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dumb question

danz857 | Posted in Construction Techniques on January 14, 2004 06:03am

hi, have what many may think is a dumb question but here it is. What is the min distance from the framing of an adjacent or perendicular wall should you have the rough opening for an interior door. Would an inch and a half be enough to allow to fit the door trim in snug againt the adjacent wall……. assuming that I am making the rough opening 2″ wider than the door  ie 30″ r.o. for a 28″ door. I need the min distance cause space is  kinda tight. Another thing I will be using 1/2″ drywall if that matters

Dan

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  1. MojoMan | Jan 14, 2004 06:15am | #1

    What is the width of the casing you plan to use? It seems that this would determine your minimum. Say, 2-1/2" casing plus 1/2" for drywall minus 1/2" for jamb...That's 2 1/2" with no room for shimming. I'd guess two studs (3") for most common situations is a minimum. Anything less might look pretty cheesy. Having the casing tight against the perpendicular wall doesn't look that great either, but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

    Al Mollitor, Sharon MA

  2. davidmeiland | Jan 14, 2004 06:18am | #2

    Well, you can go as small as you want, even to the point of making the rough opening flush with the perpendicular wall. I have done that and tucked the rock in behind the jamb, just enough room for the hinge barrels to be clear of the rock. A lot depends on the casing. If you have to rip it down to 3/4" of an inch wide, will it look like hell? Sometimes there's no good choice...

  3. CarpenterPJE | Jan 14, 2004 06:18am | #3

    danz

    What size casing are you going to use?  For 2  1/4"  I like to have at least 2 studs & my shoulder stud.  Ripping down & scribing casing on finish is a pain in the back side & looks bad.

    You say space is tight, try to find enough space to a least allow for full casing. You will not regret it on finish.

    PJE

  4. Piffin | Jan 14, 2004 06:58am | #4

    I prefer a triplestud spacing but two inches is minimum. The schematic shows why. I drew it with only 1-1/5" studding to the RO. The red dash represents a 2-1/4" standard casing. You can see that you would need to rip a half inch off it to fit to the SR inside corner

    .

    Excellence is its own reward!

  5. FastEddie1 | Jan 14, 2004 07:44am | #5

    Everybody's talking about not ripping the casing.  That's ok, but at least it can be ripped.  Don't forget to allow room for the doorknob.  Got kids?  Then they'll make a custom recess in the sheetrock for the knob.

    Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!"  Then get busy and find out how to do it.  T. Roosevelt

  6. User avater
    BossHog | Jan 14, 2004 04:01pm | #6

    I'm with MojoMan - Around here 3" is the typical minimum.

    But more is better if you have the space. I think opening the door has a better "feel" if you have 6" or more.

    At the feast of ego, everyone leaves hungry.

    1. danz857 | Jan 15, 2004 01:55am | #7

      Thanks for the replies, I plan on using a prehung door which i assume comes with 2.5" casing. If someone knows how i can post an autocad drawing to this site maybe i can sketch a few details .... a picture is worth a thousand words

      Thanks again

      Dan

      1. briank | Jan 15, 2004 05:18am | #8

        How good is your framer???  While you can leave just enough room for the door and trim to clear the rock, remember that this is assuming that the walls are plumb, the rock is hung tight and the mud isn't real thick.  If you plan it out with no tolerances, I can guarantee you will be ripping the trim which looks like hell--aside from the fact that you have to "unhang" the door to rip the trim.  Also, if you only leave minimal clearance, besides room for the knob, if the door or the walls are out of plumb, the small gaps to the side of the casing will make this readily apparent.  Much better looking, more functional, etc, when you leave about six inches on each side.

      2. FastEddie1 | Jan 15, 2004 05:57am | #9

        how i can post an autocad drawing I have done it once.  You have to export the drawing to another program, like Print Shop or something, and then post it.  I wonder if you can do it in Irfanview?  If you don't know Irfan, it's a free download that converts files from a wide variety of formats, and reduces picture file size so they open faster.Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!"  Then get busy and find out how to do it.  T. Roosevelt

  7. Schelling | Jan 15, 2004 03:18pm | #10

    Minimum- zero

    Standard- 3"

    You can guarantee more space if you use a smaller door. I'd rather have a bigger door.

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