Do I need to tear out drywall for window trim?

12 years ago

Hi everyone. I am tackling the project of putting trim around my windows as there is none at the moment, just the typical drywall that is squared off around the edges. The bottom of the sill does have a stool. BUT I want to add trim around it. Nothing fancy just something that is done right and upgrades my home. I have tried to look up the techniques and i have found that most people tear out the drywall around the window and place boards in place of the drywall on the inside of the sill and then add the trim to go around the outside of the sill (like a picture frame). Do I really need to tear out the drywall?? I have attached a picture to show you what I am dealing with. I think I have enough room to just add the board up against the drywall instead of tearing it out, but i dont know if this is acceptable or if it will come back to haunt me later as a repair. THANKS

Comments (3)

worthy
12 years ago
You forgot the picture. You usually have to remove the drywall returns completely to place the wood jambs around the window. These serve as the backing for the wood trim.

Here is a link that might be useful: Trimming Window (Video)
lyfia
12 years ago
I removed the drywall in my old house, but I did it because I wanted replacement windows with more glass. In my current one I will use thinner wood for the jamb and just remove the corner beads as they will cause me to otherwise to have to shim things to lay flat.
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sierraeast
12 years ago
As Lyfia mentions, if your existing window frames are wide enough, it's a lot easier to leave the drywall in place with little or no shimming depending how well the drywall was hung. If the frame is only 1/2" - 1" or so wider then if you use 1/2" - 3/4" wood stock. it's not going to leave much of a reveal if at all where the trim meets the frame and will look odd. I've used 1/4" veneer for the trim, but it didn't leave any room for a reveal concerning the casing to the trim around the perimeter. I just butted the casing flush to the outside of the veneer trim. They liked it, I didn't as it's always nice to have decent reveals around window/door areas when trimming/casing, imo.