Baseboard: Make or Buy?

[Pat Germain]

I'm getting ready to install hardwood floors in my house. I'm going to have to remove the baseboards which are very small and cheap looking.

How practical would it be to make my own baseboards? Has anyone done this? I have a table saw with a router table, jointer and planer.

Thanks.

[Roger Ronas]

Hello from another C/S resident,
I bought a Jet 13" planer/moulder to make my own base and case. I of course haven't yet and am still setting up shop.
I think that if your looking for unique or special your better off making, if you want something that is available easily, buy it.

Roger

[Jim Becker]

'Depends on the design...I just made the mill work for our great room in the same design as my GC made the trim for our addition. The beaded design lent itself to that. Something complex may require either a built up base or a molding machine to accomplish.

[Neal Clayton]

Hello from another C/S resident,
I bought a Jet 13" planer/moulder to make my own base and case. I of course haven't yet and am still setting up shop.
I think that if your looking for unique or special your better off making, if you want something that is available easily, buy it.

Roger


yeah, this. i've got a woodmaster and do it the same way.

moulding isn't difficult, the catch is you need square boards in looooonnnggg lengths. more length than most home shops have to work with.

unless you've got 30 feet of clearance around your table saw and router table you'll need another way (or have shorter molding with more joints, which kinda defeats the purpose, imo. the point of making your own is to have better ;)).

if you've got a planer that can double as a molding machine it's not too difficult, just square an edge with a skilsaw and a straightedge, and the planer can do the rest.

[Matt Ocel]

Unless you want something custom I would go to the local millwork company.
Most places I have checked sell the millwork cheaper than I can buy the material for alone, then you have bits and labor.

[Frank Drew]

Pat,

Not to discourage DIY, but base (and shoe) are about the least noticed household trim details. You can probably find something at retail closer to your liking than what you're removing, and save your time and equipment for another project.

[Peter Quinn]

I used to work in a millwork shop making moldings. Unless you want a special species or to perfectly color match other trim, I'd buy it. Freud, Eagle america, Infinity, CMT, Amana and a few others make bits that will help you make some basic moldings, and you can build up more complex moldings fairly easily...but..

A modern high speed 5-7 head molder properly set up produces a cut that scarcely needs sanding, includes relief cuts on the back, and produces 16' lengths with barely any snipe. Its difficult at least to make crown and base molding in appropriate lengths to avoid lots of scarf joints in your average home shop. My shop is 20'X65' and I still avoid making long trim when possible.

You cannot (and should not) flatten 16' boards so you need considerable downward pressure to achieve a profile accurate enough to miter and cope. A bought molding will come from a power feed machine with pneumatic hold downs that apply 400# of pressure..tough to simulate at home.

If you take joy in accomplishing something like this, it is possible to make your own trim, and you might even save a little money depending on the variables involved. From my perspective unless you are hell bent on doing it or want to make something you just can't purchase elsewhere, take advantage of technology and economies of scale and purchase the trim from a quality lumber yard or millwork shop.

MPQ

[Pat Germain]

Thanks for the input. Sounds like I could find something nice at a good supplier. The BORG stuff I've seen isn't impressive. I guess I was thinking that was all that's available. I'll have to check around and see what's out there.

[John Keeton]

I have used 1x6 and a piece of base cap before with a nice result. This is the top (base cap) http://archmillwork.com/home/am2/page/81/0 You can get the 1x6 and the base cap in poplar and stain/finish to suit. It is a much easier install as you can butt the 1x6 inside corners, leaving the much smaller base cap to cope or miter.

[Neal Clayton]

I have used 1x6 and a piece of base cap before with a nice result. This is the top (base cap) http://archmillwork.com/home/am2/page/81/0 You can get the 1x6 and the base cap in poplar and stain/finish to suit. It is a much easier install as you can butt the 1x6 inside corners, leaving the much smaller base cap to cope or miter.


yeah, this is how traditional huge baseboards were done with caveman tools ;).

the baseboard itself is just a square board with a relief in the back, and a groove on the top. the cap has the opposite groove, and the quarter round butts up on the outside at the bottom.

much easier and mistakes are much less costly that way.

[Jim Becker]

Thanks for the input. Sounds like I could find something nice at a good supplier. The BORG stuff I've seen isn't impressive. I guess I was thinking that was all that's available. I'll have to check around and see what's out there.

What is for sale at the home center is not in any way representative of what's available "off the rack" from a real mill-work supplier...even a local full-service lumber yard should have more options available.

[fRED mCnEILL]

My experience is with painted baseboards. We wanted WIDE moldings (6-8 inches) and found that the price was significant. So I bought a Magic Molder for my tablesaw and made my own using MDF. It is a simple molding and requires only one pass on the molder. Buy one sheet of 3/4 MDF for $20 and make 64 feet of molding.

On the other hand I also made my own door and window molding. Unfortunately we wanted to duplicate some commercial molding we had prevoisuly bought and to do so required 4 passes on the molder. Lots of work but the results are worthwhile.

Fred Mc.

[Larry Rasmussen]

I couldn't help but post. I think we've got the anwers you need layed out though. Before I knew anything I bought a bunch of Mt. St Helens blow down timber after the big eruption. Had this little sears shaper and went at it, made the trim for the small cabin we were expanding at the time. Ever since then I've avoided such enterprizes. Using a router table or shaper you might end up spending more on a fancy bit or two than save.

However there are times. Our kitchen is oak and a real lumber yard has been a great source of trim for the small kitchen and adjacent dining room. I use the usual MDF white stuff in most of the rest of the house. On the other hand we have Teak veneered bedroom furniture. there is about a 5 X 3 window in the room that looks great with the teak framing and trim I made, all from $150 or so worth of boards. I get more of a buzz walking by that window than I do from seeing or using some of the more complex things I've made. I am toying with using a different hard wood for each of the windows or rooms in the house, the kitchen has got the Oak so that's two down.

[zayd alle]

Hi, Pat.

I just finished this process (still installing). I'm a beginner woodworker, so a table saw w/router plate and router are the only major woodworking tools I own. A planer/jointer wasn't in the budget, so I bought the lumber jointed one side and planed to 1/2". I ripped down to the desired height (5.875" for me) and routed with a PC Roman Ogee bit. I then primed and painted.

My suggestions:

1. I built a makeshift outfeed table for the operation, as the lengths ranged from 10 to 12 feet. My suggestion is to also make an infeed table, as trying to lever a 12-foot board (poplar, in my case) was painful on the hands and sometimes yielded funky profiles on the first 4-6 inches of the board.

2. Pay attention to your router plate relative to the table. I did not check this flatness and my profile changed as the leading edge of the board went from the router bit to the back edge of the table. It wasn't a significant change, but affected the height of the profile by roughly 1/16".

3. In retrospect, I would probably do it again. Buying 300 feet of baseboards from the home center would have cost me approximately $650-700 and would have only been 5.25" tall (I needed taller to avoid a lot of patching of my plaster walls). Instead, I bought the S3S lumber for $300, a router kit for $180, and a few other items that left me well under the $700 mark. I did invest a day to rip/shape and a day to prime/paint, but I got some tools out of the venture and the satisfaction of completing my first woodworking project.

Feel free to ask any questions!

Zayd

[Kenneth Hertzog]

Pat
Last year I made a few hundred board feet of baseboard and door trim for my son who remodeled his basement. Yes it did take some time but the maple we used was well worth it. Its all in what you want and how much time you have. Just did another bunch for our bathroom ( from cherry ) to match the cabnets and such. If you have the wood and time go for it.
ken

[Dennis Lopeman]

I toyed with this idea myself... make my own baseboards and chair rails, crown molding, etc...

If you don't have room for the real long pieces, why not just do them outside. They are just baseboards, and you would probably just do a bearing guide bullnose bit or better yet maybe a Ogee or something... easy enough to do on a "in-the-hand" router!

and if I were putting in new baseboards everywhere, and going to go through the "work" of it, I would stain them and "do it right"... I'm not huge on that white paint fad that you see everywhere now. I'm old fashion and like my trim and doors made of wood!

I have a couple quick questions:

1. What is the relief for in the back of the molding?
2. What is a Magic Molder? (I'll Uncle Google it) Can I use it on wood? I'll probably find that out, too.

[Prashun Patel]

If you really don't think the BORG stuff is 'special enough' then go to a fullsvc lumberyard or millwork place. But be prepared to pay for it.

IMHO, standard baseboards (the high ones) from BORG look fine and not cheap. Especially if you're planning to stain them to match yr floor.

The other option is to do a built-up molding from BORG parts. Starting with 1x stock, make it as high as you wish. Then dress the top and shoe with smaller pieces; you might even be able to rout those yrself with relative ease.

I've had great luck with builtup moldings. They hide imperfections fantastically; are easier to conform to wavy floors and walls (because all that dirty work is done with the flexible small top and bottom pcs); really look custom; and simplify the corner work (the only coping you need to do on inside corners is the top cap/cove).

[Barry Reade]

You could also consider leaving the base boards on and using a power Jam saw to trim the bottom so the wood fits. I have a Crane 812 Jam saw Check out this link about half way down the page about the Crane http://www.contractortalk.com/showthread.php?t=21520&page=2

Pat, I hope you have a great journey on your florrs I know I am.

[Eddie Watkins]

I toyed with this idea myself... make my own baseboards and chair rails, crown molding, etc...

If you don't have room for the real long pieces, why not just do them outside. They are just baseboards, and you would probably just do a bearing guide bullnose bit or better yet maybe a Ogee or something... easy enough to do on a "in-the-hand" router!

and if I were putting in new baseboards everywhere, and going to go through the "work" of it, I would stain them and "do it right"... I'm not huge on that white paint fad that you see everywhere now. I'm old fashion and like my trim and doors made of wood!

I have a couple quick questions:

1. What is the relief for in the back of the molding?
2. What is a Magic Molder? (I'll Uncle Google it) Can I use it on wood? I'll probably find that out, too.


Dennis,
the relief in back makes the wood a little easier to bend so it will fit against the wall and floor better. It also allows the top and bottom to fit tighter to the wall floor. That may not be the original intent but it does help in those areas. If I'm wrong feel free to correct me but that is what I have always understood.

[Pat Germain]

You could also consider leaving the base boards on and using a power Jam saw to trim the bottom so the wood fits. I have a Crane 812 Jam saw Check out this link about half way down the page about the Crane http://www.contractortalk.com/showthread.php?t=21520&page=2

Pat, I hope you have a great journey on your florrs I know I am.

Thanks, Barry. I recall you mentioning a jam saw in a previous post. I had to go look that up. Actually, my flooring will fit under the existing baseboards and door casings; it's 3/8". I just think it will be a lot easier to install without the baseboards. Also, removing the baseboards will allow me to top nail the first and last rows of flooring (with a gap for expansion) and cover the nails with the baseboards.

I saw you chose to screw down your first and last rows of flooring and plug the holes. I saw this demonstrated on a web page, but decided to go with nailing.

My current baseboards are only 2" high. I know it's a just a detail, but it's a detail that looks pretty lame in my opinion. I'd like to install some simple, but much taller baseboards. I agree stained and varnished baseboards look great. For my color scheme, painted baseboards will be fine. They will be painted a color called "lunar eclipse" from Olympic. :)

Thanks again for the input everyone. SMC rocks!

[Barry Reade]

Pat, I agree about the 2" high baseboards. If I had them I would have replaced them with a wider board. I am now nailing down my first and last three rows in a room instad of screwing them down. I am using a 15 ga finish nailer and driving them about 3/32 under the surface and filling them with wood putty. once finished you can hardly tell they are there.

The last three rows on the left were nailed down as the slant of the pneumatic stapler makes it hit the wall.

http://greyghost.smugmug.com/photos/298720871_hWmQt-M.jpg


http://greyghost.smugmug.com/photos/298710758_DFUyi-M.jpg

Anyway enjoy the journey.

[Pat Germain]

^^ Looks like you got a lot of shorts in your flooring there, Barry. Is this part of getting a cabin grade flooring?

Thanks for the tips. It seems like I'll never get done painting so I can start on my flooring!

[Barry Reade]

Yes, utility grade is #3 and cabin grade is just another name for #3. This batch had a bunch of really shorts. When I bought the other 900 ft I got #2. Lots of long boards

[Barry Reade]

You will get tired of painting and then you will go to the floor. Does your other half help? My wife is right there handing me boards, running the vac, being a great gofer, and she is definitely the expert painter.

[Neal Clayton]

yeah, that's the idea. walls and floors will never be perfectly square (unless you have a concrete house, and even then, only if it never settles). the relief in the back allows the baseboard to flex in if it has to move, rather than bow out.

[Dennis Lopeman]

Cool - thanks about the relief...


and I did some research on the Magic Molder! Very nifty tool! I think I'll add it to my Xmas list... Hmmmm - that's a long way off... Maybe add it to my 4th of July list! LOL :)