Baseboard, yes or no?

[hk blues]

1 hour ago, OnMyWay said:

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.

Nice Job!

Regarding the plastic moulding - how does it cope with uneven walls etc - wood has some give but doesn't plastic tend to crack?  I guess this will depend on the quality etc.

[OnMyWay]

17 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

On this we differ.  No problem.

To be clear, I do think they go well with white socks and sandals.

[OnMyWay]

2 minutes ago, hk blues said:

Nice Job!

Regarding the plastic moulding - how does it cope with uneven walls etc - wood has some give but doesn't plastic tend to crack?  I guess this will depend on the quality etc.

Funny you mentioned that, because we painted a door today and there was a crack in the plastic molding.  That is the first I have seen and these are 20+ years old.  We sealed, sanded and painted.

[OnMyWay]

4 hours ago, hk blues said:

Also, if you have certain types of 'wood' flooring an expansion gap is necessary so baseboard is pretty much a requirement. 

We have cheap vinyl wood flooring in the bedrooms, and in the long master BR, they were moving, leaving gaps.  In some places, you could move them back into place with your foot, but others were more difficult.  I found that putting duct tape on the floor, and then kicking / skidding with your shoe worked the best.  Better than You tube!

After fixing all the gaps, there were some gaps at the edge, near the baseboard, so the there was a 1/2 inch gap outside the baseboard.  We had some brown grout that was a good color match to the floor, so we filled the gap with grout.  The gap is not noticeable and the flooring is firmly in place now.

[hk blues]

23 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

We have cheap vinyl wood flooring in the bedrooms, and in the long master BR, they were moving, leaving gaps.  In some places, you could move them back into place with your foot, but others were more difficult.  I found that putting duct tape on the floor, and then kicking / skidding with your shoe worked the best.  Better than You tube!

After fixing all the gaps, there were some gaps at the edge, near the baseboard, so the there was a 1/2 inch gap outside the baseboard.  We had some brown grout that was a good color match to the floor, so we filled the gap with grout.  The gap is not noticeable and the flooring is firmly in place now.

I know exactly what you mean!  We have laminate flooring throughout the house, not particularly cheap though, and there are 2 planks which have a gap - one right at the edge so easy to kick back into place.  The other is further out and won't budge. I know there are special tools available to fix it but it's really not noticeable enough to make me want to spend money on it.  

 

[Viking]

13 hours ago, BrettGC said:

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

I actually like the way wood baseboards look. There is a style that fits everyone. The downside is that they can be a heaven for bugs.

Tiles don't have the same problem but they also don't look as elegant. I will probably just paint the walls now and then when it's time to change the floors, I think I will go with tiled baseboards, for the lack of maintenance.👍

[Viking]

13 hours ago, BrettGC said:

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

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Edited March 23, 2023 by Viking
Double post

[Viking]

13 hours ago, BrettGC said:

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

 

Edited March 23, 2023 by Viking
Double post x 2, 😂

[Viking]

7 hours ago, hk blues said:

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!

We have nice joints between the floor and wall for most parts but I like the elegant look the baseboards give. Bathrooms don't have baseboards but kitchens? In Sweden kitchen usually have it and I see no reason why they shouldn't.

I was in Wilcon today looking for other stuff and took a quick look at the tile section and there was one tile that would be perfect as a baseboard. A bit expensive at 1800p/box but absolutely an option.

[Dave Hounddriver]

12 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

To be clear, I do think they go well with white socks and sandals.

LOL.  You wait 'till you get back to the real world.  Your family will pressure you to get a home with nice clean lines like this pic.  Perhaps you will switch to white socks and sandals too.