Coping with Baseboards

If you want to install baseboard moldings and have a professional looking finish, you will have to learn about coping. I'll fill you in.

1. The first step is to measure the walls and determine the type of corners and cut what you will need. Outside corners, those that point out into a room simply require two forty five degree cuts, but inside corners can be a little trickier you'll need to cope the molding for a tight fit.

2. Transfer your measurements to your baseboards, marking them with a light pencil.

3. I'm working on an inside corner, so the long piece needs simple straight cuts so that it butts up to each end. Make those cuts and secure the piece to the wall with some finishing nails.

4. The smaller piece needs a ninety-degree cut on one end and then the coping end that you will cope needs to have an inside forty-five degree outside cut on the molding, so the longest end is on the back of the molding.

5. Then use a coping saw to back-cut the molding slightly, carefully following the molding's profile. When the cuts are made, sand the edges for a tight fit.