Cased Opening — Remove the Door and Trim the Doorway Out
The door between the kitchen and dining room that is always open, the hallway door that bangs the fridge, the basement door that has never been closed. Take it off, trim the opening, and it looks intended.
JMB Builders builds cased openings across the Twin Cities metro: a doorway with no door, finished with flat jambs and casing on both sides. We remove the door, hinges and stop, fill the hinge mortises and strike or set new jambs, wrap the head and legs, and case both faces to match the room's trim. Priced per opening, quoted from photos within one business day.
- Priced per opening; existing jambs reused when clean
- Casing matched to the rest of the house
- Quote from photos in 1 business day
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
A cased opening is a doorway finished like a door frame, minus the door. The jambs are flat with no stop, the head is wrapped, and casing runs around both sides with the same reveal as the other trim in the house. It is the standard way to open up a room without taking out the wall, and it is a half-day job when the existing jamb is straight.
Two ways to build it. When the existing jamb is square and sound, we pull the door and stop, plug the hinge mortises and the strike pocket with wood set in glue, sand it flush, and recase. Plugs show under stain, so on a stained jamb we usually replace the jamb legs instead. When the jamb is beat up, twisted, or the opening is being widened at the same time, new jamb stock goes in, ripped to the wall thickness, and the whole thing is cased fresh on both sides.
JMB Builders does cased openings across the Twin Cities metro, single openings and whole-house trim packages. New trim goes in primed, filled and caulked. Painting is quoted as a separate line, or leave it primed and paint it yourself.
What you supply
- A photo of the doorway from each side and a close-up of the existing casing profile
- Whether the trim is painted or stained; stained jambs are replaced rather than plugged
- Any widening you want done at the same time, so it is quoted as one job
- Paint or stain for the new casing, or add finishing as a line on the quote
What JMB supplies
- Removal of the door, hinges, stop, strike and old casing
- Hinge and strike mortises plugged and sanded flush on a painted jamb, or new flat jamb stock ripped to wall thickness
- Casing on both sides in the matching profile, mitered or with a head block, with even reveals
- Filler, caulk and primer on the new trim so it is paint-ready
- Baseboard returned into the casing where the old door casing was a different width
- Painting or staining when you want it, quoted as its own line
- Photos of the finished opening in your job folder
How it is priced: per opening
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- Reuse the existing jamb (plug and recase) vs. new jamb stock
- Painted trim vs. stained trim that has to be matched in species and color
- Casing profile: a stock colonial or flat stock vs. a wide or built-up profile with a head
- Widening the opening at the same time, which adds framing and drywall
- Wall thickness: a standard stud wall vs. a thick plaster wall that needs jamb extensions
- Number of openings in the same visit
A photo of the doorway from each side, plus one of another cased or door casing in the house, is enough to quote it firm.
How long it takes
One cased opening on an existing jamb: half a day. New jambs: most of a day. Several openings in the same house: one to two days.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized quote within one business day. We only come out to measure first when the job needs a tape measure — no pressure, no games.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Plug and recase the existing jamb
For a painted jamb that is straight and sound. Hinge mortises and the strike pocket are filled with wood plugs, glued and sanded flush, the stop is removed and the stop line sanded out, then new casing goes on both sides. Fastest and cheapest.
New flat jambs
When the jamb is stained, twisted, split, or the opening is being widened. New jamb stock is ripped to the wall thickness, set plumb and shimmed, and cased on both sides. The result is a clean flat jamb with no plugs and no old stop line.
Craftsman head and plinths
Flat casing legs, a thicker head piece that overhangs, and plinth blocks at the floor where the baseboard dies into the casing. Fits older Minneapolis and St. Paul houses and any room already trimmed that way.
Drywall-wrapped opening instead of casing
If the house has no door casing at all, the opening can be finished with corner bead and drywall instead of wood jambs and trim, so it matches the other wrapped openings. Quoted as a drywall return rather than a cased opening.
Cased Opening — Remove the Door and Trim the Doorway Out: questions, answered
What is a cased opening?
A cased opening is a doorway that has jambs and casing but no door. The jambs are flat, with no door stop, and the casing runs around both sides of the opening the same way it would around a door. It is how you open a doorway up permanently without removing the wall or widening the opening, and it looks finished rather than like a door that went missing.
Can you just remove the door and reuse the existing frame?
Usually, yes, if the jamb is painted and in good shape. We remove the door, hinges and stop, fill the hinge mortises and strike pocket with wood plugs, sand everything flush and recase it. On a stained jamb the plugs show through the finish, so we replace the jamb legs with new flat stock instead. Either way the door stop line is gone and the opening reads as a clean cased opening.
Will the cased opening match the other trim in the house?
That is the point of it. We match the casing profile, the reveal and the head detail to the nearest door or window. Most houses use a stock profile; for an older profile we find the closest match or have it run. The new trim goes in primed, filled and caulked. Painting is quoted as a separate line, or leave it primed and paint it yourself.
Can you widen the doorway and case it at the same time?
Yes, and it is the usual reason for a cased opening between a kitchen and dining room. Widening means new framing, a header if the wall is bearing, and drywall on the sides, then the new jambs and casing go on. Priced as one job. Send a photo of the wall from each side and we tell you how wide it can go.
Is a cased opening cheaper than a new door?
A cased opening on an existing jamb is less work than hanging a new door because there is no door, hardware or stop to fit, only the plugs and casing. With new jambs it is closer to a door install. It comes down to whether you want the opening closed at all; if you never close that door, the cased opening is the simpler answer.
How long does a cased opening take?
On an existing painted jamb, about half a day: remove the door and stop, plug, sand, case both sides, fill and caulk. New jambs take most of a day. Several openings in the same house are done in one or two days. Painting, if we do it, is scheduled after the filler and caulk have cured.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough. You hear back within one business day. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed September 24, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All doors pages
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