Tips and Techniques to Install Baseboard Molding
Well I’ve made huge strides toward getting the floors completely done. Almost all the baseboard is finished and a major portion of the quarter round is installed too. This post will focus on installing the baseboard. A future post will deal specifically with quarter round. If you haven’t purchased baseboard, make sure you select the right baseboard for your home.
Tools / Materials Needed to Install Baseboard Molding
- Miter Saw – Having a good miter saw can really save you time and frustration. Make sure you are comfortable making bevel cuts.
- Finish Nailer – I used a compressed air, finish, nail gun. I didn’t need to hammer in any nails or worry about sinking them with a nail set. Another great time saver that I highly recommend. If you don’t have one already, check out our inexpensive compressor-nailer combo kits.
- Coping Saw – This saw will be used to precision cut inside corners. Don’t have a coping saw? Todd wrote a great post outlining other tools to cut molding.
- Caulk – I installed white baseboard and used paintable, white caulk to fill nail holes and gaps. Caulk heals all wound.
How to Install Baseboard Molding
Installation is fairly simple. Select a starting point and work your way around the room. I suggest moving in a counter-clockwise fashion for right handed people (opposite for lefties). This makes cutting inside corners a little easier. If carpet or another type of flooring is being installed after the baseboard, account for the change in height. Cut small wood blocks and use them as spacers. For typical carpet with padding, make these spacers about 3/4″.
There are a few difficult spots that require some special attention.
- Inside Corners Here’s a post detailing exactly how to cope cut inside corners. Following this method will result in better looking corners with less gaps.
- Outside Corners Use the miter saw to cut these at 45° angles. Most walls / corners are not perfectly straight. Test the corner with a piece of scrap and fine tune using sandpaper or a wood file. I usually cut these a little long to ensure I had enough length and then trimmed to fit.
Scarf Joints When a piece of trim ends, mid-wall, you start a new one. These two boards meet at a scarf joint. First, locate a nearby stud. Cut the first piece of baseboard at a 45° angle just short of the stud. Cut the second piece of baseboard at a supplementary angle (45° but facing the opposite way) so as to overlap the first. Apply glue at the scarf joint and nail the second piece of baseboard into the stud. This will help keep the first piece snug against the wall.- Filling Gaps If your walls aren’t straight, or you just can’t get that corner perfect, use paintable caulk to fill the gaps. Use it to fill nail holes too. Set a bead of caulk in the gap and work it smooth with your finger. Keep a damp paper towel handy to clean your hand and to help remove excess.
What do you think? Any baseboard install tips to pass along?
Comments & Conversation on this Article...
14 Responses to Tips and Techniques to Install Baseboard Molding
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October 9th, 2008 8:57 am
Nice article, seeing as I have a lot of work to do in this area. Been a while since I’ve been around. Work was blocking your site for a while – glad they fixed this.
October 9th, 2008 11:49 am
We are trying to install baseboard right now. Trying is the operative word. My husband is having problems cutting the pieces with our power miter saw. For some reason there’s not enough room between the blade and the table to fit the baseboard through. Any suggestions on what he could do to cut it? I was wondering if there was a setting that needed to be changed or are some saws just not geared for a piece that wide? It’s only 3 1/4″, so I didn’t think it would be a problem.
October 9th, 2008 12:04 pm
@Carol, One selling point for miter saws is the largest piece of wood it can cut. But 3 1/4″ baseboard should not be a problem. Can you tell me the brand and model number of the saw?
October 9th, 2008 12:09 pm
Thanks, Ethan. Our saw is a Pro-Tech, model # 7203. It is old and may not work properly, although it cut shoe molding just fine.
October 9th, 2008 12:22 pm
@Carol, That is an older saw but if it’s working properly, should be able to cut the molding. Sounds like something has gone wrong.
October 9th, 2008 12:24 pm
OK, thanks for the response. I think my father-in-law has a bigger miter saw we can borrow. Probably need to get it.
October 9th, 2008 7:36 pm
Another thing that you might need to worry about is actually trimming the bottoms of your baseboards if, like us, your floors aren’t flat.
The best way that I have seen to do this is if you have a carpenters pencil, the flat ones, you can cut the baseboards to length, then place then where you want to put them. Hold the pencil flat against the floor and slide it along the ground, leaving a pencil mark on the base board.
If you then cut the baseboard along the pencil mark, usually with a jig saw, it should sit down flush against the undulating floor.
This will of course remove some of the height from the baseboard, but if you want it flush against the floor this is the best way that I have heard of to get it sitting flush.
disclaimer: I have not done this, only heard and read about it being an option …
October 9th, 2008 9:28 pm
Looking forward to the quarter round article – we’re in the midst of it (and have been for way too long!) we might finish it this weekend though
October 9th, 2008 9:40 pm
Another problem that I sometimes come across is the contour of the wall not being perfectly straight from top to bottom. Often when installing baseboard over new sheetrock that does not sit low enough to the floor I find that the baseboard will tilt in at the bottom, especially at a corner. To make it lay completely perpendicular to the floor and butt up nice with the next piece I will place a small scrap of wood behind it. Makes it all nice and straight.
October 9th, 2008 10:10 pm
@ Carol – Are you trying to cut the baseboard standing up against the fence or laying down flat? Typically you can cut a wider piece with it laying down flat.
October 28th, 2008 7:31 am
[...] like building shelves, cutting metal studs, and tons more. I’ve been installing a lot of baseboard and quarter round recently, and a good miter saw saves you time and frustration. I didn’t [...]
November 6th, 2008 7:05 am
[...] written a fair amount of the past two weeks about installing baseboard and quarter round for hardwood floors. One recurring question from fellow DIYers tackling this [...]
November 29th, 2009 1:59 pm
Question,
We installed hardwood floors in 3 bedrooms. When we installed the floors everything was great no squeeks, however, once we installed the baseboard we can hear squeeks in a few places. We hung the baseboard so that it’s sitting directly on the floor and wondered if that was causing the squeeks? We are currently installing hardwood in the main living areas and want to try to avoid squeeks if possible and was looking for suggestions…. Should we allow a gap (about the with of a penny) so that the boards don’t touch? All suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you!
January 27th, 2010 1:12 pm
HOW HIEGHT DO YOU LEAVE BASE BOARD OFF FLOOR FOR CARPET