Base Molding technique?

[scoly]

Got lots of great suggestions on my door trim and things started going so well that now I get to start on the baseboards. I started by just laying a piece out and nailing it to the bottom plate then nailing at each stud to get it flush to the wall but the walls are far from square and straight. This leaves gaps between the wall and the trim between some of the studs. Is there anything that I could do to close the gap or would it just cause problems with the trim not looking straight?
Was also wondering if butt joints are the norm or do people use mitres where two pieces meet along a long wall? Should I end a piece at a stud center in order to start the next piece on a stud?
Thanks
Steve

[Black wallnut]

Got lots of great suggestions on my door trim and things started going so well that now I get to start on the baseboards. I started by just laying a piece out and nailing it to the bottom plate then nailing at each stud to get it flush to the wall but the walls are far from square and straight. This leaves gaps between the wall and the trim between some of the studs. Is there anything that I could do to close the gap or would it just cause problems with the trim not looking straight?

The gaps if not too large can be filled with calk and painted to match the wall.

Was also wondering if butt joints are the norm or do people use mitres where two pieces meet along a long wall?

45° miters, much eaiser to hide the joint that way.

Should I end a piece at a stud center in order to start the next piece on a stud?
Thanks
Steve

This would be preferred IMHO.

[scoly]

Mark
Really appreciate the reply. Need all the help I can get.
Steve

[JR]

You should try to nail the molding at the high spots, and definitely not at the low spots. You want the baseboard as straight as possible. As Mark says, caulk will save you here. Don't forget to get "paintable" caulk.

JR

[cabinetman]

Just a tip on where to join lengths. Have the mitered ends meet in running lengths at a straight section of wall so there will be no tension one way or another on the joint, so it will stay straight.

[jhart]

Also when you miter for long runs, plan the miter to go away from the most looked at advantage. Hides it a little more, almost like vinyl siding overlay.

Definitely use miters on the corners. The baseboard should be as straight as possible, with paintable caulk used as a filler.

As I learned from a past project, had to buy the baseboard from two different "big box" stores, as one didn't have enough on hand. They were slightly different thicknesses which I didn't catch until was putting them up. Kept wondering why I couldn't get the miters to match up. Still makes me mad when I look at it.

[scoly]

Wow! Lots of great tips. Thanks for all the suggestions. Will have to put some thought and planning into this project but what's new. It's always the little things that are not thought of till it's to late. All the experience here helps a lot to get by those.
jhart,
Had the same problem with molding not matching except bought from the same place at different times. Not only the thickness not matching but the actual profile was different. Their response was "no one will ever notice". Not exceptable. They all seem to buy from whoever has the best price at the time. Decided to measure and try to buy all that I needed at once and from the same shipment. Much better.
Steve

[ars_lurker]

When installing baseboard, you should not miter inside corners. One end should be left square and the joining piece should be coped to fit. Else the joint will open up if the walls are not perfect (none ever are) and you will need a lot of caulk. It is a little more work but it looks much better. I did have to use a little caulk but that was due to my coping skills not being up to par. After coping th joint, it won't take much at all.

It helped me to lay out the runs on graph paper first. That way I could plan the scarf joints between boards and figure out which side to cope so that you did not see them as soon as you entered the room.

TOH has a great walkthrough on this. http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/prin...216118,00.html

Good Luck!

[JimD]

I agree with coping inside joints but would add a twist. I saw in FHB an article where the guy coped the joint until he got the very last 1/8 inch or so and then he mitered it. All you do is stop the cope cut and use a utility knife to split off a little of the miter (i.e. you use an inside miter cut to show you what wood has to be removed for the cope cut so you still do the same thing at the miter box, just stop the cope cut a little before the end). Then you cut an equivalent piece off the mating piece (with a utility knife, you are removing an 1/8 inch or less). The advantage is you cannot tell it is a cope. Cope joints are much less likely to show from opening up but I have never cared for the appearance looking straight down at baseboard that is coped. This little trick solves that.

Jim

[scoly]

ars,
Nice article. Thanks for the link. I have used coped inside corners before and found them quicker than chasing that perfect mitre.
JimD,
Having a hard time visualizing what you mean. Sounds interesting just can't see it.
Thanks,
Steve

[scorrpio]

Joining two pieces of nbase lengthwise is indeed better done at an angle - proper name is 'scarf joint', and its benefits are many - it means you need to nail only the overlapping piece, and there is no danger the pieces will go out of alignment due to wall imperfections.

Inside corners are definitely better coped. An even better technique is to backbevel a cope slightly. Also, you should always try to cope the longer piece, and try to plan things out so you don't have a piece coped on both end - unless it is fairly long so you can cut it slightly oversize and spring it in place.

About what JimD says: baseboard 'thins out' at the top, which means if you cope it all the way, the tip isgoing to be very thin, and is really easy to snap off, To avoid this, you cope to about 1/8" from the top so the tip is thicker. Then, you need to make a 1/8" deep miter notch on top of the butted piece.

Outside corners, you miter. Put some glue in there to prevent these from opening.
For uneven walls... either prevent this by taking extra care during mudding, or caulk the gaps.

[jhart]

Scoly, That experience on the different thicknesses of board was the primary reason for getting a planner a little while later. Now, check all boards for thickness and run the boards thru til all the same. Has made a noticeable (at least to me) difference in how well something turns out.

[JimD]

Thickness variation is a reason I kind of like mdf trim if it will be painted. It seems significantly more uniform to me. I hate it for baseboard in wet areas, however, because I worry about it falling apart if it gets wet. I caulked all of mine in the bathrooms (builders choice of molding) to try and prevent water wicking underneith.

For crown I go with mdf, for base I guess I still like wood better.

Jim

[scoly]

Thanks again for the responses. Worked on door trim this weekend and it went very well due to responses in another thread. Will get to the floor sometime this week and feel sure it will go smooth using the suggestions here. Very much appreciated.
Steve