Baseboard Installation Carpentry Tips

Measuring Tips

• The finish carpenter must accurately measure and lay out miter cuts to create smooth transitions between adjacent pieces of baseboard; even small inaccuracies can render substantial amounts of baseboard unusable. Angling miter cuts in the wrong direction is one of the most common mistakes during baseboard measurement and layout. Writing down dimensions and angles immediately after measuring ensures that you don't accidentally ruin a piece of molding. For example, if you must cut a 48-inch piece of baseboard that runs from an inside corner on its left side to an outside corner on its right side, you can write "48 inches I x O." The letter I stands for inside and the O stands for outside. You can write the dimensions and angles directly on the rear side of uncut molding pieces to keep your work organized.

The Right Cutting Tools for the Job

• Although the average do-it-yourselfer understands that the best cutting tools for baseboard installation are the miter box and compound miter saw, he is often unaware of the important differences between the two. The miter box attracts many novice carpenters because of its inexpensive price. However, creating clean-edged cuts and precise angles with a miter box is substantially more difficult than cutting with a compound miter saw. In truth, the typical professional finish carpenter probably doesn't even carry a miter box. While the compound miter saw carries a higher initial cost than the miter box, the compound miter saw handles larger material and its capabilities apply to more than just baseboard installation. Even a complete novice can create straight, clean cuts with a compound miter saw. Remember, if the price of the saw turns you off, plenty of tool rental shops would be happy to lend you one -- for a small fee, of course.

Setting and Concealing Finish Nails

• A completed baseboard installation ought to blend with a wall almost to the point of disappearing. Aside from complete misalignment of the baseboard, conspicuous or protruding nails are the surest sign of a careless baseboard job. Properly concealing finish nails is simple, especially because finish nails are specifically designed to be concealed. To conceal baseboard finish nails, the carpenter drives the nails slightly below the molding's surface; a task called "setting" the nail. The tool used to set nails is called a nail set or a nail punch. The nail set looks like the tapered half of a lead pencil and is made entirely of metal. The tip of the nail set fits into the dimple found in the top of every finish nail. The carpenter places the tip of the nail set into the nail's dimple and pounds the butt of the nail set to drive the nail slightly below the molding's surface. Once a nail is set, the carpenter simply fills the divot with wood putty or caulk, sands it smooth and paints or stains. If you set and fill all the nails on all your baseboards, the entire installation will look smooth.