Re doing baseboards

Shirley MacLaine is still around. Maybe she can put you in touch without you having to reach room temperature.

 

I moved in, and had the same thing - baseboards were gloss wood finish and had carpet, which I hate. Did ~2,500 square feet of hardwood myself, and after much trial and error found the best way to redo the baseboards. Just get you some of this stuff (https://www.homedepot.com/p/BEHR-1-...3pkO6ziGOaUC8gu2X2saAmk6EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds) , lay it on nice and thick, and then put two coats over it. Comes out great. FWIW, if you try to skip the primer and just paint over the urethane-y finish, it doesn't matter how many coats you do, it looks like shit.

With the 5.5" baseboards costing ~$2.50/foot to buy and then saving myself the measuring and recutting, it was a no-brainer for me.

Good luck, and let me know of any other questions.

[EDIT: forgot, I used a scotch pad and some degreaser on all the boards before applying the primer. Likely could've gotten away without it, but if you've got the time it's good insurance.]

 

If someone else pays for this it's called "free base."

White Lines. (Don't Don't Do It.)

 

For sure it it the vinyl flooring that looks like wood. Padded bottom for noise reduction. They snap together. Popular colors. Def not real hard wood or any real wood for that matter.

 

I know you're joking...but I really do like this look in the few homes I've seen it in. Havingntonre-do my den after some water intrusion and trying to decide between LVP or polishing the concrete.

 

Story Time:

When I first started out flying for the commuters, we had this big fat Captain named Bill Jackson, he had a very unique Georgia accent combined with a high pitched voice. So he was easily recognizable on the radio and famous in our little world flying turboprops around the Southeast. He used to carry around a big bag of Brach's butterscotch candies and was always eating them, and giving them away to fuelers, rampers, and flight attendants (usually to make up for the fact that he had just yelled at them.)

Back then we went to a lot to small cities, Columbia, SC, Macon, GA, Dothan, AL, etc. Most of the hotels were small and they would give the crews the same rooms over and over- just cleaning in between. Well one night I got in late, jumped into bed, and I'm watching TV and I feel something down by my feet- I thought it was just the sheets so I kicked around a bit and still felt it- so I get up and pull back the covers and....... there was about 50 butterscotch wrappers down there. All I could imagine was Bill Jackson's fat ass sitting in bed naked eating butterscotch candies.

I got in the other bed and went to sleep.

As for the baseboards, if you decide to do the whole house (after you rip out the carpet, of course) get ahold of a chop saw and brad nailer, will make the job go 10x faster.

 

At the price/lf of primed 5.5" baseboard, does it become viable to rip a 4x8 sheet of 1/2" MDF down to get about 10 sticks and then stack on a stick of cap molding of whatever profile you want? I have no experience doing this but in my head it seems like it would work. Extra installation with double the nailing and caulking more joints though.

 

Its pretty quick work with a miter saw and nail gun. Just spend the money on baseboards. Put one coat of paint on after you cut to length before you install. Then install with gun, puddy the nail gun marks if needed, calk then final coat of paint.

 

Yes, yes you are...

 

Brad nailer will ensure the trim won't stay in place. A decent finish nailer isn't that expensive if you go pneumatic, though you need a compressor that can handle it. If someone is tight on money and needs to use MDF, just paint over whatever crap you have and wear sunglasses so you don't notice how crappy it looks. MDF is garbage and a waste of time and money. I get it, real wood trim is crazy expensive these days, but using MDF or PVC trim is for house flippers.