Would you like to install windows and doors that require no trim? Reader ineffablespace — who recently shared his terrazzo-like shower base using Corian ‘Silver Birch’ — discovered a sleek way to install flush window and door jambs — with EZY Jamb. These flush jambs remove the need for trim molding around windows and doors, creating a modern, minimalist look.
I’ve talked about how there are certain details (or lack of details) that I am refining as I renovate my 1965 house. Some of these will be closer to what the architect intended than what was actually built, and some of them will be the sorts of details architects were using at the time for one-off client-based houses rather than in builders’ houses like mine.
On the hinged door opening I am doing completely flush jambs because I found a product that means that the whole detail does not have be be fabricated onsite.
The product he used: EZY Jamb.
From the EZY Jamb website:
EZYJamb is a split-type door jamb manufactured from cold rolled steel to produce a strong and secure assembly.
The EZYJamb Classic Adjust EZC, comes with perforated sides for flush finishing which produces a contemporary flush finish door jamb with clean lines and inconspicuous detail.
The completed jamb is flush finished and can be painted in with the whole wall area to fully conceal any fixing, achieving simple clean lines around the door face.
The incorporation of reinforced edges overcomes the continual damage door jambs are subjected to by normal everyday use.
Ineffablespace adds:
In real life it looks like this (above), and then it gets plastered or spackled over. This is the Inswing side of the door. The hinges are hidden in the jamb (this is an upgrade). The whole assembly, not including the door, was about $500, which is not cheap, but it’s a good alternative to fabricating it onsite. (And the hinges themselves are a pricey part of the assembly). There aren’t a lot of doors in this house.
A company called Fry Reglet just came out with their version too. (Above)
This may be something people are interested in if they are building new, or doing a complete renovation.
In addition, we see that Ezy Jamb has a molding to make molding-free windows, too. It’s called EZY Jamb Ezy Reveal. Pam’s contractors used similar metal edgings for the recessed shelves in her office. And on her doors and windows in her kitchen, they found similar — but rounded — edging that could then be spackled over and painted.
Thanks for the tip, ineffable!
Manufacturers of flush window and door jamb systems/edging:
- EZY Jamb
- Fry Reglet
Sheila says
Nice! My 1966 home is another one with no decorative trim around any windows or doors, no baseboards and since all the ceilings are open-beam, no crown molding either.
I had an architect friend bring a contractor over here after he told her “it can’t be done.”
I love the clean look.
ineffablespace says
My concern about contractors who say things can’t be done is….
can they do it once they have seen it and the materials available?
They still may not get it, or the reasoning behind it and that may limit their ability to do it.
I have a plumber who is excellent but says every time he installs a [brand of toilet I like] with a Uni-fit rough-in, it leaks.
So guess what type of toilet (which I like) I did not specify for the bathrooms in this house–because if he installed them, I am sure they would leak.
If I want something done certain way (especially stylistically) and a contractor says that it can’t be done–and I know it can be–my tendency is to choose someone else.
Mary Elizabeth says
I am forwarding this post to my Scandinavian son-in-law, who has gutted and redone two rooms in his house, eliminating the trim around the windows and doors. He did it by the sheetrock method, and although the window openings look fine after several years, I think he would appreciate knowing that there is something out there to make his next project easier.
kathy says
My 1959 home has this on every door and window. When I painted last year I truly appreciated the ease of not painting trim. Love it and may want to replace the front door with the new system. Thanks for sharing. I have pics.
ineffablespace says
A window opening generally has no moving parts of it’s own. The jamb is the part that has all the workings of the window, whether it be a double hung or casement window. Exterior walls are thicker, so when a window has jambs on it that come all the way to the outer surface of the wall and it is topped with casing, those jambs are often “extended jambs”. So a window without any jamb extensions will often have drywall corners, and a sill is added at the bottom.
An interior door is put into a thinner wall (about 5″) and the hinges generally are set to extend past the edge of whatever wall is inside the room the door swings into, so it is standard to make the jamb the full thickness of the wall, and it’s easier then, to shim the door square and cover the gap with trim.
These practices are pretty much based upon whichever is easier (and then costs less) in each situation
sherree says
I love the look of these! My 1953 ranch has no window trim (other than the sill) with the exception of my knotty pine mud room. All of the doors are trimmed though. Must have been a common practice in my area/ neighborhood.
maria says
Beautiful.
I had doors put in like this when I was building out an office and a had a corporate budget to work with. They were stunning IMHO.
Kelly Wittenauer says
Love the look of windows without moldings on the top & sides, just a sill at the bottom. And love never needing to wipe dust off the tops of door & window frames. But doors without casings look unfinished to me.
Kelly Wittenauer says
Love this look on the top & sides of windows, with a sill at the bottom. And love not having to wipe dust off the tops of window & door frames. But doors without casings look unfinished to me.
pam kueber says
I have windows and doors without casings/trim in my bedrooms hall — they look great. You don’t miss them at all!
ineffablespace says
You’d be surprised in person how it looks. You can tell this is actually a higher level of finish than door casings, if you really look. Trim is ornamental, but it was originally developed to cover gaps between different building materials. There is no gap between building materials allowed with this level of finish.
ineffablespace says
I will jump in to add that so far the jambs have proved to be very durable. The painter’s apprentice would **slam** this door every time he went in and out , and it’s a heavy solid core door–and there was no surface cracking of the relatively new plaster and spackle over any of the joints.
There are a number of ways to site build these, such as using drywall corners, but these tend to get dinged up pretty quickly, as I’ve seen. I’ve been to recently completed projects with these done by various site-built methods and they already show some wear. (This is probably one of the reasons, in addition to cost and technique sensitivity, that they were a detail that was often dropped in modernist construction)
Liz says
The first house I owned was built in 1941 and there was no trim around three sides of the windows. We did have window sills at the bottom. This made the process of hanging window shades and curtains much more complex than it would normally be. We had to use long screws and make sure that shades/curtains were screwed into a stud rather than just attaching them to the window frame.
ineffablespace says
Because of this I did put wood jambs all around the window although they are flush with the face of the wall and there is casing type trim. It’s more durable than a drywall return.
I also put blocking in the wall.
But this is really only an issue if you hang your window treatments right on the window frame, and I tend to mount blinds inside, where there is a jamb, and soft window treatments above and outside the trim on the wall anyway.
My draperies are going to be ceiling mount.
pam kueber says
If you have walls open, you can think ahead and add structural support above a window — all the way across — to hang drapery rods. That way, you never have to search for studs. My aunt taught me this great trick!
Mary Elizabeth says
Your aunt was a decorator/contractor or just a genius? 🙂
pam kueber says
Just a genius!