AMN Construction · Finish carpentry · Baseboards

Baseboards, fitted to the floor you have.

Baseboard covers the gap where the wall meets the floor and takes the knocks of daily life. We remove the old, fit the new to your floors and walls, and leave it ready for paint or finished.

Email photographs and measurements 805 886 0988

In short

Floors and walls are never straight. Good baseboard is cut to follow them, so no gaps show.
Height and profile should suit the age of the house and the size of the room.
Order matters: new flooring first, then baseboard, then paint.

BaseboardFollows the floor. Inside corners are coped so they stay closed as the house moves.
Door casingThe trim around the opening. It hides the gap between the door frame and the wall.

A room in elevation: baseboard runs into the door casing, so the two are chosen together.

Step by step

How a coped corner is cut, frame by frame.

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How a coped corner is cut

Run the first piece inThe first length is cut square and pushed tight into the corner.
Miter the second pieceThe second length gets a 45° cut. The cut edge shows the outline of the molding.
Cope to the lineA coping saw follows that outline, back-cutting slightly, so only the face of the molding remains.
Fit the jointThe coped end overlaps the face of the first piece. Wood shrinks in dry weather. A miter opens; a cope stays closed.

Built by Tom. Fifty years of custom cabinets and finish carpentry, from Oregon and Hawaii to Malibu, Pacific Palisades and Westlake Village, and now from Goleta to Carpinteria. Meet the carpenter

What we do

What is included.

Removing old baseboard without tearing the wall surface.
New baseboard in wood or MDF (a smooth, stable board made for paint), in the profile you choose.
Coped inside corners: one piece cut to the shape of the other, so the joint stays closed as the house moves.
Scribing the bottom edge to an uneven floor, or adding a small shoe molding where that suits the house.
Matching an existing profile in an older house, milled in our small boutique shop in Carpinteria when no stock profile fits.
Filling nail holes and caulking the top edge, ready for the painter.

How it goes

Step 1
You send photographs of the rooms and rough wall lengths, and we talk through height and profile.
Step 2
We measure on site and check the floors and walls for the dips and bows the baseboard has to follow.
Step 3
Material is delivered and left in the house to adjust to its air before it is cut.
Step 4
Baseboard is cut, coped, scribed and fastened room by room, then filled and caulked.
Step 5
The painter follows, or we leave it finished if the work is prefinished or stained.

Yours to decide

Decide these first.

Height. Taller baseboard suits taller ceilings and older houses. Short baseboard in a tall room looks like an afterthought.
Profile. Flat and square for a modern house, stepped or curved for a traditional one. It should agree with the door casing.
Material. MDF paints smoothly and costs less. Solid wood takes knocks and moisture better, and is the choice for stain.
Paint or stain. Stained work shows every joint, so it takes more time and better stock.
Whether the door casing changes too. Baseboard dies into casing, so the two are chosen together.

How to tell good work

No gap between the baseboard and the floor, and none along the top against the wall.
Inside corners that are coped, not just mitered, and stay tight through a dry summer.
Long walls joined with an angled overlap (a scarf joint) over a stud, not a blunt butt joint.
Outside corners that meet in a clean line with no filler doing the work.
Nail holes filled flush, invisible once painted.

What moves the price

Total length, and how many corners and door openings interrupt it.
Material and profile: a stock MDF profile costs least, a custom-milled match in solid wood the most.
The floor. A floor that rolls needs each piece scribed, which takes longer.
Removal and wall repair where old baseboard was glued or the wall surface is fragile.

Prices vary with the materials and the hours a job takes. Each job is custom and unique, so we price it once we have seen the room.

Questions

Baseboards: what owners ask.

Should baseboards be installed before or after flooring?

After. New flooring goes in first, then baseboard sits on top and covers the expansion gap at the edge. If the floor is staying, old baseboard comes off, new goes on, and paint follows. Carpet is the exception: baseboard goes in first and the carpet is tucked to it.

Is MDF or real wood better for baseboards?

For painted baseboard in a dry room, MDF is smooth, stable and economical. In bathrooms, near exterior doors or anywhere water may sit, solid wood holds up better, because MDF swells if its edge gets wet. For stained baseboard, solid wood is the only choice.

What is the difference between a coped joint and a mitered joint?

A mitered corner is two pieces cut at an angle and pushed together. A coped corner has one piece cut to the exact outline of the other, so it overlaps. Wood shrinks in dry weather. A miter opens into a visible gap. A cope stays closed.

Can you match the baseboard in an older Santa Barbara house?

Usually, yes. Many older profiles are no longer sold. We take a short sample or a tracing and have the profile milled to match in our small boutique shop in Carpinteria, so a repair or an addition does not announce itself.

Where we do this

Built in our small boutique shop in Carpinteria where the piece is custom, and fitted on site in:

Carpinteria Summerland Montecito Santa Barbara Hope Ranch Goleta

All finish carpentry · see the projects

Inquiries

Have a room in mind? Send us the photographs.

Email photographs of the room and rough measurements to purchasing@amnbuild.com. Matt reads it himself. No forms.

Email Matt the photographs Or call Matt · 805 886 0988