You let it get awful far before noticing (like completely finished).

I did mention we wouldn't have an actual door there,

Yes, the contractor should have read your mind and been aware of your assumptions.

What finish does your contract state?

And in addition to what Palimpsest wrote, please keep in mind that some of us who are NOT in the business don't KNOW how doorways are built. Consider the possibility that Skuba--having hired a GC in part because he doesn't know how to build doorways--assumed that this was part of building a cased doorway and didn't know it was already completed.

It can still be cased and trimmed nicely--looks like there's plenty of space.

One day it was a whole the other day it's a drywall passage. How am I supposed to know what he was going to do? Also we had 2 doors before in the kitchen which we closed down, so if any assumption should be that we were moving the door. There used to be a door just about 2 feed from new "door".

Thanks to the ones actually posting suggestions. So the opening is 32", if we case and trim it, wouldn't we loose width?

Thanks

Also, I am here to get opinions on this. My initial reaction is that it doesn't gel with the rest of the house. But maybe it's not so bad since it's a doorway, not a door per se. What do you guys think?

Thanks

yes about 1 1/2" if the jamb material is installed directly over the sheetrock (assuming 1/2" sheetrock). and only about 1/2" if the sheetrock is removed.

I don't think it is bad as it is and it will also give you a little more leeway with ending the countertop and backsplash without having a small sliver of drywall between the casing and the end of the countertop or backsplash.

It is fairly common in modern construction for door openings without doors to be finished as drywall openings and for cased and drywall openings to be mixed within the same house or room depending on other conditions.

This is the kind of detail that really should be in writing, but it is up to the contractor in a case like this to ask what you want and to specify it. So often these details are not discussed because they are deemed "too minor" or "obvious", when really they are not. I am consulting on an entire house where details were not hashed out, so I think it is fairly common. But it is not completely up to the homeowner...they aren't the professional.

This post was edited by palimpsest on Wed, Jun 19, 13 at 12:46

Yes, you're correct that it doesn't mesh with the rest of the trim in the house and I would have him correct it. Remove the drywall and make it the size you wanted.

As a main passageway into the kitchen, don't settle for a narrow door.

Talked to architect, he agrees should be trimmed and cased.

resolution: despite misunderstanding, my GC is pretty awesome..Called him and he said no problem, they will put jamb, trim, etc..and still keep 32" opening

thanks for messages

skuba, the point we were trying to make earlier is that this should all be spelled out in advance and not left to assumptions. Very glad it all worked out for you on the end however.

I understand, but not always it's easy to account for everything. I for one, never thought of the possibility of a opening that is not a door, specially in a 1940 home where every door is trimmed. Also this is my 1st home, 1st remodel.

A 32" opening is too small. You need at least a 36" opening into the kitchen in order to fit a refrigerator through.

Nonsense - A counter depth fridge can easily pass through the door sideways. Most fridges will actually pass through sideways, unless they are more than 32" wide and deep.

If it's a full-depth fridge it may need to have the doors taken off to move it in, but that's not a major proposition.
I think most manufacturers have taken into account that most housing stock does not have 36" interior doors, yet.

We had a problem in a 1950s house with a counterdepth fridge being slightly too large to fit through a doorway because of a combination of width and height and having doors that were only 28" wide and 6'6" instead of 6'8".

Good for your GC. It also may not have been communicated to his drywall crew. Sometimes these things happen (it was drywall wrapped, but shouldn't have been) but it is easier to removed that little extra that was applied when it shouldn't have been than to have the crew come back and wrap it after the fact if it should have been...

We have a house with 32" exterior doors and had to remove the fridge doors (full size fridge) to get it into the house.

Ah...never mind.

This post was edited by homebound on Thu, Jun 20, 13 at 22:13

Sorry with my last comment. English is not my first language and I didn't mean to be rude. I really appreciate all the input.