# install molding without nails?



## zircon (Sep 24, 2007)

I am planning to upgrade the baseboard molding and add trim around the hall door of my condo apartment. The baseboard will be made from 1x8 and the door casing from 1x6 so it is fairly large. Can I put this on with construction adhesive without nailing? If I can do it this way I can prepaint it and not worry about getting paint on the hall carpet. It would cut down my hall time in the public hall as I would not have to fill nail holes and paint in the hall. I have permission from the Board to do it and in fact they have encouraged me to do it as other owners have already done their areas.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

the baseboard should get nailed. base takes abuse from vacuums, mops and people moving furniture. the glue will eventually lose its hold as the paper on the drywall will pull away when the baseboard goes

definitely put one coat of paint on the base before installing it though you can paint it while its sitting on benches which makes it so your standing up while doing it


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

> Can I put this on with construction adhesive without nailing?


No!

Are the wall studs metal or wood?


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## DannyT (Mar 23, 2011)

I use oil based paint for all my trim and pre-paint it so i dont have to paint over the new hardwood floors i installed. after nailing it up i putty and caulk and then just touch up the spots i puttied and caulked. its doesn't take much and i don't have to paint near the floor. if you are using wood for the trim you need to nail it. most wood isnt flat enough to glue on and if not nailed would probably warp or twist eventually and come loose. most walls aren't flat enough either, there are always humps and valleys that the wood won't follow unless nailed tight to the wall. MDF trim is what i use because it paints better than wood and follows the contours of the wall better.


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## zircon (Sep 24, 2007)

Thanks to all. I will be painting, nailing and then touch up.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

danny is correct. the only question i have is to how thick is the mdf baseboard. if you are using 3/4" thick mdf baseboard it wont flex very easily and should use a 16 gauge nailer to install it. the 16 gauge nails have more holding power and the gun is much more capable of sinking nails in thicker trim.

if the wall is wood framed shoot to the studs. if its steel stud you will have to both glue and use a techniue called "stitch nailing" or "scissor nailing" which involves shooting two nails at opposite angles doing so both at the top of the trim and the bottom


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## jburchill (Oct 3, 2010)

Not to hijack this thread, but I will be installing trim soon and I have section of wall framing that sits on top of concrete thats about 6 inches high. So I can't nail the trim into wood studs. 

Any ideas how one would attach the trim?

I thought glue, but from reading above that is not a good idea


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

> Not to hijack this thread, but...


Then why are you doing it? You silver tongued devil you!


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

does the drywall come all the way down to the floor? or does it stop where the framing begins


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## jburchill (Oct 3, 2010)

Yes the drywall comes all the way down to the floor. 

Now that you mentioned it, I should of not went all the way down to the floor. I should of left enough room to attach a 1/2" piece of wood to the cement. Then that would be flush with the 1/2" drywall. Then I could nail in the trim.

Now I just have to decide if I want to go back and do that.


Unless there is another option.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

as long as the drywall isnt moving too much "flexing" just use the stitch nail method, it acts similar to a staple however you dont get the large face of the staple showing, but use short nails for this. measure the thickness of the baseboard and account for the thickness of the drywall .. whatever the total is us a nail thats about 1/8- 1/4" shorter


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

Just a matter of preference some people say, but I wouldn't use MDF on a doghouse.


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

Willie T said:


> Just a matter of preference some people say, but I wouldn't use MDF on a doghouse.


I wouldn’t use it in a bathroom either. In dog house or bathroom the mdf will likely get wet and turn to mush. :tooth:


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