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I have a 1935 bungalow in St. Louts that is full brick with plaster. Since the old baseboards were in “bad shape”, I have decided to replace them. As I was removing a section of the old baseboards, the plaster came loose around one of the nails. Securely embedded in the brick was a wood “insert”–exactly where the nail attached the baseboard. I know I could chip away every place a nail secured the old baseboard to these walls… but I thought someone could tell me if these wood “inserts” were a normal construction method in the 1930’s and something I could rely on in attaching the new baseboards If it was just a fluke, what is the best method to attach new baseboard?
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I have a 1935 bungalow in St. Louts that is full brick with plaster. Since the old baseboards were in "bad shape", I have decided to replace them. As I was removing a section of the old baseboards, the plaster came loose around one of the nails. Securely embedded in the brick was a wood "insert"--exactly where the nail attached the baseboard. I know I could chip away every place a nail secured the old baseboard to these walls... but I thought someone could tell me if these wood "inserts" were a normal construction method in the 1930's and something I could rely on in attaching the new baseboards If it was just a fluke, what is the best method to attach new baseboard?