The Carpentry and Craftsmanship of the Molding Buildup

Detail of where window casing meets wainscot cap & window sill

On this install, Richard from Finish Carpentry TV, is at the WindsorONE Lab walking us through this classic clean casing buildup. With a substantial projection at 2.5” on the backband it can really transform a space and accentuate the architectural openings of the room. Planning is key as he says:

“What makes a good install is thinking 5 or 10 steps ahead.”

So true; a little extra time to figure out how profiles will transition and how pieces are prepped and installed can elevate your projects to the pro-level. We’d also like to give a shoutout to the teams at the WindsorONE mills in Virginia and California that manufacture these precision primed boards with industry leading prime coat; the work they put in at the mill also saves you time and headaches on the jobsite.

The Starting point for your casing – The Jamb

For a casing of this depth, Richard starts with setting up a jamb extension using S4SSE Trim Boards. This will extend the projection of the casing 3/4” to compliment that 1×3 back band. This backband worked well on the door to accommodate the pronounced wainscoting cap, here at the window you’ll see that the transition is reversed with the wainscot cap mitered and brought forward so this casing lands fully within the cap. For a well thought out room design; a good carpenter is always thinking about how elements interact with one another. (Note in the WindsorONE catalog this is listed as a window stool in the Colonial Revival and Greek Collections but as you can see here, works great as a wainscot cap).

Richard from finish carpentry TV putting in a window casing

WindsorONE Beaded casing profiles primed wood, craftsmanship first

Beaded Casing, A Streamlined Profile with a Fine Bead Detail

One of the most versatile profile types, beaded casing comes in a variety of sizes. Here Richard uses the WOSC007 on top of the extension to let the precision bead frame the inner casing.

Testing the backband on the window casing

Richard’s Pro Tip: When adding a detail molding or backband to the primary casing profile, make sure the miter is sanded and smooth; do your painter a favor when it’s easy to get a palm sander in without the tight corners. As you can see here, with the outside trim it will be harder to sand the seam. Using WindsorONE with an industry leading prime coat and considering the steps that follow during an install can make everything run more smoothly (yes pun intended 🙂 ).

Richard from Finish Carpentry TV installing window casing buildup

A Cove and 1×3 Backband

The next step is to add a 1×3 backband, in this case a piece of 1×3 S4SSE Flat Stock. A nice cover for the stack jamb and beaded casing, as Richard notes, one could even stop here to get that bold square farmhouse style casing. In this install it gets dressed up a bit with WOCV001 Cove Molding, installed with the ¾” edge against the backband, creating a crisp ¼” reveal between the 2. The cove details are cut to “pinch fit.” Nicely done!

Straight on window casing buildup, primed wood moldings

Thank you!

A huge thank you to Richard for sharing his passion for craftsmanship with us. If you haven’t subscribed already, check his channel Finish Carpentry TV for other great installs tips and tricks for finish carpentry, with WindsorONE and other stain grade projects as well. You can also listen in on his podcast series Passion for Craft with Jackson & Brent Hull.

Watch Richard guide you through this window casing install in the video below:

The art combining moldings for a casing buildup: variations to try, or come up with your own!

Greek number 9 casing, beaded casing and greek backband with 1x2. Greek Revival molding variation

WOCS009 Beaded Casing with WOBB002 Backband and 1×2, Greek No.9, a variation of Greek Revival Style.

WOCS008 Beaded Casing with WOWC003 Wainscot Cap. Using this cap as backband works well for WindsorONE’s 3/4” casings.

Classical Colonial Buildup with casing and backband. Bold molding details from the 1700s

WOCS001 Casing with WOBB001 Backband is the historically accurate Classical Colonial casing.

WOCS006 Casing with WOWC003 Cap as Backband, the casing is usually used as a Colonial Revival apron but works well here with the cap as a casing.

TRY YOUR OWN BUILDUP, GET YOUR WINDSORONE sampleS!

Just let us know which samples you’d like to see in the box below and we will ship them out to you. Get your project started!

2 sample pieces of WindsorONE primed wood in brown paper

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