How to Attach Baseboard Trim to Drywall
Baseboard trim is the piece of wood that goes where the wall meets the floor and gives your home a finished look. Baseboard trim comes in a variety of different sizes and finishes, and once you choose the trim and cut it to fit, you need to install it. While the trim is installed up against the drywall, it must be nailed into the studs behind the wall to have proper grip and stay attached to the wall. To do it properly, some specific tools, along with home improvement skills, are needed. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Safety glasses
- Tape measure
- Stud finder
- Cordless finishing nail gun
- 2-inch finishing nails
- Small pry bar
Instructions
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Put on your safety glasses.
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Place the tape measure in one corner of the room. Mark every 16 inches either on the subfloor if the flooring isn’t installed or near the bottom of the wall. Most building codes require that wall studs be placed 16 inches apart.
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Verify the location of the studs using a stud finder. Turn the stud finder on, and run it along the wall. Depending on the type of stud finder, either a series of lights will illuminate when there is a stud, or it will beep. In some cases, studs may have been placed 20 or 24 inches apart. If this is the case with your home, mark the locations of these studs and disregard the markings that assumed 16-inch spacing.
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Load the nail gun with a clip of 2-inch finishing nails.
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Place the baseboard trim up against the wall.
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Place the tip of the nail gun ½-inch from the top of the trim at one of the stud markings. Pull the trigger on the gun to shoot a nail through the trim, drywall and into the wall stud.
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Work your way along the wall until you have nailed the trim at every spot where there is a wall stud.
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Verify that you have hit the studs by placing a small pry bar under the trim and gently pulling back on it. If the trim moves easily, that means the nail missed the stud, and you should once again verify the location of the stud and nail it again.
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Tips & Warnings
When installing baseboard trim, always install it in the same direction around the room. If you start on the left corner of a wall, work your way to the right and continue working your way to the right.
If you do not have a cordless finishing nailer, one can be rented from most home improvement stores. While you can use a hammer and a nail set to sink the nails, this method is more time-intensive and will add a considerable amount of time to the job.
When installing baseboard trim in a room where the final flooring hasn’t been installed, whether it’s carpet, tile or hardwood, the trim should be installed three-quarters of an inch above the subfloor. By taking a strip of ¾-inch plywood and placing it up against the wall, you can rest the baseboard trim on this while installing it. Simply pull out the plywood when you’re done with that piece of trim. If you are installing baseboard trim where there is existing flooring, you can simply rest the trim on top of the flooring and nail the trim to the wall.
Once you attach the baseboard trim to the wall, you will need to fill in the small nail holes on the trim. This can either be done with wood putty or non-shrinking caulk.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Creatas/Getty Images
