Used Equipment

What You Need to Know about Baseboard Trim

Do you know what you need to know about baseboard trim before you attempt such a project? One of the things you need to know is that installing baseboard is an easy job with techniques that can be applied to many other trimming projects.  Once you know how to install baseboard, you can complete many other finish carpentry projects in your home.

Basic Installation

Purchase baseboards whose color and patterns match.  Measure the length of the longest wall, add 1/8″ to the measurement, and cut the baseboard square to that length, using a miter saw.   Once you have located the studs, line the edges of the baseboard up with the corners of the wall and nail the baseboard into the studs.  Take care when nailing wooden baseboards; it is easy to splinter the wood if the nail is inserted too close to the edge of the wood.

Inside and Outside Corners

Measure the length of the wall, and mark the back of the board with the length. For an inside corner, using a miter saw set to 45 degrees, cut from the mark on the back of the board in toward the center of the front of the board, repeating for the adjoining piece.  For an outside corner, cut from the mark on the back of the board away from the center of the front of the board, repeating for the adjoining piece.

Baseboard Returns

When the baseboard does not adjoin another piece of trim, you can still give the edge of the baseboard a finished look using a baseboard return.  Mark the length of the baseboard lightly on the front of the baseboard, set the miter saw for 45 degrees, and cut in toward the center of the back of the board.  Take another piece of baseboard with a square end and cut a 45-degree angle from the back of the baseboard in toward the center of the front of the board.  Take the small piece of board you have just cut off and fit it to the cut of the first piece so that the finished side of the wood is showing.

Plinth Blocks

Plinth blocks are an easy way to finish corners and raw edges without having to make complicated cuts.  A plinth block is a decorative block that fits in an inside corner or over an outside corner, and the baseboard butts up against the plinth block with a square cut.  Plinth blocks can be used on very long walls where more than one length of baseboard is necessary.

Non-wood Baseboards

Materials other than wood can be used to make baseboards.  In large carpeted areas, carpet is often used as a baseboard.  Vinyl baseboard finishes the room in many large hard-floored areas. Rubber baseboard is a more recent innovation, and is often used to finish rounded corners.  All of these types of baseboard are easy to install because they do not require the complicated cuts that wood baseboard requires.

Although installing baseboard takes time and attention, the beauty it adds to the look of the finished room makes it a worthwhile skill to acquire.

About the Author

C.L. Hendricks has been a Jill-of-all-trades, become an expert in some and now uses her experience and training to provide web content for many websites and blogs. Finish carpentry as well as live and online auctions are just some of the topics about which she writes.

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