Wide door casings

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jeff48356

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Livonia, Michigan
Have any of you ever run into an issue where you wired a new house, and when you went back to do the finish work, you discovered that the carpenters used wide door casing trim rather than standard? I now have an issue where they did just that, and the casing is right at the edge of the switch box. There is no way a wall plate will fit properly with the casing in the way. I would have nailed a 1X4 to the switch location on rough-in if the carpenter or G.C. informed me in advance that they had planned to use wide casing. What do you normally do in this situation?
 
Unless they told you in advance how would you know if they were using an extra wide casing? Sounds like an extra for you to cut the walls open and move the boxes. Shame on the GC or carpenter for not noticing while the walls were open.
 
I have had this happen to me before as well.
I'm not trying to sound like a know it all.
There are so many factors that can affect our finished product: wainscot, built-ins, thickness of blue board and plaster, coffered ceilings, along with all the HVAC and plumbing.
Whenever I am wiring new work, full house or additions I will ask for elevation drawings and cut sheets on appliances and fixtures etc. If they don't have them I will find someone who knows what's going on before starting.
I will typically nail a scrap 2"x 4" at the proposed switch regardless of what they say just to play it safe.
 
I just finished one a few months ago. I found a couple of places that the wide trim they used prevented the wall plates to fit. Since I asked to begin with, and was told "no special trim, just regular" I handed the GC the plates and told him to either cut the plates or notch the trim.
Or a change order option for me to move the boxes. Never heard back so I'm not sure what they did.

I did learn a lesson though, I will add a 2x4 to any stud that looks like it would be close if wide trim is used whether told to or not.
 
jeff48356 said:
Have any of you ever run into an issue where you wired a new house, and when you went back to do the finish work, you discovered that the carpenters used wide door casing trim rather than standard? I now have an issue where they did just that, and the casing is right at the edge of the switch box. There is no way a wall plate will fit properly with the casing in the way. I would have nailed a 1X4 to the switch location on rough-in if the carpenter or G.C. informed me in advance that they had planned to use wide casing. What do you normally do in this situation?
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I have always made sure I have three 2x's between the switch and the RO. I actually thought that was what everyone did. Did you have three and still have this problem or two?
 
electrofelon said:
I have always made sure I have three 2x's between the switch and the RO. I actually thought that was what everyone did. Did you have three and still have this problem or two?
Click to expand...

Just the usual two. This is the first time anyone has ever surprised me like this with wide trim. Everyone else has always gone with standard, so I never gave it a second thought. I guess I'm going to have to start carrying pieces of 2X4 from now on.
 
Little Bill said:
I just finished one a few months ago. I found a couple of places that the wide trim they used prevented the wall plates to fit. Since I asked to begin with, and was told "no special trim, just regular" I handed the GC the plates and told him to either cut the plates or notch the trim.
Or a change order option for me to move the boxes. Never heard back so I'm not sure what they did.
Click to expand...

Looks like I will have to do a similar thing. They are SO far behind schedule (months) that I doubt they will want to go through the expense of change orders, or any more setback in time, or the resulting mess from cutting open the walls. Besides, I do recall several locations where the space was so tight that the switch box barely fit into it the way it is. So if I had to add any wood, it would no longer fit.
 
did you rough the box to the king stud on the door frame? thats why i go opposite the door jam, then stack up the "kickers" on that stud... it is our job to ask about trims, splashes, soffits ect. still a pain to fix but not too bad...

you can chisel (sawzall, what ever) a king stud enough for a face nailing plastix box- as long as its not serving as the door jam. skinny bays by doors and windows presents drilling problems in the top plate if memory serves... thats when i'd make a vote to move it against the swinging wall if possible...
 
Welcome to the Information Age,
where we have more raw data circulating than ever before, and less useful information filtering down to the people who actually need it.
 
Knuckle Dragger said:
I'm not trying to sound like a know it all.

I will typically nail a scrap 2"x 4" at the proposed switch regardless of what they say just to play it safe.
Click to expand...

I do this also because it doesn't look that good to have a switch cover plate jammed against the door trim.

It's not "know it all" it's just experience.
 
We always ask about trim however, we also always nail a short piece of 2x4 to the jack stud & King stud. This gives us about 5 inches or more
 
infinity said:
Shame on the GC or carpenter for not noticing while the walls were open.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't even blame the framing carpenter because they won't have anymore information than you do. Once the framing is complete they are out of there.

I have often wondered why the GCs don't have the carpenters nail an additional 2 X 4 on there for this very situation. There is plenty of scrap lumber and they do have the nail guns handy.
 
A lesser costly option may be for trim guy to make a trim for around the box, then you use "box extender" to be code compliant and bring your switch forward so it is flush with the trim.

Not saying owner will like it, but is an option.
 
growler said:
I wouldn't even blame the framing carpenter because they won't have anymore information than you do. Once the framing is complete they are out of there.

I have often wondered why the GCs don't have the carpenters nail an additional 2 X 4 on there for this very situation. There is plenty of scrap lumber and they do have the nail guns handy.
Click to expand...

A friend of mine is assisting his wife's elderly parents with a restoration/remodeling job in Houston of their home that was flooded in T.S. Harvey. Yes, now, still, nearly a year and a half after the deluge.

Something his father-in-law refused to acknowledge until the house was (is) nearly done and he was doing a progress inspection and saw it for himself is that standard doors are too narrow for his wheelchair and/or walker to get through. Now the contractor is having to go through the house and replace all the doors and casings with wider ones.
 
ggunn said:
Something his father-in-law refused to acknowledge until the house was (is) nearly done and he was doing a progress inspection and saw it for himself is that standard doors are too narrow for his wheelchair and/or walker to get through. Now the contractor is having to go through the house and replace all the doors and casings with wider ones.
Click to expand...

A contractor that been around for any length of time should be familiar with the door width needed for wheel chair access. If they don't have much experience they can search for the recommended door width in about 5 minutes.

I wish people could see a wheel chair ramp at one house I did some work at. It's about a 45 degree down slope.
 
jeff48356 said:
Have any of you ever run into an issue where you wired a new house, and when you went back to do the finish work, you discovered that the carpenters used wide door casing trim rather than standard? I now have an issue where they did just that, and the casing is right at the edge of the switch box. There is no way a wall plate will fit properly with the casing in the way. I would have nailed a 1X4 to the switch location on rough-in if the carpenter or G.C. informed me in advance that they had planned to use wide casing. What do you normally do in this situation?
Click to expand...

Been there, now you have a reason to buy this.

dewalt-framing-nailers-dcn692m1-64_1000.jpg
 
growler said:
A contractor that been around for any length of time should be familiar with the door width needed for wheel chair access. If they don't have much experience they can search for the recommended door width in about 5 minutes.
Click to expand...
My friend has had lots of problems with the contractor, but in this case it wasn't his fault; he didn't know. Both my friend's parents (both in their late 80's) have been insisting all through the process that once the house was restored they would move back in and everything would be the same as it was before, but she fell and broke her hip, and he has had back surgery. They still seem to think that their limited mobility will be temporary, but I don't think it's likely.

It's a tough situation.
 
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