[BP1]

I’m a newbie who’s thinking about replacing the baseboards and quarter-round in my condo. Can I ask for advice on two points?

First: Wood baseboards or polyurethane? I’ve heard good things about poly, but don’t know much.

Second: What tool to use for nailing? I’m not confident that I’d get great results with a hammer, and I'm especially afraid that I’d scratch my floor while nailing in the quarter-round. But a pneumatic brad nailer would be hard—since I don’t want to buy a compressor, and I don’t have a place nearby that rents power tools. Is my only option an expensive cordless gun? (I do see a cheaper corded one, the Stanley TRE650, but it looks as though it shoots 1” nails maximum.)

The condo has steel studs. I was thinking about maybe using poly baseboards, using adhesive instead of brads to attach them to the wall, and then using the Stanley just to nail the quarter-round to the baseboards. No idea if that would work, though.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

 

[lenaitch]

Unless a pro here can say different, I think with steel studs you're limited to adhesive. If by 'poly' you mean the plastic commercial-looking stuff, if you're ok with that look, you have to use adhesive regardless. If you are intending to paint, I would go with wood or mdf. You will also need a power mitre saw or mitre box/mitre saw set or coping saw for the corners. There's probably YouTube clips if you haven't done it before.

 

[woodworkbykirk]

for the common areas, i would use pine if your going to hand nail. mdf is hateful to hand nail as it will mushroom up around the nail and will need extra sanding if not predrilling all the nails.. cellular pvc is perfect for full bathrooms with a shower or tub as it wont soak up any water thats on the floor and it will never rot..

as for steel stud walls.. simply dont nail to the studs use shorter nails, nailing in pairs at a slight angle opposite of each other so they act like a pnumatic staple.. also glue it all to the drywall

 

[joecaption]

Sounds like you would be far better off hiring this simple job out.
By the time you go buy the tools, figure out how to use them I could have been done with the job.
Once you send all that money for the tools in a condo you would have no more use for them and have to store them.
No way would I be using plastic anything.
It melts when trying to cut it, looks like plastic.

 

[Chrisathome]

Unless your looking to spend a lot of money of tools to complete the job, I would price out how must it would be to get it done by someone else. You can find good deals on compressors and brad nailer combos if you want to do it yourself

 

[jaydevries]

yes they make nails for a nail gun that are made for and hold well into metal studs. you could also use trim screws and adhesive.

I do not see the point in using poly or mdf trim due to never holds up to long term

I will start by asking what is wrong with the trim you have know

 

[BP1]

That's good to know about polyurethane over the long term, jaydevries; thanks!

The current trim is mismatched--there are three different kinds in a single room, thanks to a series of remodels that other owners did. It's also been painted sloppily. I figured the best way to solve both problems was to rip it all out and install a single kind.

 

[woodworkbykirk]

yes they make nails for a nail gun that are made for and hold well into metal studs. you could also use trim screws and adhesive.

I do not see the point in using poly or mdf trim due to never holds up to long term

I will start by asking what is wrong with the trim you have know

the nails that hold in steel stud are for a 15 gauge only, senco makes them.. 15 gauge nailers are quite a bit of money to spend for a diyer