Help with adding a strip of molding over baseboard.
I'm adding a thin strip of decorative molding 1 1/2 inch over my baseboards. There are two pictures attached. I am only able to nail the molding on the studs, so sometimes, especially near corners, the molding does not fit flush against the wall. I want to eliminate the crack that shows where the molding is "away" from the wall.
My question is: How do I do it without having to re-paint the wall?
My first choice would be to make the molding fit up against the wall, but how do I do that?
If I can't fit the molding strip up against the wall, then I have to fill the crack. Is there a way to fill the crack WITHOUT making a mess of the wall where it has to be re-painted?
I tried white silicone and it made a mess of the wall so I stopped. I was wondering if there is a simple way to get this done.
Thanks in advance for any and all help with this problem………….Bob T.
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Try "stitching" the nails into the drywall using a nail gun. Shoot the first nail at about a 45 degree angle, then in the same location, or very close to it, shoot at a 45 degree angle the other direction. This will help hold the molding tight to the wall. also, caulking after the molding is installed will improve the look dramatically. If you haven't installed all of the molding yet, use painter's caulk as an adhesive on the back of the molding.
Thank you for the help with this molding. I have put in about 300 feet and have at least another 300 to go. The stitching sounds like it will work well. I'm not using a nail gun, doing it the old fashion way with a pre-drill hole and finish nails. I probably need to get a nail gun, but know little about them.
I'll definitely look into the painters caulk. You’re right caulking does improve the looks to no end. I’m really tying to avoid repainting the walls however, as we just finished doing that. We got the walls completed and then decided we needed to the extra trim. Backwards I know. Maybe this painter’s caulk is the answer.
Thanks again for the post, it has helped a lot!..........Bob
One question.... You got me thinking that I maybe could use a nail gun, as I have about 300 more feet of molding to place, and it might be easier on my 60 year old bones than the hammer and nail set, but I'm not familiar with them at all.
Is there a nail gun out there that would be useful for a range of projects and still work good for this small molding, and if so which gun would you suggest?
I'm guessing it will be used after this project but not very often.
I have an air compressor that goes to 90 pounds, but would rather use batteries if possible, as the compressor is a 25 gallon tank and not all that portable.
For less than $100 you can buy a 16 gauge finish nailer (pneumatic) and 50 or 75 feet of hose.
Cordless nailers are available, but much more expensive. I think for your occasional use I'd get some extra hose, and lug the compressor to a central spot in the house.
A 16g finish nailer is useful for all manner of trim work, and also for assembling various wood-working projects. Even for assembling cabinetry while allowing glue to dry. You can't do framing with a finish nailer.
Hey Nate THANKS, will look into a 16g gun, and may opt to go cordless "if" the extra cost doesn't scare me to bad. I hope to get into a lot of little projects around the house now that I have retired, and may use the gun more than I think.
Good to hear from a "downeaster." I've lived in KY for over 30 years but originally from Conway NH. (Enjoy all the "snow" you folks are getting this year, 3 days ago it was in the mid 70's here. )
PS> Not related to Bobby Hanson are you? Use to work with a Bobby Hanson at New England Tel. in Conway back in the early 70's.
I had a cordless nailer/stapler that i used for roughly 30 seconds before I took it back and exchanged it for pneumatic. I went with a porter-cable combo kit and it was around $250 for the pancake compressor, 18g brad nailer, 16g finish nailer and narrow-crown stapler. Seeing as you have a compressor already, you're ahead of the game. I don't use mine a ton, but when I do, I really appreciate how past pneumatic is.
I just put baseboard up on painted walls. I use a white silicone caulk and trimmed the end to the smallest I could get it. Then applied the cauld. removed the excess with my finger then took a wet rag and wiped it along the wall and the caulk joint. Worked fine, all the caulk came off the wall.
I just put baseboard up on painted walls. I use a white silicone caulk and trimmed the end to the smallest I could get it. Then applied the cauld. removed the excess with my finger then took a wet rag and wiped it along the wall and the caulk joint. Worked fine, all the caulk came off the wall.
I tried the silicone caulk and made a mess, why didn't I think of the "wet rag" MAN I hate being 60. I'll give the silicone another shot and use the wet rag... THANKS.
I use a wet rag with wall mud......I should have thought of that with the silicone.....what is going on with my mind.......Now where did I leave my wife, and did I do it on purpose??????
[/quote]No relation of Bobby Hanson, but you may know me from my work in the 80s with the scandanavian rock group "Hanson". I was the good looking one.[/quote]
Nate - Sorry about the rock group Hanson, I'm not familiar, but I'm sure you were the best looking one in the bunch. My rock groups of yesteryear were the Rolling Stones, Boston, The Doors, Grateful Dead, and Vanilla Fudge. When I got really wild I'd listen to Frigid Pink and "House of the Rising Sun.”
Sorry, just got back to this thread. I didn't say silicon, I said painter's caulk. There is a big difference. If you use silicon, make absolutely sure it says "paintable" on the side of the tube. The type of nail gun I suggest is an 18 gauge brad nailer. You should be able to put brads in it from about 5/8" long to 1-3/4"...some guns hold 2" brads. Porter Cable and Senco make decent ones. If your compressor isn't portable, just buy a couple of extra air hoses. 150' of hose should get pretty much anywhere in your house unless it's huge.
Send_it_all - Thanks for getting back. I have decided to pick up a pneumatic nail gun and some extra hose. I have seen both the 16g and the 18g suggested on this thread. Will both of these guns work on the "really" small molding that I am placing? Excuse my ignorance about nail guns, but would hate to buy a nail gun for this one project and find out it splits the molding.
I fully plan on picking up some "painters caulk" I was just answering Hardknocks about the time I did try the silicone and made a mess. If I had a wet rag at the time I probably would not have had such a mess.
The 16g gun will be fine. The 18g, depending on what you get, may not support a long enough nail.
Also - painters caulk with NO SILICONE. Will help a lot.
Also - When caulking you should push the caulk, not pull it, cut the tip as small as possible. Once you get the hang of it you can do the caulking without cleanup or smoothing! Yea, now thats a skill to learn!
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Help with adding a strip of molding over baseboard.
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I'll give the silicone another shot and use the wet rag... THANKS. 
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