Replies

1. 
   john7g | Sep 26, 2006 05:12pm | #1

   depends on how flush/smooth you want the joint to be with a minimal amount of work. I use them but not too often.  If the wall is flat or I can make the trim look like it's flat & install correctly I don't mess with the biscuits.  The biscuits come in play when 2 adjacent surfaces need to be flush/smooth.  In the case of the plinth blocks you'd want the back surfaces flat (the blocks stand pround of the side cassings, right?).  Could be a need for them there if the walls are way out along the the doors.

2. 
   badarse | Sep 26, 2006 06:18pm | #2

   Its the best way to do it but the vast majority of people wouldn't bother.

1. 
   ubc | Sep 30, 2006 05:19pm | #10

   I second that. Most tradesmen slap it up!

3. 
   Jer | Sep 26, 2006 07:06pm | #3

   When the mouldings are big enough, I use bicuits. It's the best way and it doesn't take that long to do.

4. 
   JDRHI | Sep 26, 2006 07:34pm | #4

   I have found that when joining mouldings with a butt joint....as you will be with plinths and pediments.....its best to biscuit them.

   You're talking about 7 individual peices of moulding around each side of a door. Six joints at risk.

   J. D. Reynolds

   Home Improvements

5. 
   alrightythen | Sep 30, 2006 09:48am | #5

   I love finding uses for my biscuit joiner. But I don't know if I would use it for those situations.... ( I've seen that tip as well)

   what I do now is cut tiny shims and use them to make sure that things are kept flush. I like my method, it works well and is fast, as much as I love my biscuit joiner I see no need to pull it out.

6. 
   woodguy99 | Sep 30, 2006 10:20am | #6

   When butting or mitering wide casing boards I like to use biscuits--not to keep the boards flush, but to keep the joints from opening up.  Here on the New England coast there are wide swings in humidity and the biscuit helps keep the joint together.

   For narrow butt-joined casing I just use glue.  I know glue strength is reduced in an end grain application, but it's usually strong enough to keep the joint tight.

7. 
   gordsco | Sep 30, 2006 02:18pm | #7

   I also use biscuits to keep wide joints flush.

   Door and window trim is nailed.

   Professionally, it would be a rare instance for me to use a biscuit on window or door trim.

   May neighbors respect You, and troubles neglect You.

   Gord

                           

    

    

1. 
   maverick | Sep 30, 2006 04:05pm | #8

   different strokes for different folks I guess. its a rare instance when I dont biscuit joints.

    I think I save time biscuiting because I dont have to fool around with the joints to get them tight on an uneven surface. Biscuit, glue, clamp and nail it up. take the clamps off later

1. 
   gordsco | Sep 30, 2006 06:01pm | #11

   Interesting. Colins clamps?

   What kind of trim? Hardwood. pine, MDF?

   You are right, different strokes for different folks. I install trim I piece at a time and lay flat to the drywall, (or as close as possible). I fudge miters to keep the face of the joint tight. A slight back cut usually does the trick, but changing the miter angle is sometimes needed.

   I find hardwood trim the most challenging because of its unbendability

    May neighbors respect You, and troubles neglect You.

   Gord

                           

    

    

2. 
   tashler | Sep 30, 2006 06:21pm | #12

   Let me ask you 2 questions:Do you use biscuits on things like 2-1/4" casing?On uneven surfaces, if you use biscuits, do you caulk behind to fill the gap? What about stained trim? I have re-mitered to different angles to get the trim to lay flat with a tight miter on doors and windows that are not flush to the wall. It ends up looking ok but is very time consuming.Almost like figuring out a compound mier by trial and error.

1. 
   cliffy | Oct 01, 2006 02:59am | #16

   I do.  I bought one of those Ryobi mini biscuit jointers and on most mitre joints I use 2 biscuits and clamp it like Jim Chestnuts article in the mag>

   Have a good day

   Cliffy

2. 
   maverick | Oct 02, 2006 02:44am | #19

   yeah, no problem biscuiting 2 1/4" casings. painted or stained does'nt matter.

   also I caulk behind the casing or even float a little joint compound if its a wide gap

   for a house full of casings I'll set up a congo line of assemblys in various stages of completion then nail up the first ones first and move the glue and clamps down the line. it goes really fast with no fudging of miters

8. 
   ponytl | Sep 30, 2006 05:15pm | #9

   since i do far fewer of these than most... my method might be way off and take 3x as long... but since the times when i do them are so far apart it works for me...

   i biscuit em... but.. i build em flat on a work surface like a picture frame when they meet the wall/window for the first time there are biscuits to  line em up... that and glue and a several well placed finish nails and i'm done... but i think my method is outside the norm...

   p

9. 
   alrightythen | Sep 30, 2006 06:47pm | #13

    here is a case where the side casing meets the window sill. one often encounters the same problem where the reveal will be off because of the wall.

   I don't think you guys use a biscuit here do you?

   I like to shim it until the reveal is even.

   View Image

   
1. 
   woodguy99 | Sep 30, 2006 08:49pm | #14

   In that spot, I install the stool cap first,

   brad nail the side casing to the jamb,

   hold the side casing so the reveal looks good,

   then nail up through the stool cap into the side casing with 15ga or 16ga nails.

   I figured that out taking apart work that looked good after 100 or more years.

   Back then they didn't biscuit the side casing/head casing joint, but I bet they would have if they had our tools and the material we have to work with.

1. 
   davidmeiland | Sep 30, 2006 08:52pm | #15

   I do the same thing... tack the casing leg to the jamb, then 2 nails up thru the sill into the bottom of the casing. Biscuits are useful at the top of the assembly, especially when the legs and the head are the same thickness. I always prefer to use 5/4 for the head, or plane 1/8" off the legs to get a reveal at the head, but some clients like it flush. I just did a house that way, everything 1x except the sill were 5/4.

10. 
    BryanKlakamp | Oct 01, 2006 03:37am | #17

    Here's another option, and would like to know if anyone does this:

    I recently purchased a Kreg pocket screw tool. I used it to put some 1 x 3 and 1 x 4 casings together where they were butt joints. The joints held together very well. I didn't use any glue in the joint, but one certainly could.

    Since these were getting painted, caulk will be used to cover the gap where the casing stood proud of the wall. If the trim was to be stained, I would prefer to see the casing tight to the wall. But, in this case, using 1 x the face joints would not line up if the casing was tipped in or out to be tight to the wall surface.

    My 2 cents.

    Bryan

    "Objects in mirror appear closer than they are."

    Klakamp Construction, Findlay, Ohio

1. 
   inperfectionist | Oct 01, 2006 04:06am | #18

   You wanted to know,,,,,, I too have been using pocket screws on some casing over the last couple years. And as someone else posted, I usually build as much as I can on a bench, including jamb extensions.

   H