How to Do Arch Designs on Doorways

Cut around the edges of the door’s trim using a utility knife, then pry the trim off the doorway using a small pry bar. Remove any leftover trim nails in the wall by pulling them out with the claw side of a hammer.

Cut through the nails holding the door jamb to the wall studs, using a close-quarters hacksaw. Slide the door jamb assembly out of the doorway to remove it.

Draw a template for your doorway arch on a piece of cardboard, using acarpenter’s square and compass to make the arch uniform and the same width as the doorway. Cut out the template you drew and place it on another piece of cardboard. Trace around the template, then cut out the duplicate from the other piece of cardboard.

Attach the templates to either side of the doorway, using rolled-up strips of tape to hold the templates to the wall. Position the template’s bottom edge so it sits flat against the top edge of the doorway. Trace around the templates with a marker, then take the templates down.

Cut along the lines you traced, using a drywall saw, and then remove the loose drywall. Cut through the exposed portions of the joists with a handsaw, following the edge of the drywall you trimmed away.

Cut lengths of a 2-by-4 board that measure 2 inches shorter than the wall is thick. Insert the wood blocks you cut into the space between the walls, spacing them out every 6 inches in the archway. Drive one wood screw through the drywall and into each end of the wood blocks, holding them in place.

Cut strips of drywall that measure the same width as the wall’s thickness. Wet the backs of the drywall strips with a wet sponge and bend the drywall to fit inside the contour of the archway. Drive screws through the drywall strips and into the wood blocks you installed.

Apply drywall compound with a putty knife to the screw heads along the edges and inside the archway, as well as the drywall seams. Apply a second coat of drywall compound after the first coat dries. Sand the compound with fine-grit sandpaper once the second coat of drywall compound dries. Brush a fresh coat of paint on the archway.