Installing Floor Molding

Cut the base shoe a quarter round molding that goes at the bottom of the base molding to length and attach it with a finish nailer.

Installing floor molding.

Set a 4 foot level on the floor next to the wall to see if the floor is level. Employ the same methods for outside and inside corners scarf and butt joints on the moulding. Protect your workplace floor with drop cloths move in a pair of sawhorses and set your trim pieces in place so you can stain prime and or paint them all at one time. Install shoe molding and cap molding if necessary.

Caulk along the top edge and corner edges and nail holes. Lengths of scrap baseboard and put 45 degree angles on the ends. If you have concrete floors you will need to tack it into the baseboard. At that point tack a scrap piece of baseboard to the wall with a nail.

Mark it where it will meet the other piece of the outside corner by setting your try square or combination square against the surface of the wall it meets. The nails won t hold if they re driven straight into the polystyrene molding. Install shoe or cap moulding if using. When installing trim such as baseboard and crown molding master craftspeople use this method and you can too.

Once the paint has dried it s time to install the molding. Nail it at an angle so that the nail goes downward into the wood. You ll save time and protect your knees if you completely finish baseboard trim pieces before installing it on the walls. Tack the cap molding into studs wherever possible.

The builders knew the advantages of combining small wood moldings. Coped molding gives the tightest fit best a. Miter the corners as with the base molding. Nail the floor trim to the studs and then tack the braces to the trim with 1 in brads.

If you see some cut a few braces from 4 to 6 in. Tack the shoe molding down into the floor with pin nails. If not move the level across the floor to find its lowest point. Continue to measure cut and install the baseboard molding around the room.

When you get to an outside corner set the first piece to that it extends past the outside corner. Plus you can often achieve a great effect for less money by combining small wood moldings.