How Often To Nail Baseboard 1x4

Despite their lowly position along the flooring, baseboards are one of a house's defining features. If they have stature, a room becomes regal; when they are skimpy, that same space looks dowdy.

Baseboards were ofttimes iii-piece affairs consisting of a flat plank, a decorative cap molding, and a rounded shoe molding to embrace gaps along the floor. "In old houses, yous oft run into the fanciest baseboard in the front room downstairs," says This Former House full general contractor Tom Silva.

In houses built after World War 2, yet, fancy gave style to cheap, and the vital floor-to-wall transition became the domain of sparse, featureless jumpsuit trim. Fortunately, it's easy to supervene upon mod moldings with taller, thicker, two- or three-function baseboards.

Running baseboard is also skilful for perfecting carpentry skills. The joints required are simple butts, miters, and copes, and the same basic installation steps employ to all trimwork.

Baseboard Parts Overview

How Do You lot Install Baseboards Like a Pro?

When starting from scratch, Tom Silva prefers the look of a base of operations that'southward at to the lowest degree 6 inches high and ½ to ¾ inches thick, topped with a split, deeply profiled cap molding. But if he's remodeling a business firm graced with skillful-looking baseboards, he tries his best to match the new trim to what's already there.

Making a new baseboard the same top as the original isn't hard; finding a cap molding with the same contour can be, especially on an erstwhile house. Sometimes Tom will go lucky and locate the profile he needs from the 100 or so that good millwork shops proceed in stock. Sometimes he'll combine 2 or more than of those moldings to create a shape that is close. But when an exact replica is needed, he'll have custom molding milled upwardly.

Planning Ahead

To determine the amount of baseboard material yous need, measure each straight section of the wall and round upwardly to the nearest whole-human foot dimension divisible past two. A calendar week before installation, bring the forest inside to acclimate. Kickoff running baseboard against inside corners and piece of work toward outside corners.

Steps on How to Install Baseboard

1. Prep Work: Measure, Number and Marker

Man Marks Wall To Install Baseboard Trim

Measure and cut the baseboards for each wall. Boards that run across exterior 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 lath will go.
Discover and mark the studs in the wall; they'll serve every bit the firm base of operations for nailing the baseboard.

Tip: Studs are usually placed 16 inches on-center, so later on locating the get-go one you may be able to locate others using a record measure. On older homes, verify locations with a blast.

2. Establish the Baseboard Height

Man Uses Level To Establish Baseboard Height

Set a 4-foot level on the flooring side by side to the wall to come across if the floor is level. If not, move the level across the floor to find its everyman betoken. At that point, tack a flake piece of baseboard to the wall with a nail.
Using the tiptop of this baseboard piece as a criterion, make horizontal marks every few feet at the same level on the walls around the room.
Snap a chalk line between the marks effectually 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, agree the first board against the wall, level information technology, then tack it in place with a nail or two.
Ready your compass points to span the vertical distance betwixt the chalk line and either of the board's top corners.

three. Scribe for a Tight Fit

Man Uses Compass to Ensure Tight Fit Of Baseboard Along Bottom Of Floor

Without irresolute the spread of the compass's legs, hold the pencil on the baseboard and the point against the floor. Slide the compass forth the floor over the board's length, keeping the points aligned vertically.
With a circular saw set for a ii- to v-caste bevel, cut aslope the scribe line and then the confront of the cutting will be on the side toward the wall.
Trim the beveled edge downwards to the line with a block plane. When the scribed baseboard is put back on the wall, its peak edge should line up with the chalk line snapped in Footstep 2.

Tip: Beveling the lath's bottom edge makes it much easier to scribe-fit.

4. Nail Baseboard to Wall

Man Nails Baseboard To Wall With Hammer And 8d Finish Nails

Set the scribed baseboard in identify.
Adjacent, at each stud location, hammer two 8d stop nails through the board, at a slight downward angle, near its top and bottom edges. To avoid marker the woods, use a nail fix to drive the heads just below the wood surface.

5. Mark Outside Corner Joints

Man Marks Outside Corner Joints Of Baseboard To Cut With Miter Saw

Fit ane end of the board snugly against the inside corner (or casing), and at the other terminate draw a vertical line upwardly the back of the board, using the edge of the outside corner to guide the pencil. Marking the peak of the board to show the direction of the miter.
Remove the marked board and identify the 1 that will make up the miter's other half against the adjacent wall. Mark the aforementioned way.

6. Miter-Cut Outside Corner Joints

Man Cuts Marked Corner Joints Of Baseboard Trim With Miter Saw

Set a compound miter saw to 45 degrees and cutting each miter just exterior of the line. This way, the joint tin can be fine-tuned.
Place both boards back against the wall and examine the joint. If information technology isn't tight on the side and top, go back to the saw or pick upwards a block plane and trim the woods until it is.

Tip: "You lot want to cut next to the line marking the joint," says Tom. "Then at that place's room to fine-melody and get it tight."

7. Cut Biscuit Slots

Man Cuts Biscuit Slots On Baseboard With Biscuit Joiner

To make sure an outside miter articulation stays tight, connect the two halves with mucilage and Number 10 compressed-wood biscuits. First, concur the ii boards tightly against the outside corner and pencil a mark in ii places across the articulation. The marks should be equidistant from each other and from the edges of the board.
And then remove the boards, set the biscuit joiner perpendicular to the cutting face up, and arrange the depth of its fence so the cut will be nearer to the back side of the boards.
Align the tool's centerline with a marking and plunge-cut a slot into the face of the cut. Practice the aforementioned thing at the next mark.

8. Assemble the Beige Joints

Man Assembles Biscuit Joints Of Baseboards

Squeeze carpenter's gum into both slots and over the confront of each half of the miter cutting. Then sideslip a beige into each slot on one lath and bring the 2 boards together.
Place the boards dorsum on the wall and drive two 8d stop nails into the wall on each side of the miter. Betwixt these nails, bulldoze a 4d finish smash through the joint and into the stop grain of the opposite piece. Tap boom heads below the woods surface with a smash set.
Where two boards encounter on a straight run, make a scarf joint past mitering the ends in reverse directions at a indicate where there's a stud. Glue and overlap the miters, and so smash through the piece that covers the articulation (not through the joint itself) and into the stud.
For inside corners, simply barrel the baseboard ends together, then nail them to the wall.

nine. Blast on the Cap Molding

When using a cap molding, place it on the base to see if the back of the molding fits snugly against the wall. Secure it at each stud with an 8d smash driven at a slight down angle through the thicker parts of the molding.
If there are gaps behind the molding and no stud to nail into, clasp a bead of construction adhesive on the back of the molding at those spots and nail the molding to the studs, as above. Then nail the molding to the wall between the studs to agree it in place until the adhesive sets.

10. Sand the Cap Molding

To create tight fitting joints where cap molding meets at inside corners, cope the joints.
Join outside corners with miters, mark and cut as in Step 4. Glue miter joints together; adding biscuits or nails may crusade the narrow molding to carve up.
Where two caps see on a long wall, brand a scarf joint every bit described in Step viii.
Sand all the mitered corners lightly with fine sandpaper to remove any abrupt edges. The baseboard trim is now ready to exist primed and painted.

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