Half lap miter joints on interior door casing
tonybarr
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
A neighbor called me today to help. open the door to her basement stairway. Her son was in the basement and the handset failed and the door would not open. After looking at it for a while, I decided to pry the latch side casing off, chisel into the jamb so that I could push back the latch and open the door.
The good news was I was able to open the door and free her son from the basement. What was finding a half lap joint at the miter. Had anyone ever seen this?
Replies
I've seen it a handful of times, I think more on windows. It makes for a casing where the joints won't open up as readily, but it seems that often the lapped end sticks out enough to be obvious.
(I'm wondering if this was a feature of old factory homes, such as those Sears sold?)
It sounds like you may have a jack miter there. Partially mitered where the profile is and butt-jointed where the flat portion of the molding is. It is a more stable joint than a miter. Especially with the ability to pocket hole screw the butt-jointed portion. Here is a photo of my last Jack Miter project: