[BrianinDC]

Hi all — I've had baseboard molding put on new island cabinets. I know that working with pre-painted trim is harder, but at least to my eye, this isn't up to snuff. Leaving the miters open and just using the wax filler doesn't look furniture-quality, nor do these lines.

I'm having it re-done, so I'm curious what you all think and what standards you would apply. Should the miters be open at all?

Attached are some photos of what was done.

Thanks so much in advance.

 

[t1snwbrdr12]

I'm no pro, but that could probably be hidden with filler and paint or caulk and paint.

I trimmed my island myself and my miter joints/corners came out much tighter than that if not Almost perfect. If I paid someone to do it i would want it looking better than your pictures for sure. Good luck.

 

[joed]

Bottom one is the only one I consider acceptable.

 

[SPS-1]

I am no pro, but if putting down paint grade molding, I do pre-paint (much easier to paint it on a workbench than after installation), but I expect to caulk the edge with the wall, caulk any open miters, fill visible nail holes, and then touch up the paint.

I had a pro put in some cabinets a few weeks ago. His joints were much better than that. I was not watching when he installed it, but no visible nail holes (stained oak).

 

[BrianinDC]

I am no pro, but if putting down paint grade molding, I do pre-paint (much easier to paint it on a workbench than after installation), but I expect to caulk the edge with the wall, caulk any open miters, fill visible nail holes, and then touch up the paint.

I had a pro put in some cabinets a few weeks ago. His joints were much better than that. I was not watching when he installed it, but no visible nail holes (stained oak).

Thanks. Yeah, these guys are/were supposed to be pros, so I have expectations similar to yours.

I think these nails aren't filled yet, so hopefully those would look a little better at the end. Well, except for the pin nails that are physically sticking out—one of which gave me a good gash on my hand the other day. Those are unacceptable.

But on that subject, should they even be shooting that many nails? There's a bazillion of them on the trim. I get that there's probably the need for some at the corners to keep things tight, but wouldn't some glue be preferred?

 

[Yodaman]

Sloppy work. No excuse for such crappy miter cuts with modern power miter saws.
No skills or just didn't give a damn! Or both.
Yes too many nails which should be set and filled as needed

 

[SPS-1]

Seems people with pneumatic nailers love to use them. I don't have a pneumatic nailer, so on a 6 foot length of molding I would probably only use about 6 nails, because for each one I would have to lie on the floor, struggle to focus on the nail head, and try to keep my nail set centered on the nail as I drove it below flush ---have not quite mastered that skill yet.

Yes, I noticed quite a few nails in your photos.

 

[Daniel Holzman]

Clearly the trim was installed by either an inexperienced or sloppy installer. If they represented themselves as experienced finish carpenters, then the work is unacceptable. If they represented themselves as cut rate handymen, then perhaps it passes.

 

[kwikfishron]

Craigslist, low bid, where did ya find them???

 

[Millertyme]

Caulk and paint is a poor excuse for poor finish work. That looks hacked to me. Outside motets shouldn't have gaps like that even when it's getting painted and especially if it's pre finished. There are ways to ensure a perfect joint and these installers where just being lazy.

 

[firehawkmph]

I did a lot of kitchen installs using prefinished molding and I would have to say that is pretty piss poor work. I would have that redone too. Joints should be tight. Most cabinets are a lot closer to being square than most moldings in a house. Always easy to check with a good bevel gauge. Need to have a good blade in the miter saw along with keeping it in tune so it cuts what it says it's cutting. I have a Forrest Chopmaster in mine.
Mike Hawkins:smile:

 

[BrianinDC]

Nope, these guys are not cheap at all. Glad to see we all agree that it's unacceptable.

Do you guys have a good photo example of something you **would** consider to be a good miter with pre-painted wood? I'd like to show them something to say, Ok, here is what I expect--don't cut this wood if you aren't sure you can get it looking like this.

This project has been going on for MONTHS now. If they can't do it right I want to know that right now so I can get someone who can.

 

[woodworkbykirk]

i am a pro and thats horrible work. theres no way pre finished trim should be that open. even filling and caulk cant hide that, wood moves and filler shrinks. with baseboard your dealing with 3 planes, the plane of the floor, the plane of the wall and angle which the floor meets the wall all of which effect the cut angle of the mitre. if you know these 3 things are going to be off, pre assemble the joints with 2p10 and cross nailed mitres then scribe the base to the floor

 

[ront02769]

To the OP, do not assume that everyone in here is a "pro". Some of us are just "enthusiastic amatuers" and some of us have more experience than others. I never did carpentry for a living....but the only joint in those pix that I would consider acceptable would be the right joint on the last picture. THAT said, the difference between me and a pro is that they will be more tolerant of caulk as they are working with time constraints. Ron

 

[BrianinDC]

Thanks for those pictures. That helps.

As for pros VS DIYers: I actually am glad to have both sets of opinions. But if a DIYer can get closed miter cuts, a pro certainly can. In this case, caulk isn't really an option because of the color. The only possible filler is the wax crayon from the the touch up kit. But as you can see in one of my photos, where they used that at the top, it looks terrible.

 

[BigJim]

Just a little fitting would have eliminated that, here is some I have done as an example to show the carpenters.

 

[Yodaman]

Nice work Jim

 

[BrianinDC]

Just a little fitting would have eliminated that, here is some I have done as an example to show the carpenters.

That looks beautiful. What great attention to detail!

 

[woodworkbykirk]

jesus jim, i see roughly 44 cuts just in the baseboard and 1/4 round in that shot.. provided that baseboard has a cap instead of it being one pc

generally all joints should be caulked on paint grade baseboard no matter how tight because the paint will crack if not.. but the one spot that almost always needs caulking on baseboard is the top of it where it meets the drywall.. thicker baseboards have zero flex in it to follow every liilte irregularity in the walls

 

[ddawg16]

Jim....that is one 'busy' corner