Renovation guides

How to install baseboards yourself: step by step

After the floor. Nailed into the wall studs, never into the floor, with a small gap above a floating floor so it can still move.

Difficulty 2 of 5 · about half a day · you can do this

Photo of your room, the look you pick, then this guide with the materials counted for your room.

Step by step

1. Step 1 of 15

   Do this after the floor is down and the walls are painted

   The floor sets the bottom line, and rolling a wall with baseboard already on it is slower than painting first. One finish coat on the trim before installing also saves a lot of brush work.

2. Step 2 of 15

   Remove the old baseboard carefully

   Score the paint at the top with a utility knife, then pry with a flat bar against a block of wood so you do not crush the drywall. In buildings from before 1978, treat the old paint as lead: no sanding, keep it wet, bag it.

3. Step 3 of 15

   Find and mark every stud

   Run the stud finder along each wall and put a strip of painter's tape above the baseboard line at every stud. Studs are usually 16" apart, so once you find two you can predict the rest — but verify each one. Scan for live wires near switches, outlets, and any kitchen or bath wall.

4. Step 4 of 15

   Check the walls and the floor line

   Look down the length of each wall for bows, and look for daylight between a scrap of baseboard and the floor. Note the bad spots now so you are not surprised mid-cut.

   Ready to cut?

   • Finished floor is down and clean
   • Walls are painted and dry
   • Every stud is marked with tape
   • You have scanned for wires and pipes on kitchen and bath walls
   • Bowed spots and the wall order are noted
   • Material has sat in the apartment at least a day or two

5. Step 5 of 15

   Plan the wall order

   Start with the least visible wall, square-cut at both ends into the corners. Then work around the room so each new piece gets coped into the piece already installed. Finish on the most visible wall, where your best cope goes.

6. Step 6 of 15

   Cut and fit the first wall

   Measure wall to wall and cut about 1/16" long on an 8 ft run so the piece springs into place. Both ends are square cuts; the corners get covered by the coped pieces that follow.

7. Step 7 of 15

   Cope the inside corners

   Cut a 45° inside miter on the end of the next piece: the cut line exposes the profile. Then cut along that line with a coping saw, holding the saw slightly back-angled so you remove wood behind the face, and clean up with a rasp. The coped face now sits over the neighbor's profile and closes tight even on an out-of-square corner.

8. Step 8 of 15

   Set the height: a hair off a floating floor

   Rest the baseboard on a couple of 1/8" (3 mm) scraps or spacers over a floating floor rather than sitting it right down on the planks. On a glued or nailed floor you can sit it down, but the small gap never hurts and shoe molding covers it either way.

9. Step 9 of 15

   Nail into studs, two nails per stud

   One nail low into the bottom plate, one higher into the stud, at every tape mark. Angle nothing down into the floor. On a bowed wall, push the board flat and nail from the middle outward; use a bead of construction adhesive only where nails cannot pull it in.

10. Step 10 of 15

    Join long runs with a scarf joint over a stud

    Where a wall is longer than one stick, cut both pieces at 45° so they overlap like a lap joint instead of butting square. Glue the overlap, land it over a stud, and nail through both pieces. Point the open side of the joint away from the room's main viewpoint.

11. Step 11 of 15

    Outside corners: 45° miters, glued and pinned

    Test the corner with two scraps first — outside corners are rarely exactly 90° either. Adjust the saw half a degree at a time until the joint closes, then glue both faces and pin through the corner from both sides to lock it.

12. Step 12 of 15

    Return the ends at door casings and openings

    Baseboard dies into the door casing with a square cut — the casing is thicker, so the joint is clean. Where a run ends in open air, cut a small mitered return so you never show an end grain cut.

13. Step 13 of 15

    Add shoe molding if you want it

    Shoe or quarter round hides a wavy floor line and the expansion gap. Nail it into the baseboard at a slight downward angle only if the nail cannot reach the floor — the safest habit is to nail straight into the baseboard, never into the floor.

14. Step 14 of 15

    Set every nail below the surface

    Sink each head just under the wood with a nail set. Filling, caulking, and the finish coat are the next task.

15. Step 15 of 15

    Quality check

    Walk the room once at standing height and once crouched at the floor line.

    Quality check

    • Every piece is nailed into studs — nothing into the floor
    • Inside corners are coped and closed
    • Outside miters are glued, pinned, and tight
    • Long runs joined with scarf joints landed over studs
    • A small, even gap above a floating floor
    • No baseboard rocks or springs away when you press it
    • Every nail head is set below the surface

Draft guide written from standard practice, not yet reviewed by a licensed pro. Follow product labels where they differ.

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