How to Install Baseboards

Putting in baseboards is an uncomplicated task that can be accomplished with a minimum of tools. Once completed, the baseboard not only adds a finished look to the room, but also serves a practical purpose in that the wood protects the bottom edge of the wall.

Things You'll Need

• Baseboards
• Sawhorses
• Safety glasses and dust mask
• Circular saw
• Hammer
• Nail set
• Putty
• Finish nails
• Carpenter's square

Instructions

1. Pick out the wood that you are going to use. You can buy specially milled baseboard by the foot or you can create your own by using a basic 1 x 4 or 1 x 6, and adding quarter round to the top and/or the front of the 1 x 4. Also, you can just use a very basic piece of square-cut planking. Baseboards can run from a 1 x 4 all the way up to a 1 x 12, but the larger baseboards are usually only found in older houses.

2. Plan your cuts. The room where you will be installing the baseboard will most likely have four walls and at least one door way. It is OK to splice the baseboard, but a good rule of thumb is that you should have as few as splices as possible. A splice is nothing but two pieces of baseboard fitted together with a 45-degree cut so that they can span the length of the wall. These cuts should be made on a saw horse with a carpenter's square, so that the cut is at an exact right angle to the edge of the wood. Both cuts should be made with the saw blade set at a 45-degree angle.

3. Go ahead and cut every piece of baseboard that does not require a miter joint. Nail the baseboard three times at each wooden stud with finish nails (#8 or #10 nails work best). Make sure each nail is set with a nail punch, so that the head penetrates the surface of the baseboard by at least a 1/4-inch.

4. Do the sections of wall where there is going to be a miter joint. These joints must land on the center of a wooden stud, so go ahead and mark your studs with a pencil. The location of a stud is often visible at the bottom of a wall before the baseboard is installed. Since baseboard is expensive a joint can fall on any stud, although there is some advantage to having your miter joint occur in the center of the wall. A very short piece of baseboard molding on a long wall can sometimes look awkward especially in an old house. Make sure your miter joints mesh together neatly. This is especially important if you are using specially made baseboard molding with a contoured top.

5. Fill all nail holes with wood putty and reset any nails that are sticking out past the surface of the baseboard.

6. Install a piece of quarter round at the bottom of the baseboard. Cutting and fitting the quarter round is the same except when you come to a door frame. Most carpenters put a 45-degree cut at the edge of a door instead of a straight 90-degree cut. And also since the quarter round can usually be nailed directly into the floor there is no need to locate the studs. Plus you can use shorter nails, but all nails do have to be set and filled with putty. Inside corners can be completed with a 45-degree cut.

Tips & Warnings

• In an old house where the walls are not straight, it is possible that you might have to screw the baseboard to the wooden framing members. If you do this, be sure to pre-drill the pilot hole and countersink, so that the screw head can be covered with putty. Placing a 45-degree miter joint on the same kind of wall in an old house can be tricky. You might want to use a 4-foot level or a longer very straight 2 x 4 to see how much the wall bends and then place your joint in the straighter section.

• Be careful when making a 45-degree cut with a circular saw and carpenter's square. Use safety glasses and take your time.