How to Install a Long Run of Baseboards

It doesn't take much to transform the appearance of a room when it lacks architectural details. One solution is to install baseboards along the base of a room's walls. The aesthetic appeal of baseboards includes their ability to add detail, style and weight to the room, grounding the walls with finished details that mark an era of design or make a contemporary statement. While corners and short sections of the wall pose their own installation challenges, the installation of long runs of baseboards also raise some questions. Matching identical baseboard strips downplays the seams and makes the baseboard appear as one piece of trim.

Baseboard trim
Tape measure
Pencil
Straight edge
Compound miter saw
Level
Pneumatic nail gun
2 1/2-inch brad finishing nails
Wood putty
Paint or stain

Instructions

- 1
  Measure the length of the long wall with a tape measure.
- 2
  Purchase the longest and least possible amount of baseboards that fit the measurements of the walls.
  
  For example, if a wall measures 18 feet, and the longest baseboard available is 12 feet, purchase one 12-foot baseboard and one 8-foot baseboard. Even though baseboards comes in 6-foot lengths, opt for the extra footage to allow enough board to make the clean cuts needed to match the pieces together, end-to-end.
- 3
  Miter the end of the first piece of baseboard at a 45-degree slant angle with a compound miter saw, just along the end, to meet another mitered baseboard piece in the corner. Otherwise, cut the end with a straight, 90-degree cut to meet the wall with a flush end.
- 4
  Cut the other end of the first piece to meet the next piece of baseboard. Cut a straight, vertical, 90-degree cut to simply meet the next baseboard piece, or a diagonal, 45-degree cut to camouflage the seam even more.
- 5
  Install the first piece of baseboard on the wall. Locate the wall studs, align the end of the baseboard to the corner and the floor and nail in a finishing nail near the corner to attach it to the wall. Level the other end of the baseboard with a level and nail that end into the wall stud.
- 6
  Double-check the length measurement of the remaining wall before proceeding to the next piece.
- 7
  Cut the two ends of the next piece of baseboard – one to match either the vertical, 90-degree cut or the diagonal cut made in the first piece, and the other end to connect yet another piece of baseboard or to finish off the wall. Install each piece in the same manner as the first.
- 8
  Fill in the nail holes and seams with wood putty. Allow it time to dry and sand it smooth to blend in with the baseboard.
- 9
  Stain or paint the baseboards.

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