Baseboard dilema

Allyson

I am almost finished having new oak floors installed. It will be stained medium to dark. Old baseboard is an awful pickled oak finished. I am having difficulty coming to a decision regarding the baseboard which is about 160 feet in total. I am very cost conscious as I am fixing the house to possibly sell unless I find another job soon!

Option 1 - buy new baseboard, stain it same color as new floors but can I buy a streamline baseboard which will be different to the colonial style of door frame. Cost for the would be $330 installed, stained, with protective finish.

Option 2 - Get a laborer to remove the stain from the old baseboard with chemicals (environmental type chemical of course) and then stain the baseboard the color of the wood. It will look different as the old baseboard is from a different type of wood - hickory I think but it is only 2.25 inches high so I cannot see how a person could notice the difference.
I am imaging that the labor cost would be around $150 to $200 but I could be wrong

Option 3 - Lightly sand the old baseboard and paint it white.

So these are my questions:

1. Is it OK to mix a streamline baseboard style when all my other millwork is of the colonial type? There is not a whole lot of other millwork.

2. Which of the 3 options sound the best?

3. If I paint the baseboards do I need to use an oil based primer followed by paint. Should I use flat or semi gloss paint?

Thanks!

Leoskee

Im not expert but most of the baseboard trim I see in the magazines I get are painted white. As far as paint finish that is a preference decision. I painted all of my trimwork semigloss. It cleans up much better than flat.

tom_matthews

that's probably just a stylistic decision, but if you're trying to be cost-conscious I'm not sure I see the advantage in switching styles if molding is already in place, especially if swicthing to a dissimilar style that the rest of your trimwork.

is the rest of the colonial trim you mentioned painted white? if so, then from a cost-savings standpoint, I'd paint the base white to match

if the baseboards have already been stained, probably with oil, then I'd use a good oil-based primer like Kilz, and then mop it with white paint after it's dried. Do not use flat on baseboards because it will most easily show marks from shoes and so forth. the glossier the paint, the harder and more durable the surface will be.

Allyson

Thank you so much for your replies.

I believe I will be following your advice and sticking with my old baseboard which I will get down to bare wood and then decide whether or not to paint or stain it.

Really appreciate your input!

Ally

drtbk4ever

I prefer the look of white baseboards on the darker hardwoods. So I would try painting your old ones first. However, if the rest of the trim in the house (window, door, etc) is not white, then that may look a little odd. So you may have to do all of it.

If you are going to white, you don't have to go all the way to bare wood. I have heard good things about the Oil based Kilz. I think most of the guys around here are good with that one. Just stay away from the latex based kilz.

__________________
Bill

A DIY Noob that knows just enough to be dangerous.

Allyson

Bill you raise a very good point, indeed my other trim is not white so I had best stain this darn baseboard and forget about painting it white.

Tomorrow will be my baseboard stripping day, it is going to be an experience that I am sure I am going to want to forget rapidly.

Thanks for pointing out the potential trim clash Bill.