I have a 1 inch gap in the middle of an 8 foot run of baseboard over a wood floor in an apartment I am renovating. I have not determine the cause of the sag yet but I wanted to know how I could possible fit a 5 1/2 inch one piece baseboard with a 3/4 round shoe molding coped on one end?
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And end up cut down to 4-1/2" at each end? Sacre bleu!!!!!!!!!! Quelle corners!!!
That happened to me once, and I revised my (and your) usual strategy. Fortunately I saw it ahead of time so I could plan something. Knowing there were floor bumps and sags, I ran around with a long straightedge and notepad.
Wanting to do a 1x6 with top cap and no shoe, I ended up using 1x8 stock on those runs with severe sags. The three that required this treatment got roughed in the shop with the bandsaw, then scribed and fit on the site.
If the job is painted, you can biscuit a strip onto the board to gain the width needed, then do the fitting.
No one's mentioned the obvious- pump a couple of tubes of caulk into that gap.
<G>
But caulk will sag too.Like old age, one sag begets another
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Or just put a piece of matching thickness material x 3/4" or so on the bottom of the baseboard to cover up the gap in the middle, plane the extra material off the ends of the patch. Then the shoe will cover the rest of the gap.
Either Piffin's or MarkH solution will work.
MarkH technique gets my vote for ease of joining baseboard at the ends of your 8' run.
I assume that there are additional baseboard runs which must join to the ends of the "floor sagging" 8' run. MarkH's solution will leave you with the full 5-1/2" hieght at both ends - Piffin's solution will leave you with a shorter hieght at the ends.
No one has said anything, but the 3/4" shoe will not need anything special; cope, flex and nail.
Jim
Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
use a wider 3/4 board say 71/4 scribe to fit measure up your 51/2'' on both ends draw line across and cut to new height.gives you your 51/2" ht. plus sag in the middle.
Just head down to a retailer that lets you pick through the stacks and look for a piece of baseboard that has the curve you need. Most of the stuff at the local Home Depot would be ideal!
You can also bend baseboard a certain amount during installation. Nail one end. Place one end of a 2x6 on top of the baseboard. Place a 2x4 block under the other end of the 2x6 so that it's pretty level. Now put a knee on top of the 2x6 and rest your weight on it. Nail off the baseboard at that point and move on down the line.
George Patterson, Patterson Handyman Service
Edited 4/19/2007 12:03 pm ET by grpphoto
You really only need to bend the board about 1/4" or so and the shoe will cover the gap. if you have trouble because it is near the jointto the next board, consider cutting the previous piced so the dip is nearer the center.
Hope this helps. Rich.
If there is any possible way, you might want to determine why there is a sag of that much in only an eight foot run.
You are right OldGuy, I ran into this prob. years ago and found out the main girder was cracked!!...................................
"If all else fails, read the directions"
You don't mention if this is molded base (like colonial), painted, or shoed ? If there's a significant horizontal feature in the base, then you can't add to the top; if it's just a plain piece of white-wood, then buy a wider board (or add a dutch-man) and scribe away - plane the top to maintain width.
By-the-bye I've seen crews who bend paint-grade base using the soap-soak method (takes some time).
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright