How to Trim a window

hey what's going on guys Alex M here from Mr build it so this is my house it was built in 1983 and today I'm going to show you how we made it look like a brand new construction home with these window casings so without Wasing time let's get into the video Let's Go All right well our house is one of the typical houses that was built in the early 1990s and they come with these really dated trim pieces we wanted to update them to the bigger fatter more modern pieces to really kind of modernize our house if you will so to remove the existing trim uh the majority of time they're being held with Brad nails and silicone completely around it so we're going to use a utility knife or a box cutter knife and cut the bead of silicone both on the inside part of the window casing and the outside part of the trim this will make it a lot easier to remove that trim and not damage any drywall once you got all the call cut around the perimeter of the trim you're now safe to remove that trim you'll need three basic tools a nice stiff utility knife a 15-in utility pry bar and a hammer and the way I like to do it is use the corner of the utility knife drive it in behind the uh trim piece and then once you get it there wiggle it back and forth create some space Drive the utility pry bar behind it and then use both the utility knife and the pry bar kind of simultaneously behind one another to pry small increments of the trim piece off the back of the wall until the entire piece is removed you'll be surprised that you'll damage far less Drive wall and you'll be actually be able to remove the entire trim piece at once without it breaking once you remove all the trim work you'll see that you'll be left with Brad nail nails and pin nails that are left in the window casing and the studs so you can either a remove all those nails or B simply just do what I did I'll just grab an hammer and then just drive them all the way in flush that way won't interfere with the new trim that'll be coming in also it's a good idea to take that same utility knife and scrape off all the pre-existing caulk that's on the both the drywall and the windo casing trust me you want to do this if you want a nice finished product I've learned this lesson the hard way now when it comes to actually installing the trim or the window casing as the call it for the sides of the casing I'm using a 1x4 MDF and then for the top and bottom or the head and apron I'm using a 1x6 same stuff MDF one rule of thumb don't forget when installing the head in apron make sure when you create the length cut you use a roundover bit to match the entire round over part of that trim piece so it looks nice and then when it comes to actually installing it you have to use a brad nailer you can get away with anything between a 16 and an 18 gauge you can use a battery powered one like I'm using or a Pneumatic compressor one whatever you got just use that one rule with thumb is make sure that when you actually install it try to drive those brad nails into the actual studs or the window casings that are behind the trim this will ensure that the project is installed correctly basically there's there's really no science behind it and when it comes to actually using the blade you don't have to use a finishing blade but just make sure to know that on the edges that you'll make the cut specifically on the apron and the head sometimes you could see the saw Mark so keep a little sandpaper handy to get rid of those now I did have somebody ask me why not make your own trim work by just buying like a 4x8 sheet of MDF that's usually like 30 bucks ripping it all on your table saw and installing it well you could totally do that that's an option the only issue is by the time you rip it on your table saw use a router to round over the edges and then prime it then paint it and install it takes way too long so for me personally I want save myself time buy the stuff that's already pre-made pre-done and then spend the rest of my day and or days to actually focus on doing the finishing touches on the trim work guys let's talk advantages and disadvantages Advantage yes cordless battery powered expensive nice and shiny the problem is 3-in Nails you have to use both hands to push it in or else the nail doesn't go all the way in number two weighs as much as of a newborn kid this Old Faithful trusty pneumatic 6 lb Maybe bought at Harbor Freight for like 20 bucks super powerful nice and light especially on a 14t tall ladder way would rather have this yeah you get your compressor and your hose but you know what those pinky compressors really cheap on Craigslist this is Harbor Freight I like this I don't like that I like this but I still use that but I like this huh speaking of finishing touches we now have to fill all the nail holes that I left from the brad nailer so I'm just using a wood putty to fill in the hole you don't have to put too much just just enough to cover it keep in mind by putting too much you're going to have to sand too much so a little will do it just cover the hole enough with a little bit of Rim outside of it then I'm going to use 150 grit sandpaper with a little sanding block behind it you can use a piece of scrapwood or an official sanding block if you want it doesn't matter and then sand it just enough to take off the outside rim of the wood filler making sure that only the inside part of the hole is filled and also not to sand off all the primer that on your MDF that's counter intuitive so just find the good happy in between and you'll be surprised how quickly it goes once everything's sanded make sure you use like a a leaf blower or an air compressor whatever you want just to blow off all the dust that's on the window casing it's going to make it so much easier to have a a nicer application of of culk for this next following step all right like I mentioned the culk when it comes to applying the culk couple of tips I'll tell you get the culk that has the 20 minute uh Cur time so and it's paintable that's very very important when it comes to applying create a small cut apply it and then here's the kicker get a damp rug get your finger wet in it so once you apply it use a finger that's already moist from the water in the rag and then just do one swift motion to push all the caulk behind the trim this will actually make sure it looks nice flush and actually uses it to be an adhesive for the trim now when it comes to to painting obvious points mask everything off protect your windows protect your walls now when it comes to painting you can always roll it on you can always brush it on I personally recommend spraying it it comes out way better way more professional you don't have to buy yourself an expensive $400 gun what you can do is spend like 50 60 70 bucks get yourself what's called an HVLP sprayer that's high volume low pressure it's ideal for like clear coats and stains basically thinner materials with latex paint you got to dilute it a little bit which is not nice cuz you can just use water uh pour it in a cup leave a few inches off the top and then just uh use a stir stick with a little water and kind of thin it out to to the best finest Mist that it'll shoot out the product that I'm using here is from homerite they were nice enough to send it to me it's called a finish Max that's the model uh and it applies really well I I didn't have any issues at all just be mindful to have a good steady pattern leave yourself enough distance so you don't get too many runoffs on it once the paint dries also the advantage of spraying it is between second and third coats the drying time is far quicker than to roll it on so that's another Advantage once everything's dry remove all the plastic kick back and enjoy the fruits of your [Music] labor hey thanks so much for watching this video it does mean the world to me if you're brand to the channel you like videos like this subscribe the link will will be right over here couple of the videos for you guys to check out if you choose to do so in the description I'll put a link for all the tools that I use my social media accounts including my brand new podcast pillow talk that's currently out make sure you like comment share this video with your friends love you guys thanks for the support bye