A jamb saw is a
mechanical gizmo designed specifically for removing
the bottom of door casings so flooring
can slide under, thus providing a nice clean
appearance after the floor is installed. It is used
predominantly for laminate, hardwood, and cork
flooring installations. Depending on the skill of
the installer you can also find the work
done with stone and tile. Jam saws also come in a variety of
shapes. The particular one we are using works
ideally for larger sized plinth blocks, extremely
thick casings or casings that may be squeezed into a
corner requiring a deeper than usual cut.
How
They Cut Through Door Trim Moldings
For
those unfamiliar, door casings (seen below) are the
decorative trim molding that wraps around the drywall or the
woodwork the door is hinged to. Powered
jamb saws have a depth setting where you can adjust
for any flooring thickness. In our example we're
handling a thinner floor type whose thickness is 3/8
of one inch. If the flooring requires an
underlayment (common with floating floors in this
case) it is vital to place that under a scrap piece
of flooring reflecting the actual vertical height of
the finished floor.
Next
step is to remove all materials and have at it with
the door casing. Slow down Millie, don't take it too
fast! This is a very important part of flooring
installations. Cosmetics such as this are likely to
be seen by many people. First check to see if the
blade is sharp. A dull blade will splinter door
casings and possibly throw off heat/friction that
can show minor burn or burr marks on the woodwork.
 You're
not ready yet. How about that eye protection?
Depending on how the trim was installed you never
know where the trim carpenter placed his nails. For
thinner flooring 3/8" and under I have rarely run
into any nails but getting into 3/4" hardwood there
will be times a nail or two that cannot be avoided.
On occasion small bits of metal may fly if you hit
them dead on. Don't be concerned; a sharp blade and
slow cutting will slice through it well, but a firm
grasp on the tool is suggested. I have found cheaper
grades of pine trim will have a tendency to split or
chunks may come loose when a nail is hit.
It's
best to cut left to right with a jamb saw if your
right handed and the reverse for lefties. Prior to
this procedure I would take a small nip from the
baseboard (it will get covered anyway) just to
double check that your blade setting is correct.
It's a bummer to find you may have cut 25 door
casings in the entire house only to find out you've
cut it too high, leaving an unsightly gap. Worse yet
is cutting it too low if you happen to be using a
hand jamb saw.
Many
may be wondering; why did he cut that
far into the baseboard? This allows
for extra space when installing the flooring under
the casing. Basically it frees up areas for
expansion and contraction all floating floors
require. It also allows for an easier installation
of quarter round trim. You'll get the idea later on
down the page with the right photo.
Getting the idea? The way we've cut the hardwood
flooring around the door casing leaves unobstructed
room for the floor to expand and contract while
making it easier for the quarter round trim to cover
the gap up to the outside of the actual casing.
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