We installed a floating laminate floor in the bathroom in Glade Cottage.
A new floor that needs baseboard trim.
To finish the edges around the floor we used 2 different methods.
The gap between the floor and the tub is covered with synthetic quarter round.
Along the bathtub Charlie cut a piece of synthetic quarter round which we glued down to the laminate with Liquid Nails silicone glue.
Liquid Nails silicone glue is sold in the paint section.
Then with 100% silicone bathroom caulk Charlie caulked along the floor edge and along the tub edge of the quarter round.
The trim and edges are well-caulked with silicone caulk.
At the same time he recaulked the vertical edges on the tub for a seamless installation.
The silicone caulk goes on slowly but smooths easily with a finger dipped in mineral spirits.
I cleaned the wood trim that had been around the room before we started remodeling with steel wool soaked in mineral spirits.
After scrubbing the trim down with steel wool and mineral spirits, wipe it down again with mineral spirits on a rag.
I painted the various pieces with semigloss so I would only need to touch up after cutting and installing.
The trim has been given two light coats of paint.
Using a manual backsaw and miter box I custom fit the trim which came in 2 pieces: the base is 1″ by 2″ stock topped by base cap moulding.
The backsaw blade fits into slots on the miter box for an accurate cut.
Using only a few nails I installed all the base boards then all the base cap. The walls are not straight so gaps appeared at the corners and along the top of the baseboard.
The lower trim is nailed to the wall then the cap trim is nailed to the base.
After trim was installed we followed the directions of Cassity from Remodelaholic , who has a wonderful post on using paintable latex caulk, to give a flawless finish to molding and trim. I have always been hopeless at caulking but her instructions (hot water and nailess finger to smooth) certainly improved my results.
The trim has been caulked and the paint touched up.
Ta-da!
Do you reuse old trim? Old furniture? Old ____?
