Door Casing Styles

Ranch Door Casing Style for Beauty, Simplicity and Functionality

Probably the most important part of finish carpentry is selecting door casing styles. The style of the casings has to match, or at least accent, the remainder of the room. The way to choose the door and window casings is before the job even begins. That way, you have a picture in your mind of what the finished job looks like. Of the available door casing styles, ranch is one of the most popular.

Ranch door casing has a dual purpose as does all casings, whether for doors or windows. The simplicity of the design will not detract from the trim in the rest of the room. It is sort of like colonial without the decorative forming and routing; just a simple piece of straight wood or MDF casing. This style of casing emanates from the days when ranch owners built their own homes and barns. There was no time or place for extra fancy wood cutting, so functionality took precedence.

Ranch door casing is available in most parts of the country at home improvement centers, lumber yards and other construction material suppliers. Sizes range from ½” to ¾” in thickness and anywhere from 2 ¼” to 6” in width. This is just a matter of how prominent you want the casing to be when you are done.

Many types of wood are used for ranch door casing styles and designs. You will find that pine, oak and fir are the most common choices, yet there are many different woods available for this use. Mahogany, Redwood and birch come to mind right away. Whatever casing style you decide on, you will find the right one to match the other woodwork in the room.

All door casing, including Ranch, can be purchased primed, plain or stain ready. This allows you to either paint or stain the casing to match or accent the other trim. Therefore, it is attractive and installation is a snap, especially with the use of corner blocks or rosettes for added accent. However, door casings also provide a practical use that is commonly overlooked.

The door casing can be used to conceal the gaps or spaces left behind when installing a door frame. The new jambs typically are not an exact fit, and so the spaces are inherently there. The width of the door casing can be adjusted to conceal any irregularities in that area. Thus, ranch door casing has a functionality for the carpenter as well as the customer or diy'er.

Now some finish carpenters have been known to simply use 1x4 as casing material. This will work, but will not add the flavor and accent that door casing styles like ranch, colonial or Princeton offer. If you are reaching for a professional look and feel, then door casing material is the way to go. Many varieties of available wood, various sizes/widths and the choice of paint or stain all add up to a custom job.

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