# how to nail base cap of baseboard molding



## conradA (Feb 25, 2010)

I laid down a floating engineeried wood floor (over existing very old hardwood floor), and now need to install new basebaord molding. I've cut all the 1" x 7 1/4" pine boards and the separate base cap pieces (including the coped inside corners and mitered outside corners).

I seem to remember that when I pulled out the previous baseboards, the old base cap was nailed to the base boards, not the wall. Yet when I tried to put my first finishing nail vertically into the new base cap, it was about to split (so I pulled it out and pre-drilled the hole).

Should base cap be nailed to the base boards or into the wall? I couldn't find the answer anywhere on the internet.


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## Michael Thomas (Jan 27, 2008)

*Should shoe molding (base show molding) be nailed to the base molding or the flooring*

If you are referring to “shoe molding” (AKA “base shoe molding”), is should be nailed to the base, not the flooring:











This allows the floor to move inwards and outwards as the flooring expands and contracts in response to changes in humidity and temperature without buckling the floor or pulling the the shoe and/or base molding away form the wall.

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BTW, don't know what profile you selected, but "base shoe" is not the same as "quarter round" - the difference seems subtle in profile, but to my eye the choice makes a surprisingly large difference in the finished appearance:










- http://www.woodfloorsonline.com/techtalk/mouldings-outlines2.gif

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I’m paid to be suspicious…


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## conradA (Feb 25, 2010)

This is not a shoe molding, it is the decorative base cap that goes on *top* of the baseboard.


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## 47_47 (Sep 11, 2007)

All of the old base cap and baseboards I've seen, they are nailed together and only the baseboard is nailed to the wall.


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## CallMeChaz (Feb 6, 2010)

conradA said:


> ...when I tried to put my first finishing nail vertically into the new base cap, it was about to split (so I pulled it out and pre-drilled the hole).


Many times you can avoid drilling a hole for finish nails in thin molding materials using this trick. Use your hammer to gently tap down and dull the sharp point on the nail. Don't mash it flat, just dull it about 30%. As often as not you will find the nail will penetrate the trim without splitting it. 

It seems counter-intuitive, but believe me it works. A sharp point pries the wood fibers apart much like a wedge, making it split along the grain. A more dull tip breaks the fibers and allows the nail to punch through without wedging the grain apart. 

As a side note, the wedge action is actually beneficial to a nail's holding power. A nail that is "wedging" through the wood holds better than one "punching" a passage into it with a dull nail. The wedged wood fibers tend to want to close back up and pinch the nail to keep if from pulling out easily. If all nails were dull, the hole they punch into the wood has less holding power, as the fibers are pushed aside creating a bit more of a channel. I also use this technique when hammering larger nails into 2x4's near the edge, or when toe-nailing near the end of a 2x4.


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## mknmike (Feb 5, 2011)

You to go through the meatiest part of the base cap in order to assure it doesn’t split. Here’s how I did mine. And a finish nail gun with tiny wires of nails (using a lot) is how I like to do it.


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## rjniles (Feb 5, 2007)

Probably the poster figured it out in the last 12 years.


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## CallMeChaz (Feb 6, 2010)

rjniles said:


> Probably the poster figured it out in the last 12 years.


This is for those who are researching previous posts. Thanks for your "input".


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## CallMeChaz (Feb 6, 2010)

mknmike said:


> You to go through the meatiest part of the base cap in order to assure it doesn’t split. Here’s how I did mine. And a finish nail gun with tiny wires of nails (using a lot) is how I like to do it.


10-4 on the nail gun. That solves all problems and it's all I use now.


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## mknmike (Feb 5, 2011)

rjniles said:


> Probably the poster figured it out in the last 12 years.


Ha! I missed that, but callmechaz did a threadus resaurectus on this dinosaur, and I didn’t catch it.


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## CallMeChaz (Feb 6, 2010)

mknmike said:


> Ha! I missed that, but callmechaz did a threadus resaurectus on this dinosaur, and I didn’t catch it.


No problem. Age of thread is no problem for those of us doing research. Nothing about nails has changed in the last 10 years LOL


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