Bring the Best Baseboards to Your Clients

As much as baseboards are an essential part of any homebuilding project or remodeling job, they’re not a subject that gets a lot of attention aside from general discussions about millwork. The problem is, even though this is an often-overlooked task, it’s crucial for giving interior spaces a perfectly finished look.

That means you must get them right—and part of this job is using the right stapler. You’re going to need a tool that does the work quickly and efficiently, and you need something that drives brad nails, staples, or other fasteners with small heads that are easily concealed. FASCO®’s (a BECK member) F1B 80-16 LN50 stapler solves the tool conundrum—and we’ll discuss this tool later on. For now, let’s get started with some tips to help make your baseboard jobs seamless.

1. Getting the Angles Just Right

In a perfect world, all corners will be a perfect 90 degrees. In reality, that almost never happens—but we still make 90-degree cuts. With corner angles being imperfect, this leads to gaps where the baseboard corners meet, and even if they’re small, those gaps still make the finished work look less than perfect.

The solution? Add an inexpensive angle-finding tool to your tool bag. Use it to measure corner angles, and adjust your miter saw to match. This still may not get you to 100% perfection—but it will get you closer.

2. Glue the Corners

You can always use nailers, fastener systems or fine wire staplers to secure corners when you’re installing trim—and in fact, you should to create a strong joint that will hold up to day-to-day abuse. Another technique you can use is to apply glue or caulk inside the joint. Not only does this make for stronger joints, but the sealant also helps you fill in any gaps left over to give the baseboards a smooth, seamless look.

3. Always Cut a Little Long

You’re likely already aware of saw kerf and how to factor for it—but if not, this term refers to the thickness of the blade that you’re using to cut the trim. Most builders factor for this and add it onto the total length of the trim that they’re cutting, which means that if you need a 6-foot span and your sawblade is 1/16” thick, then you need to cut 6’ 1/16” to get a true 6-foot cut.

What you may not know is that it’s smart to add a little extra to your measurements even beyond the addition to factor for saw kerf. Try adding an extra 1/32” to each baseboard cut you make, or 1/16” if you’re cutting long lengths of trim, and you’ll be surprised to find your trim fights tighter with fewer visible seams.

Why? It’s simple: While walls make look perfectly flat and straight, few of them actually are. This tiny bit of extra length helps account for the imperceptible bends that invariably happen when you fasten trim to the wall.

Choose a Versatile Tool for Installing Baseboards

Baseboards—and trim in general—can be a demanding job for a fastener system. That’s why FASCO®’s F1B 80-16 LN50 is ideal for this particular job. To start, it uses fine wire staples, which is a big help since they don’t leave large marks on the trim that will require you to do a lot of filling and sanding to hide nail heads.

It’s also a lightweight system that is easy to use, which means less fatigue on the big jobs when you’re installing trim all day. And speaking of being easy to use, this stapler features a narrow head that makes it simple to work in tight corners. Click below to learn more!