Baseboard, yes or no?

[Dave Hounddriver]

I am surprised that so many do not like the painted baseboards.  With concrete walls and a tile floor I had no gaps to fill, so the painted baseboard was just a part of the paint job.  I liked it.

[OnMyWay]

12 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

I am surprised that so many do not like the painted baseboards.

It reminds me of Philippine government offices and schools, and seems a bit third world to me.

[Dave Hounddriver]

28 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

It reminds me of Philippine government offices and schools, and seems a bit third world to me.

On this we differ.  No problem.  I have always seen baseboards as a way to cover shoddy workmanship in first world homes.  Workers build walls and floors with a gap, knowing it will all be covered up with a board.  That is my reason for not liking them.

[BrettGC]

12 hours ago, Mike J said:

Have you considered using tile as a baseboard.  Cut to 3 - 4 inch strips.

We did that when we redid downstairs, actually looks pretty good.  The upstairs is wood, want to keep that feel. 

Edited March 22, 2023 by BrettGC

[jimeve]

No.

[hk blues]

13 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

On this we differ.  No problem.  I have always seen baseboards as a way to cover shoddy workmanship in first world homes.  Workers build walls and floors with a gap, knowing it will all be covered up with a board.  That is my reason for not liking them.

I don't really agree on this - IMO builders don't need to make a perfect connection between wall and floor because baseboards are commonplace, not the other way around.  Also, if you have certain types of 'wood' flooring an expansion gap is necessary so baseboard is pretty much a requirement. 

[Dave Hounddriver]

25 minutes ago, hk blues said:

I don't really agree on this - IMO builders don't need to make a perfect connection between wall and floor because baseboards are commonplace, not the other way around.

What about ceilings.  I remember the days when shoddy workmanship, or the lack of a need to make a perfect connection around the edge of ceilings, prompted the use of crown moldings.  Now I think they are just fashion because most first world builders DO make a perfect connection between wall and ceiling.  I prefer clean lines on ceiling and floor, but that's just one man's opinion.  I am not a fan of chair rails either.  

 

Thinking on this more, I suspect my love of clean lines comes from the days of paneling, commonly used to finish basements or build mobile homes.  ALL the gaps at top, bottom, corners and joints were all covered by some kind of molding.  It worked at the time, but today's builders can do better.

 

[hk blues]

14 hours ago, Viking said:

Is there a reason why you didn't have a baseboard to the tiled floors?

We have all tiled floors and there was baseboards in two of them.

No questions about it, I definitely think it looks better with baseboard than just painted in a different color.

What material do you have on your baseboards? I have seen the ones made of PVC and they could probably be a good alternative to wood in this climate. Only problem is that I don't like it!! Hahaha.

The reason we didn't put baseboard on the tiled floor is the tilers can make a nice neat joint between wall and floor with grout so it's aesthetic pleasing, or at least acceptable.  If you think of bathrooms and kitchens you usually don't see baseboard - perhaps partly due to water damage but also aesthetics.  

Our baseboards are MDF with a thin coat of white 'film' and need to be painted.  It's inexpensive ($4 per 8' length) and easy to cut and install  As I said, I paint the back as well to preserve it better and a good 4 coats all over - do it when it's in whole lengths and it's a 5-minute job.  I have seen the PVC versions but have no experience of using them - my concern would be ensuring a firm fix to the uneven walls we have here - with the wood type you can glue and screw with no cracking/splitting.  Just to throw in - I've talked to a couple of people who have used the same baseboard as I but described it as plastic when it's actually not - same as how glass is often called crystal here!

[hk blues]

11 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

What about ceilings.  I remember the days when shoddy workmanship, or the lack of a need to make a perfect connection around the edge of ceilings, prompted the use of crown moldings.  Now I think they are just fashion because most first world builders DO make a perfect connection between wall and ceiling.  I prefer clean lines on ceiling and floor, but that's just one man's opinion.  I am not a fan of chair rails either.  

 

Thinking on this more, I suspect my love of clean lines comes from the days of paneling, commonly used to finish basements or build mobile homes.  ALL the gaps at top, bottom, corners and joints were all covered by some kind of molding.  It worked at the time, but today's builders can do better.

 

Absolutely a matter of personal preference, but I'm a fan of mouldings - they add a touch of class to what otherwise can be a boxy room IMO.  

[OnMyWay]

21 hours ago, hk blues said:

it's MDF with a coating of a thin film so only suitable for painting, not staining.  Very reasonably priced and pretty hard wearing.  The alternative is cheap pine or much more expensive hardwoods but I wanted white so went for the MDF option.

I was in Wilcon a few days ago and they have a large selection of baseboards.  I did not look closely but they had a several of the real woods that would look great if you like natural wood look.  The first house I rented had wood baseboard and cornices, which I like, but the stain was a dark oak that was a bit dull.

If you go with the natural real wood look, coat them with solugnum before staining, then seal them up good top and bottom.  Should last a while.

I recently refinished this "step up" wood with a mahogany stain and clear gloss final coat.  More shine than I wanted but it will probably dull up as we walk on it.  The baseboard underneath and along the sidewall is plastic.  Painted that with the Davies Biofresh that is not glossy at all.  I might repaint it with more gloss.