baseboards - DIY Chatroom

humberguy · 11-07-2009, 09:20 PM

It's gonna be my first time doing baseboards, i have an idea of how to do the cuts for the baseboards but i wanted some tips of how to measure properly when cutting on 45 angle. Also any other tips would be helpful, i know ill run into some problem and want some insight of how to fix problems ill run into.

I was thinking of making a dry fit of the cuts and then nailing the baseboards when im done.

One thing that bothers me is when doing an outside cut going inside to the right, should i flip the baseboard upside down or cut the board from the right side of the saw?

skymaster · 11-07-2009, 10:51 PM

First: make sure if there is the normal gap between the floor and the sheetrock you make blocks to fill that space. Next Go buy a coping saw. Practice coping. If you dont kow how, make a 45 miter cut just like it would go into a corner, You can see the profile at the face now follow the top edge and cut back into the bas so you have a thin edge at contact. For outside corners you do NOT measure, cut the cope on to a pc that is several inches longer, tap the square end until cut is tight then mark the back right up the wall, flip it and cut to the line. And so on.
A diagram of the room would help, so more precise answer can be given

RobQuillin · 11-07-2009, 10:57 PM

First of all using test blocks for corners isn't a bad idea if you are a beginner. You can also use them for the inside corners just to see if the inside corners are square. To measure you will want to measure from corner to corner. For inside corners you will be measuring the long point of the cut which will be the back of the baseboard. For outsied corners you will be measuring the short point of the cut which will still be the back side of the cut.

One thing to remember is if there will be carpet in the room and the carpet is not installed yet, then shim the baseboard up about 3/8 of an inch. This will allow room for the carpet installer to be able to tuck the carpet under the baseboard. If the base is being layed on hard wood or tile you will probably want to install a shoe mold after the base is installed. Make sure you caulk the top of the base when you are done. This will make it look like it is moled into the wall. Have fun.

humberguy · 11-07-2009, 11:11 PM

thanks guys for your tips, the coping saw is a great idea but can you be a bit more elaborate with the method.

naehring2000 · 11-08-2009, 12:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by humberguy

thanks guys for your tips, the coping saw is a great idea but can you be a bit more elaborate with the method.

The idea behind a coped joint is to give the illusion of a perfect mitered corner, but of course corners in drywall are rarely a perfect 90 degrees so the cope joint solves the problem of 2 45's not joining properly.

say you measure out 1 wall in your room, cut a piece of baseboard with no miters and nail in place, next you want to make a cope joint on the pieces of baseboard that will join the piece you just installed, make a 45 miter as if you were installing it to meet another 45 miter..... then with the coping saw you want to cut the profile of the baseboard out, i.e if your using pre primed baseboard you want to cut along the line with the primer meets the edge of your miter, this will give you your profile.

Good tip: when you slice your miter on the piece to be coped, take your pencil and darken then edge your cut will be following, it
makes it much easier to see

Also, you want to do roughly a 45 degree back cut on your coped joint so the baseboard can move in or out depending on the wall

humberguy · 11-08-2009, 12:41 AM

ive seen some videos of coping baseboards and understand the concept of coping now. Im just confused for outside corner coping. I have a problem where i have to baseboard an outside rectangle piece becuase i had to cover the main vent line for the plumbing of the house.

Now if i have to baseboard the rectange piece, do i cut the long ends square then cope the short piece? Or, do i cope the two long ends and keep the short piece square?

RobQuillin · 11-08-2009, 12:53 AM

I don't usually cope outside corners. The baseboard usually has some material releafed out of the back, if you cope it you will get a gap in your joint. I usually measure from corner to corner, and cut my board to the short points. This way if the top of the joints should match and if the drywall is pushing the bottoms apart then you can bast in the drywall or corner bead until you close the gap. You get a clean joint and with a little glue in the miter and some brad nails the joint won't open back up.

skymaster · 11-08-2009, 02:07 PM

Outside corners are NOT coped. Usually you will make two miters around 46 or 47 degrees to allow for out of square. This allows the faces to close b4 the backs.
Example of a square room: the wall you look at when u enter the room gets cut to full length and square corners. the long right and left side get coped against that pc and square cut against the wall the door is on: the side pcs left and right from the door trim to the base get coped into the long sides and squared to length against the trim.