Install Baseboards and Doorstops

To find out how much wood trim you need to make your baseboards, measure the perimeter of the room you're working on and add 10 percent to that number to make up for any mistakes you might make when cutting.

Use an electronic stud finder to locate the first stud. Mark its center on the floor or wall with a carpenter's pencil. Look for additional stud centers either every 16" or every 24".

Before you cut each piece of molding — especially those that will be cut to fit between two points and, therefore, cannot be re-cut — test that a square-cut board will fit nicely at the corner. If the wall is "out of plumb," you'll notice a gap between your test piece and the wall. You may need to cut the end of the molding at a slight angle for a good fit.

Helpful Tip

To make efficient use of lumber and avoid having unnecessary joints or splices, rough-cut the longest pieces from your stock first and set them aside. Then you can use the cutoffs for shorter pieces as required.

Safety Alert!

Wear goggles or safety glasses when cutting or hammering, and kneepads during the entire installation.

Before installing the baseboard, sand the wood, apply a stain and, if you plan on painting the baseboard, apply the primer and the first finish coat on the molding. Using fine-grit sandpaper, sand the entire piece of molding until it is smooth and all splinters and rough areas have been removed. Apply the stain with a paintbrush, letting it dry completely. If you're painting, prime the wood, let it dry and use another paintbrush to apply the first coat of paint. After the first coat dries, you can apply another coat if necessary.

Starting with the longest wall, use a miter saw to square-cut the first piece of baseboard to fit between inside corners. If one end is an outside corner, place a square-cut end in the inside corner and then mark the other end in place for cutting a miter at the outside corner. Drive two 6d nails at every stud, usually spaced every 16" or 24". Place one nail about 1/2" from the floor so it will be covered by shoe molding, and drive in the other the flat portion near the top.

Helpful Tip

The best way to mark an outside miter is to place a length of base molding against one wall and trace it on the floor. Then do the same for the adjoining wall. The long points of the two miters are where the lines intersect. Don't drive the nails all the way in one piece of molding until you confirm that the next one joins well. Then if the molding needs to be re-cut, it will be easier to remove.

If the baseboard is being installed without shoe molding and no wall-to-wall carpeting is planned, you may need to scribe the bottom edge of the baseboard molding to fit over any bumps or irregularities in the floor. To do so, set the molding in place. Then lay a pencil flat on the floor, perpendicular to the molding, and slide it along the floor with the point against the molding to transfer the floor contours onto the molding. Use a saw, block plane or coarse sandpaper to remove the necessary wood.

Continue cutting and installing the base molding, working around the room to the left or right, as you prefer, using the appropriate joints.

Helpful Tip

You may accidentally split moldings when hammering in nails near the ends, especially when working with hardwood molding, very thin molding or very short pieces. In these cases, drill a pilot hole slightly smaller than the nail diameter with a power drill before hammering.

If you plan on using shoe molding, install it next, cutting the joints as you did for the base. Nail shoe molding into the floor rather than the base. Because even well-sealed wood expands and contracts in reaction to humidity and temperature levels, nailing the shoe molding to the floor will prevent any ugly gaps.

Helpful Tip

If your hardwood floors haven't been finished yet, just lightly tack the shoe molding in place. It will have to be removed when the floor is finished. While it's off, it also should be pre-finished.

If you're installing cap molding, follow the same installation method you did for the base, again cutting joints as you did for the baseboard molding and shoe molding. Nail the cap molding at a downward angle into the top of the baseboard.

Use a nail set to drive nail heads just below the surface of the wood. Use a putty knife to fill the holes with non-shrinking wood filler that will dry hard. For stained molding, fill the nail using wax putty sticks.

Helpful Tip

Wood is rarely uniform in color; so buy a variety of putty stick colors so you can best match the wood tone surrounding the hole you're filling.

Starting at the bottom of the door where it swings into the baseboard, measure about 2" in from the edge of the door along the baseboard. Using a pencil, mark a spot equidistant from the top and bottom of the baseboard. This is where you will install the doorstop.

Depending on the stop, you'll either have to screw the shaft of the stop directly into the wall or use separate screws to attach it to the baseboard. You may want to drill a 1/8" hole where you'll screw in the doorstop so that the screw won't crack the baseboard.

You're done! You've given your walls an understated makeover and the doorstops you've installed will keep your walls protected and looking great.