First of all, most homes use shoe molding in conjunction with baseboards to give trim a more finished appearance. In rooms with hard flooring surfaces including tile, stone, laminate, sheet vinyl, and hardwood, shoe molding is present.
Quarter-round molding, so named because of its end aspect, was the standard base shoe option for many years. Whether you went with 1/2-inch or 3/4-inch quarter-round trim was the only significant question. However, a variety of shoe molding profiles are available, and you can even create your own base molding.
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Coping the inside corners of most base shoe moldings is made simple by their small scale and straightforward lines. After you cut the copes in a room full of baseboards, the task will look simple and quick. Base shoe molding’s flexibility allows it to be bent to fit wavy floors, which are still relatively prevalent in new construction but nearly universal in older homes.
The most crucial aspect of shoe molding is to always hammer it into the wall rather than the floor. After getting your supplies and tools ready, install shoe molding by following our detailed instructions.
How To Install Shoe Molding Perfectly
Choose Shoe Molding
Base shoe molding profiles come in a variety of commercially available configurations. Quarter-round trim comes in sizes ranging from tiny 1/4 inches to large 1-1/16 inches. Since a true base shoe has more height than width, it can cover up a significant vertical gap without looking bulky. A table saw and router can also be used to create unique baseboards and shoe molding profiles.
Mark Shoe Molding Measurements
Cut the strip to length and butt it up against the shell to create shoe molding that plunges into it. Draw a vertical mark and angle your pencil to come as close to the casing as you can. To achieve the perfect fit, attempt the following steps on a few scrap pieces of molding before committing to your finished molding.
Cut Shoe Molding
The small piece of wood that terminates at the pencil line can be removed by setting your miter saw to cut at a 45-degree angle. A stain marker will swiftly eliminate the raw wood look if you’re working with stained molding that has a clear finish.
Attach Shoe Molding to the Baseboard
For a no-gap fit, push down on the thin base shoe molding to help it adhere to a wavy floor. The laborious process of burying each head with a nail set is done away with by a pneumatic brad nailer, which allows driving fasteners with one hand. Your hand is kept securely away from the nail gun by a wood block.
Cope Inside-Corner Trim Pieces
Even if the corner is not square, you can still have well-fitting joints by coping with the interior corners. (Plus, the corner is nearly invariably off-square.) Most base shoe molding can be handled by just drawing a smooth line.
Place Outside-Corner Pieces
Similar to the baseboard, the base shoe molding has mitered outside corners. A small amount of glue applied provides cheap insurance that the joint will remain closed. Avoid driving nails too close to the end of this small-scale lumber to prevent splitting.
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