Install the baseboard trim | Library builder

Before installing baseboards, use a putty knife first to clean any excess joint compound from the corners. Then clearly mark (or re-mark) the location of the studs on the floor. If the gap between the bottom edge of the drywall and the floor is greater than 1 in., take the time to fill it with strips of ^-in.-thick OSB or plywood. Otherwise, the bottom part of the trim can easily be canted inward during installation. If you 11 be nailing the baseboard by hand, protect your knees with a pair of kneepads.

Right-handed people generally prefer to install baseboard counterclockwise (right to left), starting at a door. This makes it easier for righties to cut a coped joint. Lefties tend to install baseboard clockwise for the same reason. Set baseboard right on vinyl or wood flooring, but hold it up about Zi in. if you plan to install carpeting later so that you can slip the carpet under it. When working in rooms that will later be carpeted, use small blocks of OSB as temporary supports under baseboards as you nail them to the wall.

To get my trim skills up to speed, I like to start running baseboard in a closet. Try making a rough plan of each room on scrap paper and record the measured length of each wall. Drywall is often left a bit rough near the floor line, so its hard to measure accurately at that point. Hold the tape off the floor a couple of inches to get a more accurate measurement. This will save you time walking back and forth to the chopsaw with a new measurement each time you want to make a cut.

The first piece right inside the door is measured to length from the door casing to the wall and cut square on each end. Often, that piece is quite short (2 in. or so). If it fits snugly in place, you may not need to nail it. Instead, spread some glue on the back and just press it into position. The next piece of trim will hold the short one until the glue sets. Use 6d finishing nails for lA-in.-thick trim and 8d nails for %-in.-thick trim. Space the nails about 16 in. apart, and drive them into either the bottom plate or the studs. Driving each nail should pull the trim tightly against the wall.

Подпись: Helping Hand Подпись: Take the saw to the work. If you have a chopsaw that's compact and light enough to carry, move it into the room where you're installing trim. This can save you time and energy when making the many required cuts. Install the baseboard trim Подпись: INSIDE BASEBOARD CORNERS ARE COPED. The coped cut fits the profile of the trim piece that runs into the corner. [Photo * The Taunton Press, Inc.] The second piece of baseboard is coped to fit against the first piece and cut square to butt against the next wall. On the end that will mate with the short piece of baseboard, cut a 45-degree miter that is long on the back (so you can see the cut surface). Now use a coping saw to cut the outline of the profile left in the exposed end grain (see the sidebar on the facing page). The cope-cut end will fit snugly against the first piece of baseboard (see the photo below).

As an alternative to making coped cuts for inside corners, some builders install manufactured corner blocks, which are available in several styles. Each block is simply glued to an inside corner; baseboard trim can then be cut square to butt against an edge of the corner block. A similar type of block is available to fit on outside corners that are covered with a rounded drywall bead rather than with a square one.

MARK THE BASEBOARD AT OUTSIDE CORNERS AND ON LONG WALLS. I prefer marking trim for outside corners in place rather than determining the length with a measuring tape. Position a piece of trim along the wall. Make a mark where the top of the trim meets the corner. The cut will be the short point of the 45-degree miter. The two mitered pieces of baseboard meet at a corner and make a 90-degree angle (see the photo above).

If an outside corner is not square, adjust the cut to make the miters fit (see the sidebar on the facing page). A bit of glue on the corner will help hold the joint secure. Drive a 4d nail through the face of one baseboard and into the end of the other to help hold the miter firmly together. Predrill the nail hole so you don’t split the wood.

To cover a long wall, join two pieces of baseboard with a 45-degree scarf joint. It’s best to break the joint over a stud. Cut the first piece of trim, and install it with the long point of the miter at the back of the material. The second piece is cut with the long point of the miter at the front of the material. The second miter laps over the first to make a tight joint.

The last piece of baseboard in a room should have a coped joint on one end. The other end will have a square cut that butts into the door casing.

OUTSIDE CORNERS ARE MITERED. Two pieces of baseboard cut at 45-degree angles should meet to form a neat, tight 90-degree corner.

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