How to install shoe molding inside corners

Shoe molding or base shoe molding is a decorative finishing touch for baseboards. This small, thin strip of molding is painted to match the baseboard trimfitting into the right angle or gap created by the floor and wall's baseboard. It's similar to quarter-round baseboard trim, which is similar in height but not as rounded.

Last Updated: January 28, References. This article was co-authored by Mike Katona. With experience dating back to the early s, he specializes in building new homes, home design, and decor. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed , times.

How to install shoe molding inside corners

Cover gaps between hard flooring and baseboards for a perfect finishing touch to your room remodel with our tutorial on installing shoe molding. The first thing to know about installing shoe molding is that it teams up with baseboards in most homes to add a finished look to trim. You'll find shoe molding in rooms with hard flooring surfaces such as tile, stone, sheet vinyl, hardwood, and laminate. For years, quarter-round molding a name based on its end view was considered the primary base shoe option. But there's a wide range of shoe molding profiles; you can even make your own base molding. The small scale and simple lines of most base shoe molding make it easy to cope the inside corners. After cutting the copes in a roomful of baseboard , it will seem like a quick and easy job. The flexibility of base shoe molding lets you bend it to conform with wavy floors that are almost universal in older homes and still quite common in new construction. The most important thing about shoe molding is that you always nail it into the wall, never the floor. Once you've gathered your tools and materials, follow our step-by-step instructions for installing shoe molding. There's a wide range of commercially available base shoe molding profiles. A true base shoe is taller than it is wide, enabling it to conceal a large vertical gap without appearing chunky. You can also make custom baseboard and shoe molding profiles with a table saw and router. To make shoe molding that dives into the casing, cut the strip to length , then butt it against the casing. Angle your pencil to get a line as close to the casing as possible and draw a vertical mark.

You can join shorter pieces to cover a long wall using scarf jointsbut most carpenters try to avoid this by using full-length pieces for a smoother look.

Choose Your Molding 2. Mark Molding 3. Cut Molding 4. Test the Fit 5. Sand and Finish 6. Ensure a No-Gap Fit 7.

Shoe molding is that thin piece of molding you see in many homes during the transition between baseboard trim or cabinets and the floor. The most common type looks like a simple quarter round, but it can come in other profiles, too, including a rectangle with a curved edge or something with more detail resembling a tiny baseboard molding. Installing shoe molding is one of the easiest trim projects, requiring only a few tools and some basic carpentry skills. The primary use for shoe molding is to cover gaps where flooring meets adjacent vertical surfaces, especially when the flooring was installed after the baseboard trim and cabinetry. The first step in planning your project is choosing the molding profile that will look right in your home. This molding style is clean and simple, easy to find, and looks good in any style room.

How to install shoe molding inside corners

Last Updated: January 28, References. This article was co-authored by Mike Katona. With experience dating back to the early s, he specializes in building new homes, home design, and decor. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed , times.

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Ensure a No-Gap Fit 7. Consider a wrap around with no return. Instructions Choose Shoe Molding There's a wide range of commercially available base shoe molding profiles. Last Updated: January 28, References. Then, holding the piece tight into the previously fitted joint, make a mark on the back edge of the shoe molding just past the end of the outside corner of the baseboard. Pull away the molding. Paint or stain your molding. If you need to cut very short pieces of trim, clamp them to the fence or hold them down with a long piece of scrap wood. Tip It's OK to cut pieces a little bit long if you're using a power miter saw , which can cleanly shave off a tiny amount of wood. Instead, make this cut with a manual miter box and saw. Project details Skill. Once you clean up your job site, your shoe molding project is complete. If a miter return sounds too complicated to make, you can simply make a or degree cut similar to one half of an inside miter joint at the end of the shoe molding where you want to terminate it, or you can even just sand a rounded edge on a square cut at the end of the molding to create a finished look.

Shoe molding or base shoe molding is a decorative finishing touch for baseboards. This small, thin strip of molding is painted to match the baseboard trim , fitting into the right angle or gap created by the floor and wall's baseboard.

Tip: If working with stained molding, use a stain marker to cover up the raw-wood look after cutting. Another way to think of quarter-round molding is to imagine a round dowel. Took a while and now doing the floors. Store Locations:. Be careful not to damage the baseboard or the floor. Using a stiff putty knife, work the base molding loose by pushing it behind and under the base molding. You may need to make a few of these tiny pieces before you get the length just right so it nests seamlessly into the miter joint. For an outside corner, simply miter both ends of the two molding pieces. Materials like wood, MDF, and polystyrene are rigid and sold in long, thin, plank-like strips. The small scale and simple lines of most base shoe molding make it easy to cope the inside corners. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers. This is easiest when the baseboards are also unfinished, but if your baseboards are already stained you might want to stain the molding before installing it.