Ok, so I still have some painting to do on the master bedroom, as well as some touch ups elsewhere. But, my next challenge will be the baseboards. First, they will need to be replaced in several places. Then, they will all need repainted.
I have two challenges with the baseboards. First, the original baseboard installations used a small piece of baseboard to cover the rounded wall corners. Instead of using the rounded corner pieces, they used a small piece of baseboard that makes the corner flat. So, instead of joining the corners with a rounded piece, their is a small flat piece instead. Ok, so cutting a bunch of small pieces is an option, time consuming but can be done.
The downstairs baseboards have been removed before, probably to put in the tile flooring. When the baseboard was re-installed, they did not put the small pieces back on the corners. Instead, they simply cut the baseboard ends at 45 degrees and put them together. The problem is they did a bad job at matching up the ends. Some of the pieces are too long, so the edges do not match up nicely. For those who have built picture frames, you know what it looks like when your 45’s do not match on all sides because one side is longer than the other. Some of the ends were too long, and some too short. So, I need to re-do the baseboards. Since the upstairs has all the small pieces se in place, I will probably follow that model for the downstairs baseboards.
The second big challenge will be the baseboard for the stairs wall. The stairs are curved as they ascend. A nice touch, but hard to match on the baseboards. The wall is approximately 12 foot in length, and the total curve is about 90 degrees. Instead of using a long board and cutting it to length, they replaced it with a short piece about 4 foot long on the straight part of the wall, and an 8 foot piece for the curved section. The problem is when they replaced the 8 foot section of baseboard, they pushed it in too hard and cracked it in many places. It looked like the curved section was filled in with 5-6 small pieces instead of a single piece. So, I tore off that baseboard, and am now trying to figure out how I will replace it.
My plan is to use a single piece of baseboard. Hopefully I will be able to get it to curve like the wall, but without breaking. I may need to install it as a couple of pieces to get the right curve. But maybe a few kerfs on the back of the baseboard will allow it to flex enough and not break.
So far, the work has been straight forward. A lot of painting, but not difficult. The baseboards will be a challenge, but I should be able to overcome that easy enough. After that, cleaning the carpet, a little landscaping, and it will be ready to go.
