I thought about just removing the jambs but that can be a pain if the casing is firmly nailed into them. Good call, it seems like more work at first glance but it's the easiest route in many ways.

I assume you used a brand with no MDF -- hence the good water test results.

What brand did you use? I was at HD today and the brand I like is indeed "Universal." Real wood, all the way through.

If you want to go extra high quality someday, try Junkers (I think that's the spelling, pronounced Yonkers -- German). It's solid, not laminate, but it's pre-finished and snap together like the HD stuff. The pieces have two rows in each section instead of three.

__________________
Te futueo et caballum tuum

1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K