Puck it
Well-known member
Should have been ok. Are you sure nothing touched putting it back in box?
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DIY Thread
- Thread starter Greg
- Start date
hammer
Active member
Bought a new fan switch containing a ground wire and wired up both the fan and light switches. Works fine now, house is still standing. Only guess is that the fan switch was on its last legs when I replaced the light switch and the moving around to install the light switch somehow did it in.
Next project is to build a ramp to the back deck and a short gate off the back deck to make sure our dogs don't go jumping off/down steps to the back yard. Older one (just 4 YO) is recuperating from a herniated disk and jumping down is a no-no...and we really need to get the puppy to stop leaping.
Next project is to build a ramp to the back deck and a short gate off the back deck to make sure our dogs don't go jumping off/down steps to the back yard. Older one (just 4 YO) is recuperating from a herniated disk and jumping down is a no-no...and we really need to get the puppy to stop leaping.
hammer
Active member
Bump for spring/summer projects. Slowly working on repainting and replacing baseboard trim and door/window casing on the first floor. Removal of the old baseboard trim has been a PITA since the hardwood floor was installed up to the trim instead of under it. I figure by the time I get to the last segment I'll figure out how to not ding/damage the walls...but as I saw on a home-improvement show every mistake is a chance to learn.
Any tips/tricks for cutting and installing the new trim would be appreciated.
Any tips/tricks for cutting and installing the new trim would be appreciated.
Cannonball
New member
You're probably doing this as already, but in case... Use 1/4 round or base shoe in combination with your new baseboard. Otherwise you'll have a hell of a time fitting the new to the old.
I've done literally miles and miles of baseboard (whole condo complexes). So if you've got specific questions fire away.
I've done literally miles and miles of baseboard (whole condo complexes). So if you've got specific questions fire away.
dlague
Active member
Good idea! My problem is finding the same base board as what I have in my house! I plan on ripping it out of another room and replacing the other rooms bad board.
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Savemeasammy
New member
Drive the finish nails THROUGH the baseboard with a nail set, then you may be able to pull the baseboard off the wall. If any nails are low (below the level of the flooring, you may be able to cut them from behind with a sawzall.
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Cannonball
New member
Good advice. But, even better than a sawzall for coming at this problem is a 'power handsaw'. Somewhat of a specialty item, but not that pricey at <$100 and does flush-cut jobs like this so much better that a regular reciprocating saw. If you have a lot of this baseboard to do it's worth the investment. It's also makes door jam replacement SO much easier.
http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-1640VS-Finecut-Power-Handsaw/dp/B00004SUP4
Savemeasammy
New member
I will respectfully disagree here. If the baseboard was installed AFTER the flooring, I'm going to guess that Hammer owns an old house. And, if so, his baseboards may be taller than what you see in most new homes - 3 1/2". His baseboards could well be 8" tall or so. In such a case, a sawzall with a long metal cutting blade would be my first choice (although any number of "wood with nails" or "demo" blades could work - they just don't cut as smoothly in a hard to reach spot like behind a baseboard.
As to your tool suggestion, I would opt for a fein multimaster instead. It is much more versatile. Although if your only task is to cut a door jamb to install flooring underneath it, a simple pull saw (Japanese saw) will do the trick!
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Cannonball
New member
It wasn't. He said...
Which is why it's such a PIA. Flush cut saws give you 2 options. 1) cut the baseboard off flush with the floor height leaving anything lower in place. 2) cut the nails off from behind. If you try to do either of these with a Sawzall you have to come at an angle and will F up the floor or the wall. Both saws reciprocate the same way and both have multiple blade options. But only one of them can be worked into tight spaces flush instead of at an angle.
Savemeasammy
New member
^ I misspoke (or mistyped, I guess). I meant that the baseboard was likely installed before the flooring, which was common "back in the day" - this is how my house was done when it was built in 1897.
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Cannonball
New member
Not saying that didn't happen in the unique situation of your house. But it's pretty uncommon and completely misses the purpose of baseboard. When baseboard is below/behind the flooring it almost always means the flooring was replaced.
Savemeasammy
New member
This situation we are describing is not at all unique. It was a common building practice during the Victorian era in particular, although it likely originated beforehand, and may have persisted a while beyond...
If you encounter a flooring installation from a modern day house where the hardwood butts into the baseboard, it was likely done by a DIYer who didn't know any better - and probably covered their mistake with a shoe-molding!
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hammer
Active member
House is only 19 years old. We have had original carpet and vinyl flooring replaced with hardwood in the downstairs and upstairs. The installer for the downstairs ran the boards to the trim and the installer for the upstairs removed the trim, installed the floor, and reinstalled the trim. Think I like latter method more.
I have a Fein multitool that I have been using to cut at trim and nails as needed. One does have to be careful but I've only knocked the floor once and the walls a few times. Not concerned about the wall since we are repainting and the damage has been down low where new trim will be anyway. It has been a slow process digging out the old trim behind the flooring but I think it will be worth it.
I have a Fein multitool that I have been using to cut at trim and nails as needed. One does have to be careful but I've only knocked the floor once and the walls a few times. Not concerned about the wall since we are repainting and the damage has been down low where new trim will be anyway. It has been a slow process digging out the old trim behind the flooring but I think it will be worth it.
Savemeasammy
New member
It's a shame that the contractor who did the floors downstairs did not remove the baseboard first. That's poor workmanship... I'm glad to hear that you are doing it properly!
Like I mentioned, you could try driving the nails through with a nail set. If that doesn't work, you could pry the baseboard off the wall with a small flat-bar (put some sort of shim against the wall to minimize the damage). You will probably be able to bend the baseboard down enough to cut any hidden nails with your multi-master.
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Like I mentioned, you could try driving the nails through with a nail set. If that doesn't work, you could pry the baseboard off the wall with a small flat-bar (put some sort of shim against the wall to minimize the damage). You will probably be able to bend the baseboard down enough to cut any hidden nails with your multi-master.
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Cannonball
New member
I guess I was just giving Hammer the benefit of the doubt that he wasn't ripping the baseboard out of a Victorian. And that if he was, it wasn't going to be via a Sawzall.
hammer
Active member
Nooo...the old baseboard is the cheap finger joint stuff which I'm replacing with the same material but a slightly different style. If I had old quality baseboard I wouldn't touch it.
hammer
Active member
I just wish I knew enough to tell the installer to take up the baseboard when I had the floor done 10 years ago. Don't like the idea of adding quarter round to fill in the gaps but I'm not sure if I'll have any alternative.
Savemeasammy
New member
You could always get a thicker baseboard, or fur the baseboard off the wall and hide the cap on the top with a basecap. This might be an issue with door casings, though...
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hammer
Active member
If it's not too close to either house you could consider a row of arborvitaes. My neighbor on one side planted them 18 years ago and we planted a row as a screen for the neighbor on the other side a year later. They are all still there...of course they are a bit taller than 6 feet and they do eventually (over many years) thin out at the base a bit.
We had vinyl and chain link fencing put up a few years ago to contain dogs in our back yard. Was not cheap but with all of the rocks under our thin layer of sandy loam I would not have wanted to take on the job DIY.
