How to Replace the Baseboard Trim & Leave the Door Trim

Cut over the seam where the baseboard trim meets the door trim, and where the baseboard trim meets the wall, with a utility knife. This breaks any seal that may have been created when the trim pieces were painted or caulked.

Locate the finishing nails securing the baseboard trim to the wall. Hold a nail punch on one of the nail's heads. Hit the nail punch with a hammer to drive the finishing nail all the way through the baseboard.

Put a pry bar between the baseboard trim and the drywall, near one end. Slip a 4-inch putty knife between the pry bar's head and the drywall. Push the pry bar forward, against the putty knife, to remove the baseboard from the wall. Move 2 to 3 feet down the baseboard and repeat. Continue until the baseboard is free from the wall.

Grasp the head of a finishing nail left in the wall with a pliers. Pull the nail straight out of the wall. Repeat with any remaining nails left in the wall. Remove any other baseboards in the same way you removed the first baseboard.

Hold a new baseboard piece face first against a miter saw's fence. Set the miter saw to a 45-degree cut and cut about 1 inch off the end of the baseboard. Skip this step if the baseboard trim will not reach a corner. In that case, the door trim does not need a beveled end.

Measure the distance from the door trim to the corner. If the trim does not reach a corner, use the full baseboard. If the trim does reach a corner, transfer this length to the baseboard with the beveled end. Start your measurement from the beveled end. Cut the baseboard to the required length using a straight cut.

Place the baseboard against the wall. If your baseboard has one beveled end and one straight end, the straight end butts up against the door trim and the beveled end meets the wall corner.

Drive finishing nails into the baseboard to secure it in place. Measure and cut the remaining baseboards the same way you did the first. Secure them to the wall, next to the door trim.