If they have stature, a room becomes regal; when they are skimpy, that same space looks dowdy. Baseboards were often three-piece affairs consisting of a flat plank, a decorative cap molding, and a rounded shoe molding to cover gaps along the floor. In houses built after World War II, however, fancy gave way to cheap, and the vital floor-to-wall transition became the domain of thin, featureless one-piece trim.
Fortunately, it's easy to replace modern moldings with taller, thicker, two- or three-part baseboards. Running baseboard is also good for perfecting carpentry skills. The joints required are simple butts, miters, and copes, and the same basic installation steps apply to all trimwork. But if he's remodeling a house graced with good-looking baseboards, he tries his best to match the new trim to what's already there.
Making a new baseboard the same height as the original isn't difficult; finding a cap molding with the same profile can be, especially on an old house. Sometimes Tom will get lucky and locate the profile he needs from the or so that good millwork shops keep in stock. Sometimes he'll combine two or more of those moldings to create a shape that is close. But when an exact replica is needed, he'll have custom molding milled up. To determine the amount of baseboard material you need, measure each straight section of the wall and round up to the nearest whole-foot dimension divisible by two.
A week before installation, bring the wood inside to acclimate. Start running baseboard against inside corners and work toward outside corners. Tip: Studs are usually placed 16 inches on-center, so after locating the first one you may be able to locate others using a tape measure. On older homes, verify locations with a nail. Tip: "You want to cut next to the line marking the joint," says Tom. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.
By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. How to Install Baseboard. By Charles Wardell. Pinterest Email Pocket Flipboard. Planning Ahead To determine the amount of baseboard material you need, measure each straight section of the wall and round up to the nearest whole-foot dimension divisible by two.
Steps on How to Install Baseboard 1. Boards that meet outside corners should be a few inches longer than the wall to allow for miter cuts. Number the back of each board and write that same number on the wall where the board will go. Find and mark the studs in the wall; they'll serve as the firm base for nailing the baseboard. Establish the Baseboard Height Photo by Craig Raine Set a 4-foot level on the floor next to the wall to see if the floor is level.
If not, move the level across the floor to find its lowest point. At that point, tack a scrap piece of baseboard to the wall with a nail. Using the top of this baseboard piece as a benchmark, make horizontal marks every few feet at the same level on the walls around the room. Snap a chalk line between the marks around the perimeter of the room to show where the top edge of all the baseboards should land when they're installed.
Starting at an inside corner, hold the first board against the wall, level it, then tack it in place with a nail or two. Set your compass points to span the vertical distance between the chalk line and either of the board's top corners.
Scribe for a Tight Fit Photo by Craig Raine Without changing the spread of the compass's legs, hold the pencil on the baseboard and the point against the floor. Slide the compass along the floor over the board's length, keeping the points aligned vertically. With a circular saw set for a 2- to 5-degree bevel, cut alongside the scribe line so the face of the cut will be on the side toward the wall. Trim the beveled edge down to the line with a block plane.
When the scribed baseboard is put back on the wall, its top edge should line up with the chalk line snapped in Step 2. Tip: Beveling the board's bottom edge makes it much easier to scribe-fit. Next, at each stud location, hammer two 8d finish nails through the board, at a slight downward angle, near its top and bottom edges.
They add flair, as well as contribute to the overall design of the space. They also make it simpler to get your baseboards to meet up in an aesthetically pleasing way, explain the writers at Faver Wood Products.
Baseboard corner pieces are relatively simple to install, and using them can make the process of installing baseboards easier. Basically, baseboard corner blocks eliminate the need to make miter cuts in the baseboards for the corners. These precise cuts allow the two sides of the baseboards to meet seamlessly, but even small mistakes result in a sloppy look. To avoid this problem, many homeowners and decorators use baseboard corner blocks. Corner blocks solve the issue of making baseboards fit flush to one another by eliminating the need for angles.
There are two types of baseboard corner pieces, say the writers from Kitchen Cabinet Kings : those called inside corner blocks, which often look triangular in shape and are made to be set into a corner, and those called outside corner blocks, which are usually L-shaped and cover the molding.
Most common are on those that fit on the inside corner. However, you should be able to find both at your local home improvement store. Before shopping for baseboard corner blocks, measure the height of your baseboard, then choose inside corner blocks that are at least that tall.
Depending on your room or your project, you might want to paint the corner blocks before installation, recommend the writers at Home Depot. Then, clean the corner where you want to install the corner piece. Use a chisel or similar tool to scrape away any paint and debris.
Next, stand the baseboard corner piece in the corner exactly where you want it to go, then look at it. If it is not even, you may find that you need to sand or trim off the top to make it level with the rest of your baseboards.
Some people like the look of the block being a bit taller, though. Once you're ready, hammer it in tightly, tapping it in from all angles, especially the top. Secure the block with 2-inch nails on either side using a nail gun. The writers at Faver Wood Products say that you should need only a couple of nails to keep an inside corner block in place, although outside corner blocks or wood blocks will require more anchoring.
You can then use wood filler and sandpaper to fill the holes. Outside corner blocks can also be used on baseboards or other molding.
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