Replace Door Casing Only — New Trim on Existing Doors
The doors are fine. The skinny clamshell casing around them is not. New trim on every door in the house changes the whole place and does not need a single door replaced.
JMB Builders will replace door casing only, on doors and jambs that stay put, anywhere in the Twin Cities metro. We pull the old trim, scrape and patch the wall where it sat, set new casing with an even reveal on the jamb, miter or block the corners, fill, caulk and prime it. One door or every door in the house, in the profile you pick. Priced per opening, quoted from photos within one business day.
- Priced per opening; doors and jambs stay
- Stock, craftsman or matched profiles
- Quote from photos in 1 business day
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
Casing is the trim around the door. In most houses from the last fifty years it is a thin clamshell or ranch profile, nailed on fast and painted a dozen times. Swapping it for a wider colonial, a flat craftsman casing with a head, or a profile that matches an older part of the house is the cheapest trim upgrade there is, because the door and jamb stay exactly where they are.
The work is simple to describe and fussy to do. The old casing gets scored at the wall and jamb, pried off without splitting the jamb, and the nails pulled. The wall behind it is scraped, and any drywall that came away is patched. The new casing is set back from the jamb edge by an even reveal on all three sides, mitered at the corners or butted to a head piece, nailed to the jamb and the framing, and the miters glued. Nail holes filled, joints caulked, primed. Where the new casing is a different width than the old, the baseboard gets cut back or returned to meet it, and the wall paint line will show until the wall is repainted.
JMB Builders replaces door casing across the Twin Cities metro, per opening, with most houses done in a day or two. 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 a typical door with its casing, and a close-up of the casing profile from the side
- The profile you want: a photo, a name, or a sample; or ask us for options
- Whether the trim is painted or stained, and whether the baseboard is being replaced at the same time
- Paint for the new casing, or add painting as a line on the quote
What JMB supplies
- Removal of the old casing on both sides of each door, nails pulled, jamb edges cleaned
- Wall prep behind the old trim: scraped, drywall patched where the paper tore
- New casing in the chosen profile, primed finger-joint or MDF for paint, solid wood for stain
- Even reveals on the jamb, glued miters or a head-and-plinth build, nailed to the jamb and framing
- Baseboard cut back or returned where the new casing is wider than the old
- Filler in the nail holes, caulk at the wall and jamb, primer on the filler
- Painting or staining of the new casing when you want it, quoted as its own line
- Photos of the finished doors in your job folder
How it is priced: per opening
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- Casing profile: a stock colonial or flat stock vs. a wide built-up craftsman head with plinths
- Paint-grade vs. stain-grade in a species that matches the doors
- Both sides of the door or one side (a closet door usually has casing on the room side only)
- Wall condition behind the old casing: plaster and lath or torn drywall paper takes more patching
- Whether the baseboard is replaced at the same time, which is cheaper per foot than returning it
- Number of openings; a whole house is priced well below the single-door rate per opening
One photo of a door straight on and one of the casing edge, plus how many doors, gets you a firm per-opening quote.
How long it takes
One door, both sides: about two hours. A whole house of ten to fifteen doors: one to two days, then painting if we do it.
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
Stock colonial casing
The common profile at any lumberyard, wider than clamshell and with a little shape. Mitered corners. The budget upgrade that still looks like real trim.
Craftsman flat casing with head
Flat legs, a thicker head that overhangs the legs, and plinth blocks at the floor. Fits older Minneapolis and St. Paul houses and any modern house going for the look. Butt joints, no miters to open up.
Match an existing profile
When one part of the house has the original trim and another was remodeled with clamshell, we match the original: a stock profile if one is close, or a run from a millwork shop for an old profile that is not made anymore.
Casing and baseboard together
New casing next to old baseboard shows the difference. Doing both in one visit is the usual whole-house package; the baseboard runs into the plinths or casing legs with no returns to fuss over.
Replace Door Casing Only — New Trim on Existing Doors: questions, answered
Can you replace the door trim without replacing the door?
Yes. The casing is nailed to the face of the jamb and the wall and comes off without disturbing the door or the jamb. We pull it, prep the wall, and set new casing with an even reveal on the jamb. The door, hinges and hardware never come off. It is the standard way to update trim in a house where the doors themselves are fine.
What does door casing replacement cost per door?
It is priced per opening, and the number moves with the profile, whether it is paint-grade or stain-grade, whether both sides of the door are cased, and how many doors are done in the visit. A whole house is far cheaper per opening than a single door because the setup is the same. Send a photo of one door and the count, and the quote comes back within one business day.
Will the old paint line show after the casing is replaced?
If the new casing is wider than the old, it covers the old line and then some, so nothing shows. If it is narrower or a different shape, a strip of unpainted wall or an old texture edge shows outside the new trim until the wall is painted. We tell you which from the photo, and we patch and prime the strip so the wall paint covers it.
Can you match the casing in the older part of my house?
Usually. Send a straight-on photo and one from the side showing the profile. Many older profiles are still stocked or are close enough to a stock profile that the difference disappears under paint. For a profile that is no longer made, a millwork shop can run it from a sample, which adds lead time but not much else.
Does new door casing come painted?
No. It goes in primed, with the nail holes filled and the joints caulked, ready for paint. Painting is quoted as a separate line, or leave it primed and paint it yourself. Stain-grade casing goes in raw and unfilled so the stain takes evenly, and staining is quoted the same way.
Should I replace the baseboard at the same time as the door casing?
If the baseboard is the same thin profile as the old casing, yes, because new casing next to old baseboard shows the difference at every door. Doing both together is also cheaper per foot, since the baseboard runs straight into the new casing or plinths instead of being cut back and returned. If the baseboard is already a good profile, we return it neatly to the new casing and leave it.
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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Based in Zimmerman, scheduling across the Twin Cities metro. Closest first: