Extending the Curved Door Frame

I removed the crown molding from the wall facing the bathroom and surprise, a big piece of plaster fell off, revealing what was once an outside wall (our bedroom isn't original to the house). At first I was surprised to see a rectangular outline above the curved door, but now I realize that it was once a window, and the square part on top has been filled it with some very, very hard white stuff (that I had to chip, chip away, like Michelangelo, until the wall was flush again). Looked like some abandoned medieval ruin after I finally chipped it all away.




I've never liked how the wall beveled into the door frame. Over the past few days I've discovered why this was done, many good reasons. I don't care. The truth is, I've been staring at those doors for several years now, and I really, really wanted an excuse to work on one of them. Crazy.

For this job I'll need to extend the curved frame about 4 inches. I'll need two pieces: the door stop and the jamb, one overlapping the other. Getting the straight part of the jamb was easy enough--the old hinge area will be covered when I'm done.


Cutting the curves on a band saw didn't work--I knew it wouldn't. But will a 1/2 inch piece of pine bend that much (without steaming). To test the theory I built an arch frame in the backyard. I know I should use multiple, thinner pieces. Details...


I'm soaking the pine in the fish pond right now. Fun.

The Big Picture (Window)

The final set of windows are joined together now, over 8 feet wide and with a fixed picture window in the center, much heavier than the ones I've done so far. It's ready to be lifted into place except that the opening is not quite right yet. I'll definitely need some help getting this monster off the ground and into its custom-built opening in the wall.

photo by Cheryl

Unlike the other window frames in this room, this big one does not have a stucco wall at the bottom. Instead, the wall opens into a tile overhang that extends out toward the driveway.


What I discovered after pulling out the old window and its layers of framing is that the opening is about 1/2 inch shorter than it needs to be--the window might fit, but there would be no room for adjustment. And the horizontal opening is about 1 inch wider than I thought it would be. My fault in both cases because I trusted that the existing wood frame would match the stucco opening. Not even close.

There is no trusting in carpentry.