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adding molding to doors/DIY

5 years ago

Has anybody done this DIY project with success? Is it obviously something that was DIY or does it look as if it came that way? Debating getting new closet doors with a trim like this and then I would add this to the existing bedroom and bathroom doors (because I don’t want to pay 1000s of dollars for those doors which are custom sizes and have metal trim holding them into a cement wall).

Comments (16)

  • PRO
    5 years ago

    Have you the skills to do this so it looks professional. IMO trim done poorly is all wrong. I think if you have to ask you are not skilled enough to do this right . So maybe get a pro to do it .BTW not the skinny trim if you are going to do this IMO that always looks like an addon.

  • 5 years ago

    I don’t have the skills. I would ask my contractor to have someone do it. We are doing a complete renovation including knocking walls out but I cannot knock out two which are concrete and structural. Those two have custom size doors and they are the two doors that I will need to add to in order to make them match others. I’m not into shaker bc I think it looks kinda country and I’m aiming more for French country modern if that’s a thing.....like restoration hardware style......if not skinny and not shaker what trim is there?

  • 5 years ago

    Buy new doors. Applied molding is a TikTok drunk DIY level project. By the time you pay labor, you could have bought new doors.

  • 5 years ago

    HO-UZZ812 I would buy new doors but it would involve taking off existing metal door frames and buying custom 8 foot doors which will takes 8-10 weeks and cost several thousand dollars. I think it’s adding these or not having anything at all

  • 5 years ago

    The hardest part in that DIY is cutting the trim pieces at the correct length and angle. Do you have a saw and mitre box? You could use painter's tape to outline the desired position of the trim, then measure what you'll need, buy the required amount of trim, cut the trim pieces to required lengths, and nail or glue the trim pieces to the door. If you don't want to do it yourself, and you or your contractor have a general handyman type person, I don't know why they wouldn't do it.


  • 5 years ago

    I actually think it would be fine to just add some trim to the doors. As the above poster said though it would need to be cut accurately and neatly applied

  • 5 years ago

    It's not that difficult. If you already plan to pay someone to do it, go for it. The worst that could happen is you don't like it and you save up to replace the doors later.

  • 5 years ago

    Have you seen real life in-person examples of the molding treatment like in the pictures you posted?

    The faux Shaker treatment using wide strips looks good & is pretty convincing, even close-up. The skinny molding does not.

  • 5 years ago

    Ci_lantro I haven’t. Thanks for the tip. I wonder if I could find a place to see it or if you can only see this when you know someone who has it

  • PRO
    5 years ago

    Your posted images will always look like tacked on trim- it sounds like you are doing a lot of work so do these two doors correctly. What do the existing doors look like? What doors are you putting in the rest of the space? In 99% of cases the existing jambs stay and you just need to buy new door slabs and a carpenter will trim them to fit. Many companies supply the slabs in 2" increments in width and several standard heights and they can be further refined on site. The only place I can see adding moulding is if this is the main unit door from shared spaces where you can't alter the exterior and it is a fire door...

  • 5 years ago

    I don't use Pinterest, but I did a search on "easy door embellishments" and this was the top hit. Easy door embellishments

  • 5 years ago

    Hallett & co the existing doors for the bedroom and bathroom are plain. For some reason the contractor said replacing these two would be a serious job that for some reason includes removing the metal frame and would therefor prolong my move in date (and that I should have told him before they painted and started the flooring). These two doors are attached to cement walls. The closet doors were bifold with kinda crappy material.....one even had a small chip the size of a nickel on the edge....and have all been removed already. The kids bedroom doors have two doors shaker style that swing open like saloon doors. (I would say French doors but it’s so odd the original owners put 2 doors in a frame that’s the size of one regular door). I really don’t love the shaker and planned on replacing at some point but he said that door was easy to switch out at any point even after I move in it I want.

  • PRO
    5 years ago

    Can you post a picture of your current doors and jambs? What are you putting in the other new openings?

  • 5 years ago

    I’ll have to go over there this week and take a picture. Not sure what to put in the new openings. That’s pretty much what started this whole thing for me. I want something better than what I had (that I never took pics of) but not sure what that even is.

  • PRO
    5 years ago

    https://www.tuckerdoor.com/interior/


    Tucker is one of the larger wholesalers of doors- flip through and find the styles you like, your contractor will be able to source them through his supply house

  • 5 years ago

    Thanks. I am going to look at styles in person tomorrow. They have to be custom made though.