Door and Window Casing Designs

This page contains some ideas for building combination casings for doors and windows. Using 1by finish lumber, one–piece casing profiles, back band and other commonly available trim, many different moldings can be created or simulated.

Colonial Style Door Casing

This casing combines a basic one–piece baseboard profile and a back band to create two decorated edges. Back band like this can probably be found at a home store and certainly at a millwork or lumberyard. One can also be made made by cutting a rabbet along one edge of a standard stop bead or other small molding.

This casing can be installed using rosettes or miters at the top and butted against the floor. The bottom can also be finished using a plinth block to transition with baseboards.

Cove and Bead Casing Design

This is another traditional casing built using a one–piece profile for the sides and a 1x4, small cove and bead molding for the header.

To install this casing the sides are cut square top and bottom. Butt joints to mate with the header and the floor, or a plinth block can be used at the bottom. The header is built installing the 1x4 first and then attaching the smaller molding pieces. All members of the header, including the 1by board, are cut with an outside miters at the ends and a return piece of molding is fitted to the edges.

Victorian Casing Design

This is an elaborate casing similar to those found in Victorian designs. It is built using 1by lumber, half–round and back band. This design can be varied using corner bead in place of the back band or the half–round can be replaced with a one–piece reed mould or other similar trim.

To build this casing the 1by and half–round should be pre–assembled using glue and small brads before installation. The sides and header are joined using rosette blocks and the bottom joins with the floor and baseboard with a plinth block.

Combination Casing Design

This is a traditional casing design built using a one–piece baseboard and back band combination for the sides, and a bed crown profile and bead molding on the header.

The bed mould is supported by a blocking strip ripped at 45° and installed along the top of the 1x4. The header moldings are all cut with a return at the ends and the casing sides installed with butt joints at the top and bottom.