How To Install Baseboard At The Transition Between Floors With Different Height
Recently I replaced the carpet with engineered floor. However, now I met the difficult to install the baseboard between the two floors with different height.
See the picture:
I don’t know what’s the standard way to handle such scenario beautifully. Any advice is appreciated very much.
This can be a tough problem to work out in a situation like this. Particularly if you are trying to run the same type and size of molding from one floor area through to the other. What I have done in instances where the height changes are small is to simply trim the bottom of the molding so it fit into place over a distance such that the it slopes from one height to the other. If the slope is small and over enough of a distance it will never be noticed by anyone but you ).
Installing the sloped molding piece does impose some interesting work with making the miter cuts on the ends. It may also involve some planing and sanding of the molding surfaces at the joint to blend it around the corner. .
I see that the existing darker colored floor has baseboard without any base shoe molding. You may want to consider the addition of base shoe molding in the new area because it can play an essential role of covering up what you have to do along the bottom of the baseboard to slope it from one height to the other across the transition zone. It is acceptable to bring the base shoe molding up through the transition zone and then just cut it back off at an angle at the end of its run.
Viewing The Empty Rooms
After all that finessing, this entire wall is going to be filled up with storage hiding all our hard work lol. You can see how we built in the storage using IKEAs Pax wardrobe system.
Despite not seeing the baseboard, dont skip the fine details we outlined in the steps above. One day when you tire of the space, you might convert it to some other use, exposing the baseboards again. Youll be glad you took the time to complete everything on the checklist!
Heres the view looking into the empty sewing room after installing the baseboard:
How Do You Install Baseboards Like A Pro
When starting from scratch, Tom Silva prefers the look of a base that’s at least 6 inches high and ½ to ¾ inches thick, topped with a separate, deeply profiled cap molding. But if he’s remodeling a house graced with good-looking baseboards, he tries his best to match the new trim to what’s already there.
Making a new baseboard the same height as the original isn’t difficult finding a cap molding with the same profile can be, especially on an old house. Sometimes Tom will get lucky and locate the profile he needs from the 100 or so that good millwork shops keep in stock. Sometimes he’ll combine two or more of those moldings to create a shape that is close. But when an exact replica is needed, he’ll have custom molding milled up.
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What Color Should The Baseboards Be
In general, its best to use a lighter color trim on dark walls. On light walls, if youre not going with white, then a dark color may be your best option.
Should your quarter round match floor or baseboard?
If you are laying quarter round on a ceramic, vinyl, or stone tile floor, you should paint the quarter round to match the baseboard molding. The most common trim color is white, and so this most often will lead to a white quarter round trim.
Mark Outside Corner Joints
- Fit one end of the board snugly against the inside corner , and at the other end draw a vertical line up the back of the board, using the edge of the outside corner to guide the pencil. Mark the top of the board to show the direction of the miter.
- Remove the marked board and place the one that will make up the miter’s other half against the adjacent wall. Mark the same way.
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Preparing To Install Baseboards
- Bring the boards into the room where you’ll be installing them a few days before you start. This will help them acclimate to their new environment.
- Measure and cut the baseboards for each wall. For the boards that meet outside corners, cut them a few inches longer than the wall to allow for miter cuts.
- Paint the baseboards and let them dry.
- Find and mark the wall studs.
How To Cut Baseboard Corners
This is the best video on how to make the cuts youll need for inside corners, outside corners and returns. It also shows you pro tips on how to cope baseboard. Hubs shows you how he does it in Step 10 if youre not confident to cut a cope all at once.
These are all the angles to keep in mind as you progress through your baseboard installation. A compound mitre saw makes easy work of cutting 45° angles.
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Caulking Or Scribing Baseboards
We went through a renovation, including installing new wide plank floors and wide baseboards. In some places there is a big gap between the floor and the baseboard. We did not want a look of a shoe molding to hide the gaps. Our general contractor, Bill Scholz of WES Construction, Inc. tells us that you do not caulk between the baseboards and the floor and the look of the gap is just an industry standard.
On Youtube, I have seen an explanation that the baseboards should be scribed to an uneven wall. Do baseboards also have to be scribed to an uneven floor? Our builder have never heard of such practice.
I’d love to hear from professionals:
Is this a standard procedure not to caulk between the hardwood and baseboards and have wide gaps?
Also, we head a lot from the builder about industry standards every time he does not want to repair something. Where do I find industry standards? Who develops/publishes them?
How To Install Baseboard: 6 Steps Anyone Can Do
This entry was posted on October 12, 2020 by Patrick Mankins.
Lets say youre remodeling and laying down some eye-catching new flooring. Suddenly, you realize that you need to do more than just install the floors themselves you also need to install the baseboards. Before you shift into panic mode, lets start with the basics here. What is a baseboard exactly? Baseboard a wooden or vinyl board that covers the lowest part of an interior wall. Its main purpose is to cover up the seam where the floor meets the wall and to protect the wall from furniture, kicks, and other abrasions. In many homes, its decorative as well as functional.
There are multiple types of molding you can use for your baseboard, and the installation depends on the type you choose. Hardwood Bargains offers a huge selection of both flooring and transition pieces from the same material to make shopping for your molding a breeze. Just select the wood you want for your flooring, and listed below are the types of moldings from the same material. We like to keep it simple.
Quarter round is your transition from floor to wall and one of the most common types of molding seen in homes. There is always a small gap between where your floor ends, and your wall begins, and this molding nicely covers that gap. Because theyre lying flush with the wall, you can choose to have the quarter round match the wall instead of the floor. Its up to the interior designer within you!
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Step : Touch Up The Nail Holes And Caulk With Paint
Now that the nail holes have been sanded and smoothed, and the gaps have been filled with caulk, adding a coat of semi-gloss paint to the baseboards helps to finish it off. If you painted the baseboard first, there wont be much touching up to do. If you wanted to paint the baseboard, you may need to add some painters tape to the floor to prevent making a mess while painting the baseboards .
How Do You Cut Baseboard Molding
One of the most popular types of baseboard cutting uses a coping saw to create a back-cut.. This type of cut works in conjunction with a power miter saw. The molding is first cut at a 45-degree angle on the miter saw. The coping saw then cuts the back off the baseboard, following the profile of the baseboard.
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What Type Of Baseboard: Wood Mdf Or Pvc
Now that you know what style of baseboard you want, the next thing to plan for is the type of baseboard to buy. There are several types, as you can see from the Species Key at the bottom of the moldings chart above. But it boils down to:
- Wood
- Polyvinyl Chloride
Wood Baseboards
Wood baseboards are typically made from solid pine and can either be primed or unprimed. Buying primed is a little more expensive, but it saves you the hassle of priming the raw pine wood. Here is a example of a typical piece of primed pine baseboard.
MDF Baseboards
Can baseboards get wet? Well, not if theyre made with MDF . Baseboards made with MDF, while more affordable, cant withstand water. If you repeatedly expose it to water, it will swell and youll have to replace it. .
Before I knew much of anything about trim and baseboards, I had used MDF in the kids bathroom. After years of repeated peeing on the board , the board started to warp. I will have to replace it with a waterproof baseboard. But if youre installing MDF baseboards in areas where they will not be water, then yes, its a viable option for affordable baseboard, for sure.
PVC Baseboards
PVC baseboard
Attach The Baseboard To The Wall
Place a carpenters level on top of each corner at about one-quarter inch intervals, then push down firmly to ensure an accurate position .
Measure one-fourth inches and place a compass point one-fourth inches away from each other.
Once you have determined the locations of your four compass points, place them against a wall and make sure they all line up evenly. Then, put the pencil underneath the board and draw the line with it. Remember to continue the draw until you reach the basebands end.
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How To Install Baseboard Molding On An Uneven Floor
- Date: 08/18/2021
- Time to read: 4 min.
Typically, homeowners face difficulties when they try to install baseboard molding on uneven floors. Most probably, youre going through the same problem. Anyway, I know some tricks which will help you install baseboard molding on your uneven floors. Furthermore, you can easily close the gaps on non-straight floors.
Once you follow my tricks Im going to write, you can get a proficient result. Lets read through the steps. If you read these introductions, you will do the stunts faultlessly.
How To Install Baseboard Without Shoe Molding
If youre installing a new baseboard and dont want to use shoe molding, heres how:
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Guide To How To Install Baseboards
If you are replacing old baseboards, clear the room and remove baseboards and shoe mold / quarter round from the walls.
For new construction, install flooring first before baseboard trim. Engineered hardwood floor is a wonderful choice for areas in the home that arent prone to water damage. For areas that arent impervious to water, like the basement were working on today, luxury vinyl flooring is the best choice . Afterall, with the sweat equity you put into your DIYs, you dont want to installing a floor that will have you worrying about mold presentation after a water leak!
Tips For Installing Baseboard Molding On Uneven Floor
Here are some tips to correctly install baseboard molding on uneven floors. there are different kinds of problems you can encounter while installing the baseboard. You might have a curved wall, tilted corner, and tilted baseboard. Heres how to fix them.
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Fixing Tilted Corners Of A Baseboard
Tilted corners is one of the most common issues that you are likely to encounter. If The corners of your baseboard are tilted or uneven you can fix it easily.
Simply take a two-inch screw and drive it into the floor to close up the gap between the joint of the baseboards.
You need to make sure the screw is properly adjusted so that the corners get joined properly. After which you can go ahead and install the baseboard.
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If Hardwood Tile Or Other Flat Surface Floors Are Already Installed
You should not need to leave a gap between the existing floor and baseboard. Simply install directly on top. If the floors are uneven, consider scribing the baseboard or using quarter-round .
Finally, you may need to check with your local city or county to determine if any regulations exist for baseboard distance from the floor.
How To Install Baseboard Molding On Uneven Floor
Baseboard molding is an essential addition to any classy home. Without it, your floors and walls will look unfinished, and youll never achieve that flattering style seen in interior design magazines. But how can you make your house look neat if you have uneven floors? After all, baseboards arent supposed to look all wavy. Luckily, there is a way to install them.
Use a level to installbaseboard molding on your uneven floor in a neat, straight line. Fill any gaps with caulk, then paint the baseboard in the desired shade. Do the same to fill any gaps between the molding and uneven walls.
Main Topics
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Step : Paint The Baseboards Using Semi
Its best to paint the new baseboards before installing them. If you bought primed baseboards, youll likely only need one coat of semi-gloss paint. If its unfinished pine, add a coat of primer and then 1-2 coats of paint. If youve got a lot of baseboards, pull out a paint sprayer to get through the job a little faster. . If youre using a paint brush, use a synthetic paint brush and glide it over the baseboards in long, smooth strokes. Yes, I do recommend painting the back of baseboards, too, which helps to seal them. Start with painting the back first. Once it dries, turn it over and paint the front. One coat is fine.
Can Baseboards Be the Same Color at the Wall?
Yep, you can totally paint the baseboards the same color as the wall. There are no rules here. You could even paint them a contrasting color. Although white is typical, feel free to paint them whatever color you want.
Disguise Baseboard Joins With A Scarf Joint
Its unavoidable: youll need to attach two lengths of baseboard together at some point. Use a scarf joint and the joint will be much less invisible. A scarf joint is just two pieces of wood cut at complementary angles so they fit together. Ive seen them scarf joints cut anywhere from 15, 30 and 45 degrees. We cut ours at a 45° angle.
Ideally, position the joint where it will fall behind a piece of furniture so youll never see it! Somewhere in the middle of a wall is a safe bet, but it depends on your own room layout.
Cut and situate the two boards so that the scarf joint can be secured to the wall over a stud. As shown below, position the first piece of baseboard so it falls in the middle of a stud. Make the first half of the scarf joint with a 45° miter cut that opens away from the wall:
Half baseboard on a wall showing a mitre cut for how to install baseboards
Nail the first piece to the wall at each stud as described in the previous step. Lay the second piece over top:
Overlapping baseboards for mitre cut for how to install baseboards
Hand with pencil showing how to mark a mitre for how to install baseboards
As you can see, Hubs angles his pencil mark so he remembers which way to cut the angle:
Hand fitting the baseboard mitre joint for how to install baseboards
Cut the second piece of baseboard trim using the opposite 45 angle. Join the two pieces together to test for fit.
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How To Install Trim On Uneven Walls
If you are installing trim on uneven walls, you will need to use a miter saw to cut the trim to fit. First, measure the height and width of the opening, and then measure and mark the trim to the correct length and angle. Cut the trim using the miter saw, and then fit it into the opening. If the trim is too long, cut it to the correct length using a hacksaw.
Comparing A Coped Joint Vs Mitre Joint On An Inside Corner
After installing, the coped joint is a pretty tight fit. We just need to touch up the nail holes .
Below is a comparison of a regular mitred joint without coping. As you can see, the gap is noticeable. But were not fretting. This section of baseboard is going to be hidden behind a whole wall of cabinetry. We figured theres no sense spending time on coping baseboard that wont be seen! Well show you how to fix any gaps in baseboard corners in the next section.
Im not gonna lie coping is way more time consuming than mitre cuts. But if youre adventurous and want to speed things up, you can try this coping method from the Family Handyman using a mitre saw. Its pretty cool.
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