel door between the den and garage I installed over 15 years ago =(replaced a regular wood door that would actually feel hot or cold depending on the weather but I digress). The install of the door was fine, BUT I had a nasty time with the molding (weird construction work where the original door was). The hinge side has a reveal, BUT I did not do so on the molding nor the hinge side. I wound up chiseling part of the molding so that the lip strike would fit properly. It doesn’t look too bad (in fact the painting, etc around it looks pretty sharp, BUT it could be better – and would like to fix this in the future.
One of the best so called “tricks of the trade” taught to me by an old retired carpenter that helped me with my rental property fixes. I’ll never forget old Ray, and his cheap tiny cigars. I always had to keep him stocked because he never stopped working. That man did more with a hammer and saw, he was old school. Only a few tools, this article brought back many memories.
Hello sir; New to your website. I enjoyed your other article, however this particular article I wasn’t able to follow even rewinding it as you speak so fast and the captions were bad. I am hearing impaired. This is in no way a criticism as I loved the other two articles of yours that had good captions. I’m probably not the only hard of hearing person that struggles with articles that are fast talking and bad captions. I just wanted to learn something on this subject as I am planning on having windows put in a workshop. I have a question: do you have another article related to the trim and windows casing? Question #2 does this apply for casing and trim around coffered ceiling’s? My house has coffered ceiling’s but no crown moldings or casings. I’m not sure who to call to have that done and any help would be much appreciated…not sure how they charge for that as I don’t know ; don’t know how to do it. Also I’m an older female and afraid of getting taking advantage of; so be nice to know of a reputable place. Live in the outskirts of Seattle.
Much of the better furniture has reveals. Next time you are looking at furniture, look at the vertical corners and see how the trim is applied. As little as 1/16″ or 1/8″ is typical. I learned this quite some time ago and use it when I make custom wood features for people, and especially on door and window trim. I’m getting ready to make new kitchen cabinets and this will be used for the bottom panels, where the stiles and rails meet the carcass (sides, top, bottom). However, it is nice every so often to make a piece of furniture that is absolutely flush and you can’t see where the pieces meet! Nice article, especially for the novice or weekend DIY guy or gal.
Thanks for revealing this information! This was informative! As a woodworker I always thought of reveals in terms of how a cabinet door, particularly a flush door, closes and is spaced all around the face frame. Never thought about trim work in a house. I’m about to have a sliding glass door replaced with an Anderson French door set so I’ll be perusal my contractor for proper reveals!
I’m not a carpenter, handy man. I’m just a diyer. I’ve put all new trim, base boards and door jams and new doors in my house. I thought when I did this I was just adding a bit of architecture. I love alot of detail in my wood working. I actually used this technique to create my own home made trim for a round a basement window that had none. I was pleasantly surprised! Thank you so much for the helpful information! I am learning alot here! 🌹🙂🌺
I am a DIYer. I truly appreciate the articles you put out. They are very helpful and I have learned so much. I do a lot of painting and caulking around doors and trim. I had noticed this feature, but did not realize it was done on purpose or why. In fact I often thought it was a mistake or poor carpentry. Now I know why it is done and that it is on purpose. It makes so much sense and does make things look better. I also have installed trim and now know i need to add a reveal when I do trim. Thank you so much for this article.
This is so timely, we are currently having a house built and when they installed the trim work we were initially confused that all the trim seemed offset from where we (not carpenters) thought it should be. But we know we have a good builder so we didn’t say anything and just trusted it was right. Well a month later it all gets painted and it looks great obv the offset is there but it looks “right”. Now I know why they did it! very cool.
I’ve always noticed things without reveals(didn’t know that’s what they’re called), they always seemed weird and off looking to me and because the houses they were in seemed like cheap, fix-it-up quick, rent it out fast kind of houses I always thought is was done by someone who didn’t know what they were doing, mainly because it looked like something I would’ve done lol
If there’s not a reveal, as you see in a lot of wooden furniture these days they put a angle cut on each board where they come together to give you a “V” effect so if the two boards don’t line up perfect you don’t notice high or low areas since neither board is actually touching the other at any point where they come together at on the surface area. Personally, I hate this “V” groove on any woodworking, I rather see a reveal myself! To me anyway, that “V” looks cheap! If I’m not going to have a reveal, then I’ll put the seal as close as possible to flush and fill any cracks with filler and belt sand and finish sand to get a good smooth joint. Or 45* each piece to make a 90 degree corner and then take the rounded metal edge like many hammers have and run the handle up the down the edge of the 45* corner making a slight rounded edge that does away with any cracks where the two 45* come together making a seamless joint once it’s finished sanded. The 45 angles put together to make a 90 degree on the corner of a cabinet my favorite and best looking joint far as I’m concerned. But many people wouldn’t ever notice the difference between a reveal, “V”, or a 45 degree mitered corner! All they see is the bigger picture and the fine details are not even notice to so many people! Just like these salesman telling customers their future is all solid wood and the people never notice a edge showing it’s either plywood or worse chipboard! Till you point it out to them anyway! Which is when you hear them say, I’ve been looking at that for years and never noticed that wasn’t solid wood till you just pointed it out to me!
I don’t consider myself a carpenter, but I’ve been remodeling and building and helping family and friends with remodeling for decades. I learned the reveal over 20 years ago and never looked back. It’s always more appealing, and it drives me crazy to see otherwise when I walk into someone else’s house. 😅
True 100 pct true. The reviel adds detail plus shadow line. Add if humid or the house settles helps to stop the door from rubbing on the casing I use 18″ typically As I talk with the customer or waiting somewhere look at joints copes see a sloppy job wonder who did the work, if for hire should worked for free that bad
This is around the 10th article about trim I’ve watched before I do a couple windows for the first time and it’s the first one that has explained the reveal and why it’s important later on. So many other articles go flush and just do it because it’s easier. So glad I saw this my windows are going to look freaking awesome now! Thanks man!
cant tell you how relived I was after perusal this. Just did a big trim install in my dinning room. I saw this title and thought “oh no what didn’t I do right?” To my surprise I did exactly what you’re talking about. Not bc I knew what I was doing but paying attention to details around the house and copying those. Guess I owe the previous installer a big thank you too.
Our house was built in the early 50s and you can tell that the framers did a fine job,the trim carpenters and drywallers,not so much. Uneven margins,not so great miters,being able to see nail heads,and seams. Looks like my home was built by voc school students,no offense meant to any vocational students anywhere. I simply mean that they seemed to of been inexperienced.
I generally only ever mark the top corners for my reveals on a door, if at all. I will often just measure the inside of the jamb an add a half inch to the short side of my mitres for the top, and add a 1/4 for the sides. Once I get the top and the mitres (usually biscuited and glued) settled in place, then I work my way down, setting the reveal as I go. I do that by “if it looks good, then it looks good”
I picked up one of the Bench Dog Reveal tools a while back, and haven’t looked back since for interior trim installation. I was helping a friend finish his basement recently and his wife asked why the trim around the window didn’t line up to the edge of the returns, so we had to explain this exact topic to her.
I cannot find a matching definition in a dictionary but this is called a quirk in New Zealand. Basically when you offset any two timbers that run parallel the offset is called a quirk. It is standard practice, at least traditionally it was been but with rebated jambs and no finishing timbers it is obsolete in many new buildings.
i think reveals are just a-bit-better solutions to deal with not straight edges when you just don‘t want to work on the edges. they are an emergency plan b but not really nice to look at. you just see them and know that they are a workaround. all the surfaces in the pictures are untreated, the paint surface looks like the skin of a 16yo old, really bad jobs. i don‘t know why this is not mentioned in the article, it is so obvious. it is no problem to make two edges flush and keep them aligned after the paint is on. you just have to work on it. i am not a native speaker and therefore may be lacking of the right terms.
Ive been doing this just cause I thought it always looked better. Had no idea it was a technique but I have noticed it isn’t done very often. Honestly when I am in other peoples houses its crazy how much of these little details I notice. Theres a lot of these techniques you will notice when it comes to tile. Its very easy to see if the homeowner or some “jack of all trades” does the tile.
not to bash anyone but any finish carpenter who can’t eyeball a consistent 1/4 inch reveal may want to look into other professions. marking every door and window jamb is a waste of time. not mention that on stain grade, if you fail to completely cover those pencil lines with the trim they will be there forever